I have a lot of moms who talk to me about taking time off before the baby is born. They have a lot of questions about whether or not I would recommend it. There are actually a couple of things that you need to think about before making that decision. The first is your maternity leave.
Do you have maternity leave that is limited? Is it paid? Are you planning to take six weeks off or twelve weeks off before returning to your job? This matters because, let's say you took off at week 39 and didn't have the baby until week 42, you've now used three weeks of your leave up and the baby isn't even here yet.
The other thing to think about is your job. Are you fairly comfortable? Is your job physically easy for you to do? How are you hanging mentally? If you're taking off simply because you think you should and not because you're physically or mentally exhausted by your job, I'd recommend staying as long as you can. Even if you consider doing it, before you do that, ask if you can have shorter hours, flexible days, longer lunch break (read nap time!) or any other variation to your schedule.
The problems I see most often are women who feel a lot of pressure to have the baby simply because they've stopped working. That feels awful.
What's your take? When did you take off for baby?
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The Trouble With Taking Time Off Before Baby originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Tuesday, July 9th, 2013 at 10:04:38.
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