When to start maternity leave
Planning Your Maternity Leave! How Much Time Should You Take Off?
maternity leave parental leave whatever
you want to call it it's coming and you
need to plan for it but a lot of women's
struggle to figure out the right amount
of time to take off of work to be with
baby if this is you I have three tips
for you today to help you decide how
much time to take off hey it's Lisa
Dante and you're watching the crazy good
life your place to be to create the life
that works for you as a working mama
today it's all about maternity leave or
more specifically how much time you
should take off for your mattli now
maternity leave like everything else to
do with baby comes with a lot of
pressure and everyone has an opinion on
what is the perfect amount of time let
me tell you there isn't the right amount
of time there's only the right amount of
time for you and your situation now I
know there are countless studies out
there and I've read many of them that
tell us that longer maternity leaves are
best for baby but there are just as many
that show the positive benefits of
shorter leave times this contradiction
which we're going to continue to see and
studies that have to do with raising a
baby is an easy one to explain your
child's future success his health
development happiness earning potential
and so on is not dependent on one single
factor we humans are the byproduct of so
many things people the experiences our
geography our religion that make us who
we are so you can rest assured that this
one decision is not going to change the
course of your baby's life for the
better or for the worse I know women who
have taken two days maternity leave and
I know others who have taken five years
and there's a whole bunch of women that
I know that I took everything in-between
if you were to put them all in the room
with their children you wouldn't know
who was who personally I took 20 weeks
off from my first daughter Isabella and
then six full months for Elia is that
short or is that long that's really up
to you to decide but for me personally
it was the right amount of
for me for my baby and for my situation
so what's the right amount of time for
you I have three questions that you can
ask yourself to help you make that
decision so question one what are you
eligible for this is the first question
you should ask yourself because it sets
the boundaries of what you will do the
answer to this question is found in two
places where you live and where you work
each country has its own set of laws on
the training leave leave them yourself
if you depend on anyone else to read
them for you you may miss something here
are a few things you should look out for
how long is your job protective is your
time off paid or unpaid and if it's paid
how much can you expect to receive how
early or late can you start your
maternity leave are you eligible for any
benefits while you're off and what about
your partners rights
you'll also need to understand what
criteria you need to meet in order to be
eligible for those rights and what you
need to do before you take your mattli
these are the very same questions you'll
want to research when you're looking at
your company's policies either read the
company's policies on your own or speak
directly with an HR professional it's
also a good idea for your partner to
check out their maternity leave policy a
lot of companies are progressing their
maternity leave plans and you don't want
your partner to miss out question two
what is your company's culture you're
probably asking what does culture have
to do with it and let me tell you
everything
most companies look for employees that
fit their culture how many times have
you heard that so if you're planning on
staying with your company for the long
term you may not want to push the
boundaries too far see a company's
culture doesn't always align with its
policy let me give you an example I was
pregnant with Isabella when I was living
in New York the u.s. is one of the only
countries that still doesn't have much
as crummy as that was I was really lucky
to work for a company that would protect
my job for six months but I was with the
company long enough to know that taking
six months wasn't common practice it's
not that nobody did it it's just the
people that were at my level and in my
area weren't doing it I confirm that
fact by speaking to a number of women
and men in my company and that is what
I'm recommending you to do really think
about your company's culture how have
beige treated pregnant women in the past
how have they been spoken about in front
of them and when they weren't present
and how did you treat them and what did
you say about them then go out and speak
with the people you work with at your
level and above and ask them what they
do
were there any repercussions for their
decisions and do they have any advice to
give to you people like to share their
experiences so don't worry about
imposing on their time just ask them and
be sure you pay it forward next time the
last question is a big one what is the
right amount of time for you to answer
this question you're really gonna have
to think of a number of personal factors
your finances your partner's eligibility
for mattli and how much time you can
leave your work but the one I want you
to really think about is what will work
for you Society tells us that a good
mother wants to be at home with her baby
but not all of us are cut out to be
full-time moms just like any other job
you had a teacher a surgeon a lawyer a
mom is a job the hardest job if you ask
me sometimes to be a good mom you have
to be away so that you can do the things
that light your fire so that when you
are with your kids you can be the best
mom they need you to be I feel better
when I am doing meaningful work that is
important to me and when I'm happy I'm a
more patient attentive and caring mama
to my girls so take a long look in the
ask yourself what it is you want to do
and what is right for you
these questions will help you decide how
much time to take off from eternity but
all of that planning and figuring can
fly right out the window once you meet
your new baby so make a plan but be sure
that it's flexible enough to meet your
changing needs so what did you think of
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