Making the most of your maternity leave

Different employers offer different packages, but at the minimum you should qualify for statutory maternity leave of up to a year (52 weeks). The first 26 weeks is known as ordinary maternity leave and the second 26 weeks is referred to as additional maternity leave.

Although you are entitled to take a whole year off work, you will not receive statutory maternity pay (SMP) for the full 52 weeks, only for up to 39 weeks. With SMP, you receive 90% of your average weekly earnings for the first six weeks of your maternity leave and then a weekly payment of £156.66 or 90% of your pay, depending which is lower, for the remaining 33 weeks. The remaining time off is unpaid.

As soon as you are ready to share news of your pregnancy with your employer, and before the deadline (which is 15 weeks before your due date), talk to your HR department or equivalent about what your maternity pay will be, so that you can start to budget accordingly.

Another discussion to have before you arrange your maternity leave is whether your partner wants to take time off with the baby, too. Your partner should be eligible for statutory paternity leave of 2 weeks (at the same rate of pay as SMP), as well as shared parental leave. This gives your partner the opportunity to have more time to bond with your baby, as well as giving you the chance to return to work.

With your wages likely curtailed for the duration of your maternity leave, it’s important to be financially aware. The good news is, babies don’t require a lot of entertainment, so you don’t need to pack your maternity leave full of costly adventures in order to enjoy it.

If you’re worried about money, try talking to friends or family who have been through it to see how they coped, or speak to an organisation like the Citizens’ Advice Bureau to make sure you know what you’re entitled to.

Since second-hand baby clothes and equipment are easy to come by and much cheaper than buying new, you could also ask family who would like to buy ‘stuff’ for the baby to save their money and gift it later on when you might like to spend it on a baby group or class you want to take.

Though it’s tempting to save all your maternity leave for when the baby arrives, it’s a good idea to take some time off at least a week before your due date so that you can rest and prepare for the transition to motherhood.

HiPP mum Jo advises: ‘Try not to worry too much. I think when you go on maternity leave it all becomes very real and you have this extra time to think about things, and especially the birth. Relax if possible and sleep – you’re going to need it!’

Another of our HiPP mums, Nicola, remembers: ‘Before the baby is born but after you’ve finished work can be a really weird time; there’s no baby yet, but you’re packed and ready to go.’ She suggests you try and do things you won’t be able to do so easily afterwards, like go to the cinema, the theatre, or have an uninterrupted conversation with someone!

If you fancy it, this can be a really nice time to pamper yourself with a relaxing pregnancy massage, spend time listening to your hypnobirthing playlist, and perhaps catch up with people from your antenatal classes, who may even have already had their babies.

There are a lot of options to keep you occupied while on maternity leave. From singing and story time at your local library, to Baby Sensory, Baby Ballet, Tots Play, Sing and Sign, and so many more, there is a wealth of ‘entertainment’ out there, all geared towards helping your little one’s development. However, in those early weeks and months, when you are still trying to find your feet, getting out and about is about meeting your needs more than your baby’s.

Kirsten says: ‘Finding like-minded mums who were going through the same things at a similar time made all the difference to me. We would WhatsApp at 3 am when our babies were screaming or throwing up everywhere – it made us all feel less alone.’

And if you don’t feel like socialising, how about a walk? Fresh air, sunshine and a bit of exercise will help lift your spirits after a sleepless night – whether you take the baby with you, or take the opportunity for a bit of alone time.

When we asked our HiPP mums to share their experiences of maternity leave, we got such a mixed response. It just goes to show how different personality types want different levels of structure in their life – and why you should always go with what feels right for your family, not what everyone else is doing.

Nicola suggests: ‘Get into a routine of doing certain things on certain days. Make sure you have enough to do; but also give yourself time to rest and just cuddle, cuddle, cuddle.’

Leah says: ‘Let maternity leave be what it needs to be for you and your baby and don’t feel pressured to follow what anyone else is doing. If you want to be super busy and meet people, joining local groups is a great idea. But if you want to have a slower pace, then that is absolutely fine too.’

Our HiPP mum Gen advises not starting any baby classes too early: ‘Wait until they are 3 months and can engage more. Go out for a daily walk (and coffee!) to get your Vitamin D.’

Finally, some good advice from HiPP mum Emma:

‘Try not to pressure yourself to “achieve” things in the way you used to before. You may go from being really efficient and “successful” before the baby and then suddenly that all gets turned on its head. I remember thinking, I can easily make multi-million-pound decisions, and have really high-stress meetings, but I can’t figure out why my son is crying!

So, my advice is to be aware that “success” is different when you have a new baby. Normalising the hard days and the huge overnight shift in your role, yourself and your responsibilities is not an easy thing to do, but it really helps.’