snowbunny

One standard, if you're at a decent company, is six weeks paid leave. Sometimes if you have a c-section, it might be eight weeks. Sometimes you can claim the recovery period on your short-term disability insurance, in which case your doctor is the one who determines when you are fit for work again.

Bob

the missus works for one of the big evil empires, and on paper, the benefits are great, but in reality, there crap because they make you jump through hoops to get them, and they still deny the benefits...can't get sick because that comes out of your holiday pay, and if you need long term health care you better be dead by the end of it or they'll really screw you over.

ladylisa

My friend recently got 6 weeks maternity leave, which she said was pretty normal. I cant remember if she was paid for 3 of those or none. She wasnt too fussed about this until I told her what the UK get.

Duncan Roberts

6 weeks and if you use up all your vacation time, 8.
Don't ever get pregnant here without insurance, from start to finish you will end up with bills way over $100,000. Most of the bills you see when you have insurance are contracted amounts with insurance companies and will be more if you are a self pay.

LeedsGirl

Here in California you can take six weeks for maternity leave and then use the Paid Family Leave Act for an additional six weeks to bond with new child and the state pays. The Paid Family Leave Act also allows you to take six weeks off to take care of a seriously ill family member.

LeedsGirl

Also meant to add that the above does not provide job protection, like always there's a catch

Ash UK/US

My husband and I have a 80/20% policy (they pay 80% and we pay the rest)with a $500 deductable when I had my daughter 18 months ago it cost us over $2500 after the insurance paid their bit... and that was for a normal birth.

Also I became pregnant 5 months after we got married (I had been added to my husbands policy as a dependant when we were married) so having only been covered for 5 months they still paid up on it.

You really need insurance if you are planning a family in the US... you would be crazy to do it without.

Ash

IrnBru

Just wanted to add that my friend back home started maternity leave yesterday and is off until nest Feb! She is a teacher, she is off until mid/late August when the schools go back. In one day, baby due at end of August, then 6 months maternity leave teaking her to Feb 06. Alright for some!

snowbunny

Teachers are mainly women of childbearing age so most school districts tend to have policies that allow for this.

But have you seen what teachers are paid, and the hours they pull during the school year, which is effectively 10 months out of 12? :scared: Not to mention the little darlings becoming less darling every year.

FlyergirlUK

You managed to wait a whole five months?!!

We almost made it to one month before I became pregnant - I blame it on all that fresh air on our honeymoon...

Wintersong

Has anyone tried going back to the UK for the birth?

Would it be worth it? I guess you'd have to plan to stay there for a few months but at least you wouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars to give birth!

We're planning to try to start a family around December time, but I don't know if we can afford it now that I've read all this

Eskimo

Spending a weekend with ours and Bored-Sillys kids will I'm sure help you re-evaluate this decision ...

Neathborn

It cost us $295 for our first child (born in Texas in 1999) and $15 for the second (born in Minnesota in 2002). I was lucky as we had good insurance and I had very straight-forward births with no complications. Insurance for first child required a 10 percent deductible (total cost for pre-natal care, delivery etc. was $2950, hence $295 was what we paid). When I had my second daughter, I only had to pay a $15 copay for my first doctor visit, thereafter it was covered 100 percent. Since then, my husband's insurance has changed dramatically and I know it would cost us a LOT more now. Thankfully, there are no plans for further children or we'd be bankrupt .

Wintersong

Need a babysitter? I could do with a short, sharp shock to help me change my mind

Bob

Doing that, then you'll have to fart around with immigration...well if the father's a USC might not have to..but it's a pain getting flights when pregnant...