Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

When to get pregnant?

Options
  • 06-12-2011 3:48pm
    #1
    Alanna!
    Registered Users Posts: 14 ✭


    Hi,
    I'm not sure where is the best place to post this but here goes....
    I am not happy in my job at all and am trying to move but obviously its not a great time to find jobs. If/when I get a new job I'll have to wait a while before getting pregnant so I was just wondering has anyone made the decision to get pregnant based on their work situation. Obviously I'm not choosing pregnancy to escape from my job its just that I'm in my thirties and feel I need to do it soon. Also my current job is quite stressful and I'd rather be in a less stressful one while pregnant.
    Thanks for any feedback


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    JDD
    Registered Users Posts: 1,578 ✭✭✭JDD


    Would you consider staying where you are for the next year and then looking for a new job once you return from maternity leave? Yes, it would be easier to be in a less stressful job while pregnant, but it may take a long time to find a new job and then you never know what their maternity benefits might be. You might have to be there for a minimum amount of time before they pay you maternity benefit, though if your current place only pays statutory benefit that might not be as much of an issue.

    I'd give yourself a strict six months going all out to find a new job. If you didn't get one in that timeframe, I'd start trying to conceive. You'd be able to interview for at least the first four or five months without anyone guessing your were pregnant. And sure if at that stage you still hadn't found anything it wouldn't be long until you were off on maternity leave from your current job.


  • Options
    #3
    Neyite
    Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    I started work in this place in 2007. I had initially planned to move on in 2008 but then we started to try for a baby so I stayed. For us, it took over 2 years and medical assistance before I finally got pregnant in August.

    Now I find out that somewhere along the line the staff handbook was changed to statutory maternity leave only - basically what the social welfare pay you, and not a penny more. In addition, there are already 2 on my team that reduced their hours to part time so no way in hell would I get part-time when baby is born as the cover on my days off would not be there.

    So, firstly find out what maternity benefits are available for you in the current job, and if they top it up or extend it for you into the unpaid leave. Is there an option for flexi time after the birth, and consider how pro-baby the company is - would you be ok to work from home/pop out to pick up/drop off a child somewhere if your childminder got sick or whatever.

    If its an unflexible workplace in that regard, or you would only qualify for statutory maternity benefit then hunt for something that gives you the funds and flexiblility you need. You can start your folic acid anyway, and 3 months into your new job you could start trying - if you got pregnant right away you still have 4 -5 months before you start to show and need to tell them. :)


Advertisement