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I was laid off while pregnant so I didn't have anywhere to go back to. I found another job when my LO was 6 months old.

The only other women in my immediate department only took 6 weeks with each of her children, so I am sort of guessing that’s what I’ll be expected to take too. I only get 6 weeks paid, but will also have 3 weeks of paid vacation time and would like to use that to extend my leave to 8-9 weeks. We’ll see.

Legally I am eligible for 12 weeks of FMLA leave, but taking that much time would be politically very tricky to do, and also going without pay for a month would suck big time.

I will be taking 12 weeks. I will use up all of my PTO and short term disability (4 weeks) and then cover our expenses I normally would pay out of my paycheck with my savings I've been putting away for maternity leave. My company just expected I would stay out 12 weeks.

I'm amazed that someone could go back to work after two weeks. Is she even HEALED yet?

Im planning on taking off one week before my due date and then 12 weeks after my due date. Here is to hoping she comes right on due date or before, so I could get a full 12 weeks with her!

Wow. 2 weeks? My friend actually started working from home right away. She was in and out of the office literally 3 days after her C-section. Crazy!
I'm a SAHM.

Didn't vote as not US resident but wow! 2 weeks??! At 2 weeks I still felt like I was a physical mess, def not recovered! I took 9 lovely months off but we have some government maternity leave here.

Here in the UK they have such a better attitude about maternity leave. Most women stop working by the time they are 36 weeks (and look at you like you're weird if you haven't stopped by then). They are eligible to take a year off without fear of losing their jobs.
My husband and I have our own business, so the normal rules don't really apply to me. It makes me sad for all my friends in the US to know how quickly they are pressured to get back in the office.

Before I had a baby, I thought 3 months was an excessive amount of time for a maternity leave (I had no experience and most of my peers had no children either). I can see why there is so much pressure to return to work because most people don't really understand what's happened to the woman's body and the adjustments required within the new family. It's sad really.

I will be going back after four months. Luckily I have saved two weeks PTO, my company offers 6 weeks 100% paid maternity leave, and then an additional short term disability program I've paid into that will provide 6 weeks at 100% paid.

I took the full 12 weeks that FMLA allowed and just returned part-time. I still feel completely scattered and disorganized, but am happy to be back at work too. I feel very torn over loving my work and wanting to be at home with the boy, so I am glad to take the reduced hours.

I don't know how anyone could be back in a week or two after giving birth! It was bad enough that I worked until right when my water broke, I think 2 weeks before and 12 weeks after is ideal, since we can't have a year like Canada - so jealous!!

whoa 2 weeks? I'm 2 weeks postpartum and couldn't imagine going back yet, I'm still recovering!

With my son, I took 5 months off. We were given 3 months full pay at our company, plus I had 2 months of vacation + sick time acrrued. However this time around, I'll only be taking 3 months off.

I was due around the August, which is right when school started (I'm a teacher). I'm waiting to find out if I can move to a classroom position, instead of a specialty class that I teach now. If everything had gone correctly, my time off would have been determined by what job I was in. If it was the classroom position, it would have been 6 weeks because I wouldn't have wanted to miss the entire first 9 weeks of school. If I stay in my specialty class, then I would have taken at least 12 weeks off.

With our next pregnancy, if we are lucky to conceive early then our timing might work out for me to take off the last month or so of school and then have all summer off.