Due February 2016

Oh my word Nix I'm so sorry to hear about little beanie as well as about your grandma, my condolences. We are all praying and hoping that little beanie will come out a fighter and a healthy new born and that everything will be ok. Thinking of you

Good morning Nix, this is really terrible news. Love and condolences to you and your family. I will think of you and baby Nix and we hope he becomes better. We also had a terrible couple of days with bad news coming in all around. So I do understand. Positive thinking is key now! I am seeing our baby for our 20 weeks scan today. Thinking of you and all other mommies!

Hi Nix, so sorry to hear about your gran - but here is a little theory that I have, which might bring you comfort or it might sound crazy to you.... But in my experience everytime God takes a soul he replaces it with another, so your little baba is the replacement and how special does that make baby?! We found out I was pregnant the day after my uncle passed away and my sister in law had het baby only a few months after my gran passed on... So I look at the children in our family as reminders of the special people we no longer have around

Then secondly, I am sorry that you got such worrying news during the scan, and I am not going to say its going to be alright, because after our scare at 15 weeks I know how hectic the worry can become in a very short space of time... But I will pray that little baby nix will be just fine, the medical field is truly amazing, and I am sure that they will be able to fix the issue when baby is born. And so what if you end up having a slightly different start to all the others after birth, babies are fighters and that is what my sister - a NICU sister at Wilgeheuwel tought me. They dont give up and you should do exactly the same.


Hugs for you!!!

I have had a really terrible day, probably the worst yet in my life. My gran passed away this afternoon after being in the admitted to hospital last Friday and in the ICU since early Saturday morning. She had congestive heart failure caused by pneumonia.

Then we had our 21 week fetal assessment scan...Some worrying news that our baby boy has dilation in a section of his bowel. It could be caused by a number of things but no way of knowing for certain. Basically it looks like there is a blockage or narrowing which is causing that section to become distended with fluid. The doc says there is a small chance it could go away on its own but more likely that it will stay that way or worsen as the pregnancy progresses. I am going for another scan in 2 weeks so he can see if anything changes. There isn't anything that can be done until he is born so I have to try to remain positive about it. It's hard but I have all the support I could ever need so we will be ok no matter what.

On a positive note, baby is doing well in all other aspects.

wow @BabyT - those are really nice options from your company. My company is also global and each country has their own policy, in SA the policy is 4 months @75% of your salary across the board for everyone. I am taking 3 and then regular leave for the other month, but will total to 4 months. The UIF doesnt cover my whole salary so taking regular leave for one of the 4 months helps a little with the blow of not having two full salaries when we have the new baby.

I have a friend who works for vodacom, they get 6 months fully paid with 6 months after you are back at something like 80% of your paycheck for half day work which I think is great, but I am happy with what we get here

@Mother Niki, legally a company is obligated to give you four months maternity leave (irrespective of the industry) and you have to take 6 weeks off as a absolute minimum should you decide to go back to work earlier - but then you need a note from your doctor stating that you are physically in a condition to work.

The four months is a guarantee, but unfortunately according to our BCEA it can be unpaid - so if a company decides to pay you while you are on maternity leave this is a bonus and absolutely to their own discretion. Maternity leave can be unpaid irrespective of how long you have been in to companies employment.

But if you do not receive 100% of your salary you can claim UIF - this will only cover between 35 - 57% depending on your current salary (the more you earn the less the % that you will receive will be).

I would however not suggest that you start looking for another job until after your pregnancy and maternity leave, its really not fair to the new company not to tell them you are pregnant, and lets be honest no one is going to hire someone that will only work for four months before taking a mandatory four months off.

The company I work for has two different policies, so this is legal - 1.) If you are in management you have a option of 3 months @ 100% of your salary or 2) 6 months at 33% salary, the second one is for the rest of the staff as well and then you can take a optional extra 2 months unpaid leave. So I will be taking the 3 months and then a further 5 weeks leave....

But we have a nice perk as well - I get 6 days leave pre and 6 days post maternity leave to be used at my discretion on days when I need to see my gynea or days when baby needs to go for their vacs which is rather nice I think.

My two cents worth hahahaha...

@Mother Niki, I'm not 100% sure but as far as I know if they cannot produce a policy they must give everyone the same benefits. Though being an international company the rules might differ.
At my husbands company they will give paid maternity leave if you sign a contract agreeing not to leave the company within a specified time frame. Maybe they do something like this and that is why benefits differ from person to person.
I would suggest that you phone someone at the CCMA and find out what your rights are regarding this matter - especially as you have been with your company for almost 3 years.