Are there any programs that help single expecting mothers with maternity leave?

Are you in America?

Why are you going to be out of work the last month of pregnancy?

Don’t you get paid for vacation leave?

When I waited tables some of the restaurants would find an “office” position for the pregnant front of the house folks in their last few weeks of pregnancy. Is it possible your restaurant may have something similar?

As far as getting paid for the time away from work after the birth, I don’t know of anything there. We used to throw some money together to try and get the new mom a little time, but ultimately it’s up the them and the father where possible.

Good luck with the pregnancy and the baby.

@JLeslie – Waiting tables mainly comes down to moving quickly in tight quarters, that combined with long shifts on your feet don’t generally work well when very pregnant. Very few restaurants offer hourly employees any benefits at all.

How bout FMLA?

Do you have any king of short-term disability insurance? If so, you want to check with them. Some states offer assistance through disability, but not all of them, so that would depend on which state you are in.

Have you already talked to your employeer about your maternity leave? Do you have any sick time at your work?

@jca FMLA only guarentees you a job after your leave (as long as you’ve worked for that company for a year before you go on leave and it’s a company that FMLA applies to). It does not offer or require any pay.

I was referring to more along the lines of goverment assistance. I am currently getting food stamps and Wic, but that isnt going to pay bills thats just bringing food in..which helps dont get me wrong. But Im worried about how Im going to pay rent during the time I will be out. I recently had to move out of my itty bitty studio apartment into a 1 bedroom to accomodate the baby. Its more expensive of course…been tryin to set back money but with waitressing the season hasnt started yet and im barely making enough to make it by right now.

@funkdaddy yes the restaurant im working at has offered me front of the house positions like hostessing or cashiering which im going to do if i cant stay on my feet waitressing but this also indicates a pay cut bc i wont be making tips ill be on a minimum wage pay check as of then…

and the father is not around and wont be around.

@Seaofclouds I dont have any insurance besides Medicade and that only applies to the baby and babys medical needs. Im in NC and been on the internet all afternoon looking for ideas and I keep getting turned around and nothing is helping.
And yes my boss knows I will be out…but in my position you dont get sick leave or anything like that you just dont come in etc. My job is safe I know I will have it with same hours etc when I come back. Just trying to find ideas of things that I can be provided with considering Im a single expecting mother…who DOES work…sad that i could get Walfare if i wasnt employeed but Im finding trouble getting help bc I am employeed…

@shortyma198633 Even though the father isn’t around and won’t be around, you should pursue him for child support. Unfortunately, there aren’t many things out there that will pay you money for being on maternity leave. Since you’ve already looked into welfare and know that’s not an option, perhaps you can look for charity groups in your area to see if any of them offer any assistance. Also, talk to your utility providers, they may be able to work with you on your billing. You want to do that ahead of time though, so you don’t get behind.

If I go into getting child support I will have to share custody…this is not father material nor will i have my child put in a situation where i personally wouldnt feel comfortable myself. I know I got myself into this and obviously Im going to have to figure something out I just dont know what. I havent tried walfare was just told that you have to be unemployeed to get the benefits from it and that it still takes time after that. Im not worried about electricity or anything like that I can borrow a 20 to throw at them and keep that on…im worried about the apartment situation with rent…maybe it will pick up at work and Ill be able to put some money back for the time ill be out…dont know I was just curious of any programs out there.

I know about HUD…but I already have an apartment.
I know about Section 8 but i already have an apartment and dont think they accept it here
I know about TANF/Work First but you have to HAVE the baby before you qualify and they only help like 200 a month and if Im out of work with a baby with a rent payment of 600…thats still scares me. LOST! lol

This would be a good case for welfare. What state are you in?

I thought you had to be unemployeed and in an emergency situation (meaning eviction or homeless) to get on walfare I was at the Department of Social Services today and I asked her and she said I didnt qualify for anything. Im in North Carolina..do i go somewhere else to apply for walfare? like a different building or something?

And as for even IF i went after child support that would actually mean finding this bum a** floater and if hes not employeed means…the hope for money or the wish for money…trust me I couldnt count on him for a tank of gas.

@shortyma198633 Child support and custody are NOT linked. Just because he pays child support does not mean he would get custody. If you have reasons to believe he would be a danger to the child, that can be taken into consideration. He could end up with supervised visitation. I understand your concern, but the child support is to help your child. Perhaps you can look for a family lawyer that offers free consultations in your area to figure out what’s best for your situation. I understand what you are saying about finding him and dealing with him not working, I did that with my ex-husband for years. It can be a headache, but it would help your child if you did get the extra money.

Welfare is part of the social services office. If you’ve already met with them and they’ve told you that you aren’t eligible for anything, then that should include welfare. Though, you said you are already on food stamps so obviously you are eligible for some things.

You could check with the social security office to see if they consider pregnancy a disability. Some states do and will pay a SS disability for a certain time frame after you deliver the baby.

I was also told I would get more help if I didnt even include the father in anything. So hell I dont know what to do. I just dont understand how people who dont have jobs and arent looking can get goverment help and Im just asking for temporary help while i physically CANT work and I cant get it? As a server my income is wayyyy down in the Low category and I have Nobody helping me I cant even fall back on my parents bc my father passed in December and bc of that my mother is struggling. I dont know what to do. I havent met with social security office I went to the social services office where i got the food stamps and wic stuff? Is that the same thing?

No, they are two different groups. I know it’s hard when you don’t really make enough to survive, but you make to much to get help. Perhaps you could try talking to someone else in the social services office about the welfare. Sometimes, it’s a matter of who you talk to.

@shortyma198633 Well, you will not be able to work at the time you are near delivery and afterward.

In many states the unwed father has no rights to see the child, but will be obligated to pay child support. He would have to fight for the right to see the baby.

I don’t understand why you got a more expensive apartment when you can barely meet your bills? Even people in 5,000 sq. ft. houses often keep the crib in the master bedroom the first year. It’s not like the baby needed its own room.

I do think you could get some welfare. Welfare is supposed to be there to temporarily help people. Your situation is the very type of situation pretty much everyone agrees is the proper use for welfare. For someone who wants to work, but temporarily cannot.

Would you hate the idea of living with your mom? Could you both join forces for a year so you can save some money?

Go back to Social Services and ask to speak to a supervisor. They may pursue the father for support, so just be forewarned.

@Seaofclouds: Social Security is not a state benefit, it’s a federal benefit, so “in some states, you may qualify” does not apply to SS.

@JLeslie has the best idea- go live with your mom, or if you can’t do that, find a roommate to live with, either you move in to their place or vice versa, to help share bills. The baby won’t need his/her own room for at least a year, so if you had a roommate, you could get a two bedroom and roommate has one, and you and baby have the other.

A roommate would be fine too. Maybe another mom? You could help each other with the children.

True that the state might want to actively pursue the father. They want to find him, because they prefer he pay than the state support you.

To clerify about me moving…I was already locked into a year lease thats no where near over…and i was in a studio apartment MEANING NO BEDROOM…I got a small one bedroom I didnt go large or anything or even give baby on room I have been sleeping on my couch for the last 5 months and would be suitable for that now…but I just dont have room for anything there is literally no room to even hardly walk in the studio im in and i dont have anything for the baby yet so its not me tryin to get a bigger better place its simply what i had to do to make it work..and as far as a roomate the apartment im going to wont work with a roommate there is no room the bedroom is barly big enough for me to put a double bed and a crib. Im not being selfish with the situation…Im tryin to make it work and the reason I cant move home with mom is because for one Im locked in a year lease…two i just moved in and three shes in a different part of NC which means Id lose all form of income bc id lose my job. She also has my older brother and sister living with her and they are all unemployed at the moment…so yea my mother is NOT an option if it were that easy I would have done that wayyyy long time ago..

In NYC people live in studios with a baby all the time. I understand why you wanted a bigger place, but you couldn’t afford it. I see you want to work, and figure out your best options, so I hate to sound harsh, but if you had kept the smaller place you could have been saving for your time off with the baby. Even if you get public assistance, it would be good to have some money for a rainy day.

Maybe you can qualify for section 8 housing now that you will have a baby.

And even if they went after the father and actually accomplished this (which is doubtful) hed still have to actually pay me ya know if im not wanting him to have rights hes obviously not going to pay….willingly. And with the job he claims he has he only works part time and i wouldnt be getting much of anything if anything at all.

You dont understand this isnt an NYC studio…I literally have NO ROOM….NONE absolutly no room at all its not like the glorified studios where you have a mini living room and a kitchen and a area where you would put a bed…Its the size of most ppls living rooms…all together kitchen bathroom living room and bedroom…you literally couldnt fit a crib in here…I have no where for the babys clothes…stuff anything and the apartment I moved to is only 85$ more a month its not like i jumped rent 200+ dollars. There was no way for this apartment to work hell if social services came in here right now theyd tell me it wasnt suitable for a child..and the apartment im moving to isnt much bigger it just actually has room for a crib dresser bassinet etc. Its nothing fancy i promise you this. And I didnt have to pay anything extra to move there…like i said its only 85 more a month. Im not tryin to defend myself I just want whats best for the baby and the studio apartment is not.

When I heard it was a studio I thought it would be ok…and walked in and was like….omg! Even before I was preg I had been tryin to move to a one bedroom bc there wasnt room for me alone

Section 8 has to be approved by the person renting the unit and i dont think they have that option here…where i live (southport/oak island) theres not much of anything to chose from its a really smalllll town.

@shortyma198633 My sister’s NYC studio was basically a living room, mini kitchen and bathroom. Total sq. ft less than 400, with a loft area that I could not stand up in, about 5.5 feet tall where she did have a place to hang some clothes, and a mattress, but she never slept up there. I am not talking about a big huge studio seen in the movies.

It’s true $85 is not much, I agree, but it sounds like every penny counts for you. Your infant will not know how big her apartment is.

Yeah, I don’t think you can convert your current place to section 8, I just meant maybe you are eligable and can look into it for the future.

Yea I understand about the penny pinching but at the time I thought that I would be recieving help. So didnt seem to be a big deal with only an extra 85 and yes the apartment your talkin about it what I am in without the loft lol I literally have a couch and a tv…and theres no room for anything else..Its not what I think she will like once she knows what it is its about what I need to be able to function its hard for me now at 6mth prego to get around in here and to try and set up things for the baby to just have the basic needs…Im also high risk pregnancy and they have told me that sleeping on the couch is NOT good for me in my position…(dont know clerical reasons honestly dont understand half of what they say lol) So I needed to do something and right now my clothes are in a laundry basket that i go through for work clothes etc. Its just a mess here.

That studio my sister lived in by the way for many years is worth $350,000—$400,000. Which is why many many people in NYC live in very small spaces.

Doesn’t matter, you already have the one bedroom. In the future don’t spend money before you have it is all I can say.

It really does seem like you should be able to get some help. I hope you can. Maybe Planned Parenthood or one of those Christian pro-life organizations have information for services for pregnant women and single moms? I would try Social Services again to.

I completly agree and understand what your saying I was just told that I would be able to get help for when I was out and dont understand why Im having so much trouble finding it right now. Ill def take advantage of the help once shes born just gotta think of some plan for the 9th month and month after bc being high risk im honestly surprised they arent already telling me to slow down or stop working..I always work 37+ hours a week. Im definatly going to talk to my case worker when I go to the doctor Tuesday maybe she will have more options for me considering shes in Human Resorces. (fingers crossed) If not…I guess Ima keep looking and if all else fails suck it up and hope I dont get evicted and hope I can get everything the baby needs by the time she gets here…

@shortyma198633 Maybe your coworkers will do a shower for you? Or, ask some of the other women you work with if they have items they don’t need anymore because they don’t plan to have more children.