When can I go on maternity leave?

Typically, maternity leave starts at 36 weeks and ends 6 weeks after a vaginal delivery and 8 weeks after a cesarean delivery. Maternity leave coverage varies according to your employer and your eligibility. State disability will pay for up to 4 weeks before your due date and up to 6 weeks after a normal, uncomplicated vaginal delivery. You must check if you are eligible for state disability. If you have other disability coverage you may not be eligible for state disability. Your employer, depending on the size of the company, may allow you additional time off as paid and / or unpaid leave. You must contact the HR department at your company to understand your company benefits.

What about early maternity leave?
There are unique complications to pregnancy or medical complications of pregnancy that may necessitate you to stop working sooner than 36 weeks. If this occurs or Dr. Bhanot anticipates this may occur, she will discuss your unique situation.

Where do I get the forms?
You can get the forms from you HR department at work or from the social security office. You can file for state disability for pregnancy on line at EDD.ca.gov.

Our office fee for completion of these forms is $10 per form. You should fill out your portion then drop them off with your fee. Your insurance does not pay for completion of these forms (i.e. phone calls, copying, faxing, contacting you to clarify information, changing dates when applicable, postage, etc.). These forms are copied and mailed from the office.

After I have obtained the forms, how do I fill them out?
The forms will have a patient information part that we ask you to fill out and a physician part, which we will fill out. Please fill out the patient information part BEFORE giving the form to us. After we receive your form(s), we will fill out our part and the forms will be available for pick up from our office in 3-5 business days.

When should these forms be sent in?
For the state and federal insurances/leaves, the forms should be sent in no sooner than 8 days AFTER you disability starts. If your form is received before that time, you will be penalized monetarily. For the Private insurances, it is the opposite; the forms can usually be sent in BEFORE your disability starts.

How much does disability pay?
To calculate how much you will receive for the State Disability and CFRA please go to: www.edd.ca.gov/direp/de2588.pdf . For the private insurance, please contact your HR department.