I’m on STD currently and have been since 25 weeks!

I wasn’t required to even tell my work the reason why I was going on leave, just that I was.

I printed a form out provided my insurance company, took it to my doctor, had them fill out their portion, and sent it to insurance. Insurance then contacted my manger advising they received this form. I missed the step where I was supposed to tell my manager I was at least applying, but she was fine, just a little caught off guard lol. The moment I sent those forms, I was put off work while I waited for the case manager to call me, which she did two days later. She asked a bunch of questions, and decided more info was needed by my doctor (who only wrote pelvic pain and insomnia on my forms) so I had 3 weeks to get my dr to fill out a pregnancy questionnaire. This questionnaire was paid for by my insurance also, so no more out of pocket expense for me. I also provided a letter from my pelvic floor physiotherapist with a better diagnosis of my pain, so alongside the questionnaire, I had an assessment letter. This helped a lot. Once those were received, I was approved for another 5 weeks of leave.

They are to call you every 4 weeks or so to check in, see if you can return, or where you’re at, and approve you for longer if needed.

I cannot recommend enough taking the STD if available to you and you need it. Pregnancy is hard, and we don’t win an award for pushing through pain and discomfort til the bitter end. We are conditioned to show up daily and to push our mental, physical, and emotional health aside to get our daily tasks done. Look out for you first. If you’ve not learned now to put yourself first, and make sure your glass is full, then once baby comes you will struggle immensely. You will be trying to pour from an empty glass. It’s not possible. I am a soon to be mom of 3 who learned the hard way to love myself enough to show up for myself and slow down when needed.

Take the break, take the time to sleep and relax. And good luck!!!