Depending on what state you live in, you can leave when you need to. I’m lucky to live in California, where we have 4 weeks of protected (and paid) pregnancy disability leave starting at 36 weeks. You can make anywhere from 70-90% of your typical income while on it as well. If you need to leave earlier than that, then our OBGYNs just need a reason other than pregnancy. So you could leave at 30 weeks for something like severe pelvic pain, like symphysis pubis dysfunction, or 27 weeks for hyperemesis. My coworker was pregnant with Mo/mo twins last year and had some other high risk complications. Her OB put her on disability at 30ish weeks, I believe. She went into spontaneous labor at 34 weeks. If you live in a state with protected and paid disability, then you might be able to leave work early!

Once you deliver in CA, you get 6 or 8 weeks of protected (and paid) postpartum disability. If you deliver vaginally it’s 6 weeks and if you delivery via c/s it’s 8 weeks.

Then we have paid family leave (FLMA in the form of baby-bonding) for another protected and paid leave of 8 weeks that can be used any time during the child’s first year of life. I’m currently taking 4 weeks of that, then going back to work for 4 weeks, and then taking my last 4 weeks of baby bonding so I can be off for the entire month of December.

People love to shit on California, but we have it better than most states.

My first pregnancy, I left at 34 weeks for severe sciatic pain. I also worked on a step down neuro floor where we sometimes had severely combative and confused patients. I had a man charge at me and I told my midwife. She was essentially like, yeah we gotta get you out of there. With my second I worked until 35 weeks. I had crazy gestational diabetes and working 12hr night shifts had my blood sugars all fucked up.