Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Most jobs don't offer maternity leave, and you need to save your PTO, annual leave, and sick leave. I had to save mine up for years to get enough.

Things have changed a LOT in the past 10-15 years, with many more private companies, and the federal government, offering maternity and paternity leave. Please don’t be one of the older women I’ve met saying ‘I had to suffer and make do, so should you!’

OP - one idea - marriage is a qualifying event, and it sounds like your fiance has good maternity/paternity benefits. If you’re planning to get married soon, maybe it’s worth considering if you’d be eligible if you switch to his health insurance?

Will health insurance cover STD though?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so angry.

I am a contractor with benefits, or so I thought. I've been with my job for two years - I started in July 2024. My mom unexpectedly passed a month later, and I had a really, really hard time. I wish I could've had longer than the week I was out to grieve; my mental health took an extreme nose dive for months. So, this year I decided I was going to enroll in short-term disability. Open enrollment was from 10/27/25 - 11/7/25. I had a doctor's appointment and found out I was pregnant 11/23/25. I was discussing my leave with HR, and because short-term disability is based on the last missed period or conception (just found this out today), I don't qualify. Since I'm a contractor, I don't get maternity leave, only short-term disability, so I have absolutely nothing.

I can't believe this. I am so angry that they don't go by medical confirmation. Meanwhile, my fiancé gets 8 weeks, and my brother-in-law is getting SIX months of paid leave, while his wife only gets 2 weeks. We had planned to sign a lease for a much larger place this week (we currently live in a 1-bedroom condo with two dogs), but because of this, we will now need to stay put. I'm glad we still have a place to live, but since I won't have any income for at least 6 weeks, we'll have to be even more cramped here.

I know there's more than one reason why the fertility rates are so low here, but sheesh, if we were more pro-birth, maybe people would be inclined to have children.

You knew the dates for open enrollment so why didn't you use your head for something other than a hat rack by either both you and partner using birth control and a condom or simply abstaining so you would not fall pregnant during open enrollment? I agree with the poster up thread who said you were just gaming the system and you lost.

One of the most important, if not the most important, attributes of an adult is accepting responsibility for your decisions when they turn out bad.

Who tf plans their sex life around freaking open enrollment lol.

x1000

And you do know that the only way to avoid pregnancy is abstinence, right? This is such a stupid comment.

Anonymous wrote:I really wish jobs forced you to pay into std. But to be fair to your employer, you should have had this. For my first two pregnancies I saved annual and sick leave until I had the amounts I wanted and then we got pregnant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so angry.

I am a contractor with benefits, or so I thought. I've been with my job for two years - I started in July 2024. My mom unexpectedly passed a month later, and I had a really, really hard time. I wish I could've had longer than the week I was out to grieve; my mental health took an extreme nose dive for months. So, this year I decided I was going to enroll in short-term disability. Open enrollment was from 10/27/25 - 11/7/25. I had a doctor's appointment and found out I was pregnant 11/23/25. I was discussing my leave with HR, and because short-term disability is based on the last missed period or conception (just found this out today), I don't qualify. Since I'm a contractor, I don't get maternity leave, only short-term disability, so I have absolutely nothing.

I can't believe this. I am so angry that they don't go by medical confirmation. Meanwhile, my fiancé gets 8 weeks, and my brother-in-law is getting SIX months of paid leave, while his wife only gets 2 weeks. We had planned to sign a lease for a much larger place this week (we currently live in a 1-bedroom condo with two dogs), but because of this, we will now need to stay put. I'm glad we still have a place to live, but since I won't have any income for at least 6 weeks, we'll have to be even more cramped here.

I know there's more than one reason why the fertility rates are so low here, but sheesh, if we were more pro-birth, maybe people would be inclined to have children.

You knew the dates for open enrollment so why didn't you use your head for something other than a hat rack by either both you and partner using birth control and a condom or simply abstaining so you would not fall pregnant during open enrollment? I agree with the poster up thread who said you were just gaming the system and you lost.

One of the most important, if not the most important, attributes of an adult is accepting responsibility for your decisions when they turn out bad.

Who tf plans their sex life around freaking open enrollment lol.

Anonymous wrote:I am so angry.

I am a contractor with benefits, or so I thought. I've been with my job for two years - I started in July 2024. My mom unexpectedly passed a month later, and I had a really, really hard time. I wish I could've had longer than the week I was out to grieve; my mental health took an extreme nose dive for months. So, this year I decided I was going to enroll in short-term disability. Open enrollment was from 10/27/25 - 11/7/25. I had a doctor's appointment and found out I was pregnant 11/23/25. I was discussing my leave with HR, and because short-term disability is based on the last missed period or conception (just found this out today), I don't qualify. Since I'm a contractor, I don't get maternity leave, only short-term disability, so I have absolutely nothing.

I can't believe this. I am so angry that they don't go by medical confirmation. Meanwhile, my fiancé gets 8 weeks, and my brother-in-law is getting SIX months of paid leave, while his wife only gets 2 weeks. We had planned to sign a lease for a much larger place this week (we currently live in a 1-bedroom condo with two dogs), but because of this, we will now need to stay put. I'm glad we still have a place to live, but since I won't have any income for at least 6 weeks, we'll have to be even more cramped here.

I know there's more than one reason why the fertility rates are so low here, but sheesh, if we were more pro-birth, maybe people would be inclined to have children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so angry.

I am a contractor with benefits, or so I thought. I've been with my job for two years - I started in July 2024. My mom unexpectedly passed a month later, and I had a really, really hard time. I wish I could've had longer than the week I was out to grieve; my mental health took an extreme nose dive for months. So, this year I decided I was going to enroll in short-term disability. Open enrollment was from 10/27/25 - 11/7/25. I had a doctor's appointment and found out I was pregnant 11/23/25. I was discussing my leave with HR, and because short-term disability is based on the last missed period or conception (just found this out today), I don't qualify. Since I'm a contractor, I don't get maternity leave, only short-term disability, so I have absolutely nothing.

I can't believe this. I am so angry that they don't go by medical confirmation. Meanwhile, my fiancé gets 8 weeks, and my brother-in-law is getting SIX months of paid leave, while his wife only gets 2 weeks. We had planned to sign a lease for a much larger place this week (we currently live in a 1-bedroom condo with two dogs), but because of this, we will now need to stay put. I'm glad we still have a place to live, but since I won't have any income for at least 6 weeks, we'll have to be even more cramped here.

I know there's more than one reason why the fertility rates are so low here, but sheesh, if we were more pro-birth, maybe people would be inclined to have children.

You knew the dates for open enrollment so why didn't you use your head for something other than a hat rack by either both you and partner using birth control and a condom or simply abstaining so you would not fall pregnant during open enrollment? I agree with the poster up thread who said you were just gaming the system and you lost.

One of the most important, if not the most important, attributes of an adult is accepting responsibility for your decisions when they turn out bad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Most jobs don't offer maternity leave, and you need to save your PTO, annual leave, and sick leave. I had to save mine up for years to get enough.

Things have changed a LOT in the past 10-15 years, with many more private companies, and the federal government, offering maternity and paternity leave. Please don’t be one of the older women I’ve met saying ‘I had to suffer and make do, so should you!’

OP - one idea - marriage is a qualifying event, and it sounds like your fiance has good maternity/paternity benefits. If you’re planning to get married soon, maybe it’s worth considering if you’d be eligible if you switch to his health insurance?

Will health insurance cover STD though?

Anonymous wrote:So how far along were you on November 23?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, as a PP wrote, "What you're describing is bad and the US should offer more." Absolutely true.

That said, within the confines of the system that the OP describes, she isn't entitled to coverage. Consider this hypothetical:

A family doesn't have homeowners insurance. They are on vacation from March 1 through March 31. While on vacation, they decide to purchase homeowners insurance, and do so effective March 15. However, unbeknownst to them, their house burned down on March 10. Are they entitled to coverage for the fire?

Of course not. Insurance companies don't insure retroactive risks, other than in extremely unusual circumstances.

It stinks, for sure. But all of you complaining that OP has been treated unfairly don't know what the eff you are talking about.

Pregnancy shouldn’t be a “risk”. The fathers who get to take paternity leave don’t have to wonder if their period can potentially affect their coverage. Maternal healthcare in the US is absolute crap.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Most jobs don't offer maternity leave, and you need to save your PTO, annual leave, and sick leave. I had to save mine up for years to get enough.

Things have changed a LOT in the past 10-15 years, with many more private companies, and the federal government, offering maternity and paternity leave. Please don’t be one of the older women I’ve met saying ‘I had to suffer and make do, so should you!’

OP - one idea - marriage is a qualifying event, and it sounds like your fiance has good maternity/paternity benefits. If you’re planning to get married soon, maybe it’s worth considering if you’d be eligible if you switch to his health insurance?

Anonymous wrote:I am so angry.

I am a contractor with benefits, or so I thought. I've been with my job for two years - I started in July 2024. My mom unexpectedly passed a month later, and I had a really, really hard time. I wish I could've had longer than the week I was out to grieve; my mental health took an extreme nose dive for months. So, this year I decided I was going to enroll in short-term disability. Open enrollment was from 10/27/25 - 11/7/25. I had a doctor's appointment and found out I was pregnant 11/23/25. I was discussing my leave with HR, and because short-term disability is based on the last missed period or conception (just found this out today), I don't qualify. Since I'm a contractor, I don't get maternity leave, only short-term disability, so I have absolutely nothing.

I can't believe this. I am so angry that they don't go by medical confirmation. Meanwhile, my fiancé gets 8 weeks, and my brother-in-law is getting SIX months of paid leave, while his wife only gets 2 weeks. We had planned to sign a lease for a much larger place this week (we currently live in a 1-bedroom condo with two dogs), but because of this, we will now need to stay put. I'm glad we still have a place to live, but since I won't have any income for at least 6 weeks, we'll have to be even more cramped here.

I know there's more than one reason why the fertility rates are so low here, but sheesh, if we were more pro-birth, maybe people would be inclined to have children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Most jobs don't offer maternity leave, and you need to save your PTO, annual leave, and sick leave. I had to save mine up for years to get enough.

Things have changed a LOT in the past 10-15 years, with many more private companies, and the federal government, offering maternity and paternity leave. Please don’t be one of the older women I’ve met saying ‘I had to suffer and make do, so should you!’

OP - one idea - marriage is a qualifying event, and it sounds like your fiance has good maternity/paternity benefits. If you’re planning to get married soon, maybe it’s worth considering if you’d be eligible if you switch to his health insurance?

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand. Most jobs don't offer maternity leave, and you need to save your PTO, annual leave, and sick leave. I had to save mine up for years to get enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, as a PP wrote, "What you're describing is bad and the US should offer more." Absolutely true.

That said, within the confines of the system that the OP describes, she isn't entitled to coverage. Consider this hypothetical:

A family doesn't have homeowners insurance. They are on vacation from March 1 through March 31. While on vacation, they decide to purchase homeowners insurance, and do so effective March 15. However, unbeknownst to them, their house burned down on March 10. Are they entitled to coverage for the fire?

Of course not. Insurance companies don't insure retroactive risks, other than in extremely unusual circumstances.

It stinks, for sure. But all of you complaining that OP has been treated unfairly don't know what the eff you are talking about.

Pregnancy shouldn’t be a “risk”. The fathers who get to take paternity leave don’t have to wonder if their period can potentially affect their coverage. Maternal healthcare in the US is absolute crap.

Do men get short term disability for pregnancy/birth?

Do men give birth?

Is giving birth always a requirement for maternal leave?