Having a baby changes your life for ever.  When you are close to due date, it is important for the mom-to-be to be able to take some time ” off” to prepare physically, emotionally and psychologically.  Of course you can take all the classes you want to prepare yourself for labor, for nursing, and baby 101 course to learn the basics of baby care. And this is important. What wouldn’t you prepare yourself of the most important person in your life and be ready for him or her?

You are expecting and for the next nine months, your body is going to change a lot while your life seems to keep going on… the same way with no major changes. Of course your body is changing, your belly is growing and your baby is forming herself in utero while you keep busy at your daily activities.  If you are an active mom-to-be, you will wake up every day, go to work, and pretty much live your life the same way you have had pre-pregnancy. If you are not working, you are very blessed to be able to take some rest, prepare, exercise, read, learn and be as ready as you can.

When you are getting closer to your due date, you may feel some changes in additional to the physical changes. Emotionally, you are more vulnerable and sensitive. The hormones’ cocktail your body is cooking is impacting you. The quality of your sleep decreases with many round trips to the restroom at night. You don’t breathe well. You have heart burn, you sweat more. Your body is heavy. You can not see your feet anymore. It is harder to move and walk. I highly recommend an expectant mom to think about the importance of transitioning from her daily-working schedule to a “take-off” schedule to purely change pace and prepare both your mind and boy for your baby.

Imagine how it feels to be at work, 9 months pregnant on Monday morning, trying to finish all the tasks and projects …when your water breaks on Monday night… you give birth and are back home on Thursday morning with your baby ! this can feel great ! this also feels very stressful and sudden. I believe that it is critical for a mom-to-be to take few days off, a week off to prepare, to take  break , to disconnect from the daily busy work reality and to be bad etc purely transition into motherhood even before baby is born.

In Europe, maternity leave starts 6-8 weeks before your due date so that you can rest, prepare, enjoy your pregnancy especially when your body starts to be heavier and it is less and less comfortable to be pregnant in weeks 36, 37th…etc

If you can take a break and afford it, take that break.