ermmm..i think im pregnant..

Newbie06

Congratulations and Good Luck,,,, I'm hoping I will be as well !!!!

code-a-holic

Congratulations! BEing a mum is amazing, you'll enjoy it!

You asked about if you would be entiled to anything and i cant se any replies in that respect.
Well.... Have you evr paid N.I. contributions? Go to the job centre once you have yout MATB1 certifcate (around 28weks) and you should find out if you can get maternity allowance. A wekly payment for about a total of 9 weks i think it is. Or you may evn get incapacity benefit if you cant get the other.
After baby arrives you can get Child tax credit and working tax credit. Look at inland revenue site! You will also be entitled to the sure start maternity grant (form available at job centre). You can apply once you have got your tax credits confirmed. You will get a lump £500. It is to help you buy baby things - does not get paid back.
Also child benefit at £17.50 a week.

Hope that helps a bit.

Again - best wishes for the coming months. I have 3 under 4's, youngest being 4 months and i love it.

Js_Other_Half

code-a-holic wrote:

You asked about if you would be entiled to anything and i cant se any replies in that respect.
Well.... Have you evr paid N.I. contributions? Go to the job centre once you have yout MATB1 certifcate (around 28weks) and you should find out if you can get maternity allowance. A wekly payment for about a total of 9 weks i think it is. Or you may evn get incapacity benefit if you cant get the other.
After baby arrives you can get Child tax credit and working tax credit. Look at inland revenue site! You will also be entitled to the sure start maternity grant (form available at job centre). You can apply once you have got your tax credits confirmed. You will get a lump £500. It is to help you buy baby things - does not get paid back.
Also child benefit at £17.50 a week.

I think there'll be benefits Emma can't access because she is in training - it depends on what you are classed as?
However, I do remember my SIL claiming stuff when my brother was doing his Masters, so that is always worth investigating.
A trip to CAB or your local welfare benefits office may well be in order (and I don't mean the DSS) - Oh just had a thought, does your student union have a welfare office? They can be really helpful in these circumstances. Obviously this only applies if you are doing the nursing route via degree.

black-saturn

I still claimed benefits when I was pregnant and a full time student at the age of 23 so I think she will still be able to.

emma_b_4

i dont know whether its different as i get NHS bursary ? i get 5837per yr NHS bursray so cant claim things like student loans. i do hope i get some extra £ it would be a huge help. im presuming my OH will get some tax credits (working tax i think?) and im hoping my burary may even go up, altho this is means tested and we never get anything if its means tested!

i am feeling happy now its sinking in now

docs in the morning i havent got the folic acid yet but just had a huge bowl of brocollis carrots fish and lotsa spinch (good source>?) will get some tomoro.

egypt, i really dont think we will go as we owe £750 on it and that £ could got to a much better use.....

black-saturn

You will get child benefit no matter how much you earn.

Js_Other_Half

Have a look at http://www.entitledto.com/default.asp as a starting point for what you may be able to claim.

Spendless

Emma -weren't you working prior to becoming a student? If you've worked at least 26 weeks(don't have to be consecutive) out of the 66 before baby is due and earned at least £30 a week in those weeks you can claim Maternity Allowance. It's what I got I had a part-time job didn't earn enough to pay tax or NI but got MA cos I met the above criteria. Another MSE member claimed this after I told her about it.

My 2 are both March born and I was always greatful I only di the beginning of pregnancy in the summer months so don't know what to say about Egypt. Can you claim on your insurance as someone else has mentioned. You could have a UK break here if you wanted a just the two of you hol before baby arrives. We did this went on a weekend away before we had our eldest.

Don't know what you intend to do about your course when baby is here, but if you're thinking of continuing it have you looked into any help with childcare costs you may get cos you're a student? You could ask on the student board to see if anyone knows.

Karnam

black-saturn wrote:

I still claimed benefits when I was pregnant and a full time student at the age of 23 so I think she will still be able to.

it really depends on NI contributions. i recieved nothing as i had been at uni for two years and hadnt paid more than 4 wks worth of NI.

in terms of other benefits, you can get income support if you are a single parent, but there is also a parent's learner's allowance which is around 1,500 a year, its a grant so you dont pay it back. you also get 85% of childcare paid for (assuming you're at uni) upto something like 160 or 170 pounds a week i cant quite remember. some unis also have special student parent funds, mine doesn't, but it does have one of those emergency funds loans.

ive been told i dont get anything like income support or jobseekrs or anything like that. just bog standard CTC, we even earn too much for WTC (at only 18k to feed 3 me OH and baby). i believe you can claim housing benefit as a student, if you are normally eligible.

the best person to ask is the financial support at your university and the LEA.

ribenagirl

Hello and congratulations! I'm 22 weeks pregnant myself with our first and loving it now I can feel the baby wriggling and kicking, but I was really scared to start with as it seemed like such a big thing, even though it was planned (well, semi-planned, don't want to take ALL the fun out of trying )

We told parents straight away, but wished we hadn't as they found it really difficult to keep it to themselves. I was then forced to tell work when I had to go for an emergency scan at 6 weeks. If I had had the opportunity to, I would have waited until after the 12 week scan to tell most other people just to be sure, but I do know how when you're first pregnant, 12 weeks seems like a million zillion light years away and it's such a big thing to have to keep to yourself!

As for Egypt, well, we went on holiday to Jordan, which is next door, a month ago. It was totally fine, no tummy bugs (we were very careful with water etc) and just took extra precautions, like wearing flight socks and covering up a bit more in the sun. I know money is an issue but you'll look back when you're like 30 weeks pregnant and really wish you'd gone when you'd had the chance! The first trimester, you can feel really tired and narky and I found myself dreaming longingly of the chance to lie about a bit in the sun and not have to DO anything Go, if you feel able to! Oh - and good luck with your pregnancy!