pregnant again! have a disabled son aged 4

B-J-D

hi iv just found out im having another baby and we are very excited!!

when talking with my husband last night about our finances we wondering if there was anything i could claim this time round even though i dont work ie maternity pay ect.?
we get high rate care and mobilty for our son so i recieve carers allowance too.

can anyone shed some light please? thanks

olias

Firstly, congratulations on your pregnancy!:)

...But why would you think you would get paid for being pregnant just because you have a disabled son?

Olias

Old_Git

I think the OP is saying she wont get maternity and simply wants to know what if anything she may be entitled to .
Oh and congratulations on
A having a husband ( not common on MSE ) and
B being up the duff .

mucklebones

I had always wanted 2 children, but my daughter has high needs and it wouldnt be at all practical for us. Infact I wouldnt cope with another child. Dont think Im getting at you just genuinely interested, are you not worried considering the high care of your son? My daughter is 4 and if I found out I was pregnant I would be !!!!!!!! it lol.

Congratulations on your pregancy, I wish you well.

nlj1520

CONGRATULATIONS!
I only have one (disabled) child but friends with a disabled child who went on to have other children found that although there were no additional financial benefits that could be claimed, they were able to get more respite help if they wanted it to enable them to spend undistracted time with each child. We are talking a long time ago though, my son is now 19!
I was told by my son's physio that she thought (she stressed it was only a personal view) that it was good for the 'balance' in a family to go on to have another child or more children where the first was disabled. It stopped ALL the focus being on the one child which was good for both parents and the firstborn.

cosmic-dust

B-J-D wrote: »

hi iv just found out im having another baby and we are very excited!!

when talking with my husband last night about our finances we wondering if there was anything i could claim this time round even though i dont work ie maternity pay ect.?
we get high rate care and mobilty for our son so i recieve carers allowance too.

can anyone shed some light please? thanks

You are not entitled to anything extra, once the child has arrived you will of course be able to claim the usual child tax credits and child benefit.

B-J-D

thanks for the comments

muckles- iv always wanted a big family and in the first few year believed it wouldnt be possible as we didnt know what the future would bring but i am very very lucky to have a big hands on family. my dh works long days mon to fri but my son has 3 sets of grandparents who can look after him ans deal with all his cares so its not all left to me. my mother in law his him to sleep once a week. my mum comes everyday around work shifts and my grandma comes every morning to do housework while i get him ready then stays to read and play with him so i can get a shower. this has worked for us since he was born.

we have also beeen lucky enough that my husdands wages pay all the bills and food ect so all the dla i get is for him, toys sensory things, also we have had a wet room put in and in may a stairlift paid for ourselfs befor the scounger words come out! he can walk but needs full support of furnature or my hand so we have banisters all over an little steps for gettin into bed, on to a chair ect.

we are as organised as we can be, we had genetic testa after son was born and its nothing we have, so in may we decided to come off the pill and leave it in ftaes hands, we wouldnt have minded not having another but we cuaght on in the first month so iv took it as it was ment to be

nlj, we dont have resbite as my family is too good to us, and yes alot of people have said that to us too

cosmic thanks

zaksmum

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

Why not call the Daily Mail and tell them of your plight? They might suggest a few useful tips.

And if you need more hand outs then perhaps you should have though more carefully about the affordability of this new baby?

Is there any need to be so nasty?

GlasweJen

Maternity pays and allowances are there to help a new mum take time off work to give birth and look after a baby for the first few months. As you're not working then you won't get anything like that.

There are no specific pregnancy benefits except ESA using one rule but as your son is 4 I'm assuming you won't have paid enough national insurance to qualify and your husbands wage will stop you getting the income based version.

Once the baby is here you'll get tax credits and child benefits for him/her but the tax credits wont be as substantial as for your son as the new baby hopefully won't be disabled.

There may be help available from social services (not financial). Maybe a few hours placement at a special needs nursery for your son so you can plan maternity related appointments.

mucklebones

B-J-D wrote: »

thanks for the comments


nlj, we dont have resbite as my family is too good to us, and yes alot of people have said that to us too

cosmic thanks

This is why I think I question how people will cope, I assume everyone is in the same position as me with no extra help other than my partner. Familys should be like yours, its fantastic. I really wish you well with your pregnancy and new baby.

saving_pennies

Congratulations!!

Re benefits, check this page out:

http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/Pages/Benefitshome.aspx