Leave? Leave what?

As I've mentioned before, a lot of my friends are pregnant or hoping to get pregnant in the next year or so. I've had friends ask me about what kind of leave I took with Baby Z, so I thought I would share some information here too. There are various kinds of leaves and associated benefits. Of course, each company has different policies and benefits, so what I'm sharing here is the state-sponsored benefits. This only applies to California, although there are other states (Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island) with similar programs.

State Disability Insurance benefits
You're eligible for SDI benefits if you are unable to work for a medical reason. For pregnancy, a typical leave is one month prior to delivery and 6 weeks after delivery. Your doctor must agree that you shouldn't be working. Side note: Most employers are required to take the state disability insurance out of your paycheck -- you may have seen it on your W-2. This is your money that you get back now! Take advantage!

Special Circumstances
Those who are self-employed, you can elect to purchase the State Disability Insurance, but if you're reading this now and it's the first time you've heard of it, I'm guessing you didn't "elect" to participate.
For School employees, it looks like there are restrictions if your time off occurs during a school recess.

Next step? Go here to the Employment Development Department for California.
Note, they tell you: "Pregnancy-related disability claims should NOT be submitted until after the eighth day following the date your doctor certifies you are disabled." That means that the first 7 days you're not working, you won't be paid. I used sick leave to cover those days.

Here is the State Disability Insurance Claim form. You fill out part of it and then give it to your doctor to fill out and send in.
Here is the Salary table that tells you the weekly benefit amount, which is based on your regular salary.
Here are some more answers for Pregnancy related disability.

After your 6 weeks with vaginal delivery or longer with a C-section (it was 8 weeks for me) is up, you can move on to Family Leave and the Family leave benefits also available from the state. If you already received the State Disability checks, the state sends you a family leave application automatically with your last SDI check.

Family Leave
"Paid Family Leave is unemployment compensation disability insurance paid to workers who suffer a wage loss when they take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or bond with a new minor child." This includes fathers! It also applies to parents who adopt. You can take up to 12 weeks of leave from work (over a 12-month period) without the risk of losing your position. Also, you get up to 6 weeks of pay out of the 12 weeks. You can take the time off any time in the 12 months after the birth of the child. The 12 weeks don't have to be consecutive.
If you already used the disability benefits, you don't have to wait any additional time for the Family leave benefits to kick in. Fathers (just like Moms above with the disability) have to wait 7 days before they can get the family leave benefits. That is, after they have not worked for 7 days, they can apply for the family leave benefits and start to get paid.
Here is some info at the EDD website on Paid Family Leave.
To request a form to apply for the benefits, call 1-877-BE-THERE or request a form online.

Hope this helps! Note: please treat this information as you would a casual conversation over coffee (decaf for you expecting Moms). Be sure to check on the information for yourself.