Maternity Leave Financial Help

I'm a single mom too. For my maternity leave I took out a loan against my 401K at work... paid it back $25 a pay check over 5 years (well, actually I paid it off early, but that was the original terms)

And since I had a C-section, the short term disability from work also kicked in some

Your profile says you already have a 5 year old and are separated from your husband so not sure why there wasn't some planning here. If you're only separated, perhaps your husband should be helping with the bills. Not sure why taxpayers should.

You can go to your state offices and apply for financial assistance. It will be a few hundred dollars per month but it will help. Then you can also file for food stamps too. That will really help since you'll need to have food. You should have some community resources for financial assistance too. There may be agencies that will pay a portion of your utilities or give out free food to you too.

WIC is a program through the health department that will give pregnant women food that will help the fetus grow strong and healthy. Then when the baby is born it will still give you some free foods but the biggest thing is formula. Unless you are going to breast feed, in that case you'll still get some food to help you keep your milk supply strong and your body healthy. As the baby gets older you'll start to get dry cereals to be mixed with formula then 100% juice, later on after the baby is 1 year old you'll get several gallons of milk per month, peanut butter, whole cheese, eggs, bread, fresh fruit, dry cereal like Rice Chex, Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, etc...lots of good stuff.

All you have to do is apply. These things will be free to you. Once you return to work you can also get free child care, or at least the cost should be minimal to you.

There are many many programs out there for a person who needs it. Please go fill out the paper work so you can get started on it sooner than later.

You should be able to receive Disability, If you need to you can also apply for WIC,EBT or Cash Aid just untill you return to work...Good Luck to you and congrats on your baby

At your hospital, there should be a financial/budget person you speak to while you are pregnant that explains all the bills and what you can expect to pay.

When I met with mine, she mentioned a program to help with money while you are not at work - there was an income eligibility requirement.

What about child support from the baby's father?

I think you can get disability, but I am not sure. Maybe look into it. You also might qualify for TANF, call you department of human services...self sufficiency office and ask.

Call your local social services office and schedule an appointment with a social worker. This is probably the most direct/accurate way to get this information! You could also call the hospital where you plan to deliver and ask to speak with a social worker there.