The 2025 California Maternity Leave Guide + Video: Know Your Rights, Get Paid, Stress Less
✓ Save Hours of Research
✓ Easy, Step-by-Step Guide
✓ Backed by 100+ Hours of Research
✓ Fact-checked by EDD
🔍 What’s Inside the Guide
A step-by-step roadmap to getting paid and protecting your job while taking leave in California.
- Side-by-side breakdown of DI, PFL, PDL, CFRA, and FMLA
- Exact timelines for birthing, non-birthing, and adoptive parents
- Special sections for:
💼 Teachers
💻 Self-employed/independent contractors - Disability extension strategies (including for PPD, C-section recovery, anxiety, etc.)
- Two detailed checklists (birthing + non-birthing parents)
- Direct links to claim forms, premium calculators, and support numbers
👨👩👧 Who This Guide Is For
Whether you're a:
- Birthing parent unsure how long you can afford to be home
- Non-birthing parent wanting bonding time
- Teacher without employer disability insurance
- Self-employed business owner with no HR department
This guide is for anyone in California trying to make sense of leave laws and get paid while protecting their job and benefits.
**Note: for teachers and self-employeed business owners wanting to make use of disability insurance, it is for the most part required that they are enrolled with a DI provider BEFORE they get pregnant.
✨ Why It’s Different
Most guides are confusing or written like legal documents.
This one is:
- Expert-reviewed and fact-checked
- Written by moms, for parents like you
- Clear, conversational, and no legalese
- Updated for 2025
- Designed to save you hours of research and second-guessing
❓ FAQs Answered in the Guide
- How do I combine PDL + DI + PFL + CFRA to maximize time off?
- When should I notify my employer—and how?
- What if I need more time for recovery or postpartum depression?
- How does this apply if I’m self-employed?
- Can both parents take time off—and how do we split it?
This 38-page, in-depth guide is the result of 100+ hours of fact-checked research into California's State Disability Program and labor laws to create a digestible, easy-to-understand handbook for maximizing your paid maternity or paternity leave while keeping your job and health insurance.
PREGNANCY = DISABILITY in California! There is so much to learn and that you need to know to get all the benefits.
Here's why this is BEST Handbook for planning your Maternity Leave:
- Info on CA DI, PFL, CFRA & PDL all in ONE place - no need to jump from website to website gathering info
PLUS!
- Learn how to STACK benefits properly to MAXIMIZE your time
- Includes a FREE 30-Minute Explainer Video on: How to Get 6 Months PAID + Keep your Job & Health Insurance
- ALL THE INFO on Paternity Leave! We did NOT forget the Dads and Non-Birthing Parents!
- Info for those who are self-employed
- We cover options for TEACHERS as well and others who don't qualify for SDI benefits
- Checklists on everything you need to do
- Timelines on WHEN to do it in different scenarios
- LINKS to EVERYTHING + Phone numbers and a DIRECT email to EDD for your very-specific situation-based questions.
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After having my first baby, I was hit with a reality I wasn't prepared for. Society isn't built for moms.
This is why I created Raising Mama. I saw a vast, empty space where support and understanding should have been, and I knew something had to change. Raising Mama is a call to arms for all mothers feeling overlooked and undervalued by a system that should be lifting them up.
Our bamboo baby pajamas stand at the forefront of this mission. They're more than soft, eco-friendly clothing for your baby. They're a symbol, a message directly from me to you, saying, "I see you, I hear you, and you're part of something bigger."
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For each pajama you purchase, we donate $1 to Postpartum Support International (PSI) to promote awareness, prevention and treatment of mental health issues related to childbearing in every country worldwide.
Raising Mama Podcast
One of the fastest growing pregnancy & postpartum podcasts in the United States, Raising Mama Podcast is the HOME of mom empowerment.
Shedding light on the under-discussed challenges of motherhood, including maternity leave, breastfeeding struggles, anxiety & depression, societal values, our podcast aims to validate, inform, and empower expecting and new mothers to thrive during transformational journey of motherhood.
Every Stitch Tells a Story
After having my first baby, I was hit with a reality I wasn't prepared for. Society isn't built for moms.
This is why I created Raising Mama. I saw a vast, empty space where support and understanding should have been, and I knew something had to change. Raising Mama is a call to arms for all mothers feeling overlooked and undervalued by a system that should be lifting them up.
Our bamboo baby pajamas stand at the forefront of this mission. They're more than soft, eco-friendly clothing for your baby. They're a symbol, a message directly from me to you, saying, "I see you, I hear you, and you're part of something bigger."
Every Pajama Gives Back
For each pajama you purchase, we donate $1 to Postpartum Support International (PSI) to promote awareness, prevention and treatment of mental health issues related to childbearing in every country worldwide.
Raising Mama Podcast
One of the fastest growing pregnancy & postpartum podcasts in the United States, Raising Mama Podcast is the HOME of mom empowerment.
Shedding light on the under-discussed challenges of motherhood, including maternity leave, breastfeeding struggles, anxiety & depression, societal values, our podcast aims to validate, inform, and empower expecting and new mothers to thrive during transformational journey of motherhood.
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