Increasing from £123.06 to £124.88 per week.

On 6th April 2010 Additional Paternity Leave (APL) and pay is becoming a reality. The new rules apply to parents of children born or adopted on or after 3rd April 2011.

The new rules will allow eligible fathers to take up to six months’ paternity leave to care for a child starting from when the child is 20 weeks old up until their first birthday (or in the case of adoption, once the child has been with the adoptive parents for 20 weeks up until the first anniversary of being placed), provided the mother/primary carer has returned to work.
Fathers will be required to give employers at least eight weeks' notice of their intention to take this new Additional Paternity Leave.

An employee will need to provide a signed declaration both from themselves and also the mother/primary carer confirming their details and intentions to return to work, as well as the child’s details.  Eligible fathers will be paid at the statutory rate for the period of APL which falls during the 39 week SMP period. 

From April 2009, you can claim a one-off, tax-free payment from H M Revenue & Customs (HMRC) if you're a mum-to-be who's at least 25 weeks pregnant. The payment is called 'Health in Pregnancy Grant' and is to help you prepare for the birth of your baby.

Your due date needs to be on or after 6 April 2009 for you to make a claim.

Who can get Health in Pregnancy Grant?

You can get the grant if all of the following apply:
If you are 25 weeks pregnant or more
your expected date of delivery is on or after 6 April 2009
you have been given health advice from a midwife or doctor

you may not get the grant if:
you are subject to immigration control or
you are not present, ordinarily resident or have a right to reside in the UK

How much do you get?

The grant will be a one-off payment of £190 for each pregnancy. It will not affect your tax credits or any other benefits. Everyone will get the same amount – you will not be asked about your income.

How do you claim?

Get a claim form from your midwife or doctor any time from 1 January 2009 onwards - as long as you're at least 25 weeks pregnant and your expected delivery date is on or after 6 April 2009. Your midwife or doctor must fill in their part of the form and sign it before giving it to you.

You will need to get your claim form to HMRC within 31 days of your midwife or doctor signing the form - otherwise you may miss out on the grant.

You can get a free text message or email reminder to help you remember to claim if you are not 25 weeks pregnant yet.

How is the Grant paid?

HMRC will pay the grant directly into your bank or building society account any time from April 2009 onwards. Don’t worry if you don't have an account - any bank or building society will help you open one.

http://campaigns2.direct.gov.uk/money4mum2be/en/

Taking Folic Acid before conception can help reduce the risk of serious birth defects.

Getting enough Folic Acid – even before conception and especially during early pregnancy – is one of the most important things you can do to prevent serious birth defects.

What Is Folic Acid?

Folic acid, sometimes called folate, is a B vitamin (B9) found mostly in leafy green vegetables like kale and spinach, orange juice, and enriched grains. RDD for pregnant women is 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) per day prior to conception and during early pregnancy. This can reduce the risk of babies being born with a serious defects such as Spins Bifida- a (a birth defect involving incomplete development of the brain and spinal cord) by up to 70%.

These defects occur during the first 28 days of pregnancy at which point you may not even know that you are pregnant.

It is advised that women of childbearing age start taking folic acid supplements. Only half of all pregnancies are planned so just to be sure it is worth taking the Folic Acid supplement asap.