Take Leave Before the Birth or Save Days for After? How to Plan Maternity Leave for the Most Time With Your Baby

Once the third trimester starts, a lot of working moms start counting days on the calendar. “When should I start my leave?” Start early and you worry about having fewer days after the birth. Start late and you worry about your waters breaking in the middle of a meeting, or being too exhausted to cope.

Maternity leave for private-sector employees in Thailand is now 120 days. Let’s go through the latest entitlements in plain terms first, then plan how to split your days so you get the most time with your baby, without pushing your body too hard.

How many days of leave do you get now, and how many are paid?

Quick Answer: Up to 120 days per pregnancy, including holidays. The employer pays wages for up to 60 days, and the Social Security Fund pays a work-absence benefit of 50% of average wages for another 90 days to insured workers who meet the conditions.

The Labour Protection Act (No. 9) B.E. 2568 (2025) took effect on December 7, 2025, raising maternity leave from the old 98 days to 120 days. Here’s a summary of birth-related entitlements as published by the Senate and the Government Public Relations Department.

Entitlement	Details
Maternity leave (mom)	Up to 120 days per pregnancy, including holidays within the leave
Wages from employer	At the normal working-day wage, up to 60 days
Social Security payment	50% of average wages for 90 days (for insured workers who have paid contributions for 5 months within the 15 months before the birth)
Social Security childbirth lump sum	15,000 baht per birth
Baby sick after the birth	Up to 15 more consecutive days, on 50% pay, with a medical certificate
Spouse leave to help with the baby	Up to 15 days on full pay, to be used within 90 days of the birth

The Social Security payment is calculated from the wage base used for contributions, which has a cap, and there are conditions on how many times you can claim. If you’re not sure how much you’ll get, call the Social Security hotline 1506. Read the claim steps in How to claim Social Security childbirth benefits.

Why the days you take before the birth matter so much

Quick Answer: Because maternity leave is one block. The 120 days run continuously from the first day of leave, so every day used before the birth is a day taken away from your time with the baby.

This example makes it clearer:

Start leave before due date	Days left after birth, approx.
4 weeks (28 days)	92 days (about 3 months)
2 weeks (14 days)	106 days (about 3.5 months)
1 week (7 days)	113 days
Start on the day of birth	120 days (about 4 months)

These figures assume the baby arrives on the due date. If the birth is later than the due date, more days get used before the birth. If it’s earlier, more days are left afterward.

Something else people often forget: the days the employer pays (up to 60) generally run from the first day of leave. If you start early, your fully paid days get used up before the birth, and the last part of your leave will have no wages from your employer. Plan your household budget with that in mind.

So at how many weeks pregnant should you start leave?

Quick Answer: There’s no single right week. It depends on your health, your type of work and your doctor’s advice. If the pregnancy is normal and the work isn’t heavy, many moms start leave about 1 to 2 weeks before the due date.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What does your doctor say? Ask directly at a third-trimester prenatal visit: “Until about when can I keep working?”
• How demanding is your job? Standing for long periods, lifting, night shifts or long daily travel may mean stopping earlier than a desk job.
• How do you get to work? Driving through over an hour of traffic, taking the BTS/MRT at rush hour, or can you work from home?
• Can you work from home? Some companies allow working from home in the final weeks, which helps stretch your working days without getting too tired.
• Can your body cope? If you can’t sleep, have bad back pain or a lot of swelling, don’t push yourself. Your body matters far more than the number of leave days.

Are there ways to save more maternity leave for after the birth?

Quick Answer: Yes. Use other types of leave to cover the time before the birth, or add them on after, depending on what you agree with your employer.

• Use annual leave in the last week before the birth, or add it on after maternity leave ends. Talk to your manager ahead of time.
• Take sick leave when you’re actually sick. If you have symptoms in pregnancy and your doctor tells you to rest with a medical certificate, use sick leave as you’re entitled. There’s no need to start maternity leave early.
• Work from home or reduce your workload in the final stretch, if your company is flexible.
• Take extra unpaid leave as agreed with your company, if you want to be with your baby for longer than 4 months.
• Have dad use his 15 days of leave when you need help most, such as the first week home from the hospital, or when mom goes back to work.

Some companies offer better benefits than the law, such as full pay beyond 60 days or extra parental leave. Check your employee handbook or ask HR clearly before you plan. You may get more than you think.

What do you need to sort out with HR and your manager?

Quick Answer: Tell them your due date early, agree on a tentative start date for leave, prepare someone to cover your work, and have a backup plan in case the baby comes early.

A short checklist to work through in the third trimester:

1. Give your due date and the date you plan to start leave in writing (email is fine).
2. Ask HR about pay during leave, any extra benefits, and the documents you need.
3. Write a handover summary for whoever is covering your work. Have it done at least 2 weeks before your planned leave, in case the baby comes early.
4. Prepare your Social Security documents to claim the childbirth payment and the work-absence benefit.
5. Get your hospital bag ready from around 36 weeks (see the hospital bag checklist).

What if you’re a government official, a freelancer or an online seller?

Quick Answer: The 120-day maternity leave above applies to employees under the Labour Protection Act. Other groups follow different rules.

• Government officials and state employees follow government agency leave regulations, not the Labour Protection Act. Both the number of days and the pay are different. Ask your agency’s HR department directly.
• Social Security members under Section 39 or Section 40 (voluntary and informal-worker schemes) have different childbirth and compensation benefits from Section 33 (regular employees). Check with Social Security on 1506.
• Freelancers and online sellers have no legal leave entitlement, so you have to plan your income and work ahead yourself. Let your clients know in advance when you’ll take a break, and set aside a savings cushion.

Stop work earlier than planned if…

Quick Answer: If your doctor advises rest, or you have unusual symptoms, always listen to your body before your leave plan.

• Your doctor tells you to rest or cut back on activity, for example because of high blood pressure or a risk of preterm birth
• You have regular, rhythmic contractions before 37 weeks, your waters break, or you’re bleeding. Go to the hospital right away
• You have a severe headache, blurred vision, or sudden swelling of your face and hands (this could be preeclampsia)
• The baby is moving less than usual

After the birth, don’t forget the next entitlements, like the Social Security child allowance, and registering the birth within 15 days.

Honestly, no leave plan works out 100% exactly, because babies tend to have their own schedule. Make your main plan, have a little backup plan, and let your body and your doctor help decide the rest.