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Preparing for a New Child

A young couple holding a smiling infant between them.

Bringing a new child into your family is an exciting but often overwhelming time. Questions related to pregnancy and/or adoption abound, not to mention thoughts about childcare. The resources compiled here are intended to support you as you navigate this momentous transition.

Pregnancy and Childbirth

Benefits

  • Building Healthy Families Benefit Program (Anthem) - By joining this program, expectant mothers who are enrolled in a University medical plan can get digital support via check-in assessments, surveys, and "to do" lists to follow their doctor’s plan of care and have a safe delivery and a healthy baby. This benefit comes with financial incentives as well.
  • Hospital Indemnity Insurance - This voluntary insurance has benefits that can help support maternity care in the upcoming year for expectant mothers if hospitalized for childbirth. Your newborn child(ren) may be covered as well. You must opt into this benefit during open enrollment.
  • Changing Benefit Elections for a Qualifying Event

Resources

Adoption

Leaves

After the birth or adoption of a child, it is important to take time off to care for yourself and bond with your child.  Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.  To supplement income during that time, Notre Dame offers Short-Term Income Replacement to birth mothers (6-8 weeks depending on the type of birth) and 6 weeks of paid Parental Leave to both parents if employed at Notre Dame.  Please see the policies below for further details about each of these benefits, including eligibility.

It's important to note that employees may be granted a maximum of 12 weeks of FMLA in any 12 month period.  The 12 month period is a "rolling" 12 month period measured backward from the date an employee uses any leave.  An employee’s FMLA balance is equal to 12 weeks minus any FMLA time taken during the immediately preceding 12 months.  Therefore, using the full 12 weeks of FMLA after the birth of a child, exhausts an employee's FMLA balance for 12 months.

Since FMLA, STIR, and incidental time can be confusing, this article outlines the simple steps to get started with a request and includes guides, forms, and a chart explaining the roles and resonsibilities of all the parties involved in FMLA/STIR requests.

Staff

This image shows how FMLA runs concurrently with personal/family illness time (for exempt employees) or incidental/vacation days (for non-exempt employees), STIR pay, and parental leave for maternity leave (vaginal delivery or c-section delivery).
This image shows how FMLA runs concurrently with personal/family illness time (for exempt employees) or incidental/vacation days (for non-exempt employees), STIR pay, and parental leave for maternity leave (vaginal delivery or c-section delivery).

Faculty

Childcare

  • See our Childcare page for information and resources, including childcare locators!

Financial

Emotional Wellbeing