Mums
with cancer
don't get
maternity leave
#SaveOurBond
In the UK, 2 people a day are diagnosed with cancer during or shortly after pregnancy. Their maternity leave is consumed by hospital appointments, aggressive treatment, debilitating
side-effects. Time meant for healing and bonding is lost forever.
Mums who lose their maternity leave to cancer treatment report increased struggles with depression, anxiety, overwhelm and suicidal ideation.
Their identity as a mother is challenged, as their expectations of pregnancy and maternity leave are destroyed.
Often too tired or too sick to hold - let alone care for - their newborn, the precious bond between baby and parent struggles to form.
So, we are calling on the UK Government to “Save Our Bond” by changing the law to allow mums and birthing people diagnosed with cancer in or around pregnancy to defer their maternity leave until after their treatment is complete.
We are meeting with MPs in Parliament in March 2026 and we want as many of them as possible to drop in and hear from our mums about just how hard it is to have your maternity leave robbed by cancer.
Want to send your MP a digital invite?
It will only take a few minutes!
We asked mums we support about their Maternity Leave experience...
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were unable to return to work after their Maternity Leave
would have benefitted from more time off after their Maternity Leave
felt like less of a parent after their Maternity Leave
Meet Kristie...
She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when her daughter was 6 months old.
“I was always too tired or unable to care for her in the way I thought a mother should be able to. I felt very distanced from my daughter both physically and emotionally; and felt guilty for not being there as much as I had hoped in the first year of her life.
Instead of changing nappies and bottle feeding, I was fighting for my life and for my daughter to still have her mum by her side.
I could no longer see into the future, and felt completely robbed of what should have been a time full of happiness. It was a nightmare that felt like it was never going to end.”
who need longer to process their cancer treatment and recover both physically and mentally
If the Government makes the change we need, it will benefit...
who want to better support their employees to come back to work and stay in work
who miss out on time and bonding with mum during their important first year
There's no pause button on Maternity Leave
As soon as baby is born, mat leave automatically begins (if it hasn't already) regardless of mum's health or situation.
But partners can defer their (much needed!) paternity leave for up to 52 weeks, if they become seriously unwell.
With the UK Government already reviewing Parental Leave and committed to ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ now is the perfect time to reassess the law around maternity leave, and make sure both parents have the time they deserve to bond with their newborn.
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Psst! Want to know a secret?
The change we are asking for has already happened... in Ireland!
Between 2021 and 2024, the Irish Cancer Society hosted a successful campaign to their Government, asking that an employee who receives a diagnosis of a serious health condition (including cancer!) could postpone their Maternity Leave until their treatment is concluded.
Minister Roderic O’Gorman described the successful change to legislation as “a small, simple change that will have a big impact for so many women at a very challenging time in their lives.”
That's why we are confident that the UK Government can and should reassess its own legislation... we just need to tell them about it!
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