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California maternity leave, made human.
Know your leave.
Protect your time.
Meet baby with a plan.
The self-paced course that helps California moms understand their benefits, talk to work, and build a maternity leave plan without the panic, the guesswork, or 27 open tabs.
Get the Maternity Leave Method →
On demand · 120 minutes · Lifetime access
Your leave plan
Clear dates.
Clear next steps.
The Maternity Guru presents
The Maternity
Leave Method
A California mom's guide
less spiraling, more preparing ↓
If this sounds familiar
You're not bad at planning.
The system is bad at explaining.
"I just want someone to tell me what applies to me, and what to do next."
× You were handed a number of weeks, and nobody explained where it came from.
× You've found five leave programs and still can't tell which ones you can actually use.
× You're worried one wrong form, or one late conversation, could cost you pay or protected time.
× You want to be thoughtful about work, and you also want to protect this once-in-a-lifetime season.
→ You don't need another browser tab. You need a method.
120 minutes now. Months at home later.
A calmer way through
From "I have no idea"
to "I know my next step."
The Maternity Leave Method turns a maze of programs, deadlines and workplace conversations into one clear plan you can actually follow, even when your brain is already full.
Nearly 25 of those weeks can be paid by the state, and that is California on its own. Your employer's benefits may stack on top of it. Most parents I work with land at 26 weeks or more once everything is sequenced.
The method
A real plan for the leave
you actually want.
01
Know what you're entitled to
Job protection and wage replacement are two separate systems with different rules. Once you can see both, the strategy becomes obvious.
02
Build your best leave plan
Map the dates, the benefits, and the decisions that matter for your family, before baby arrives and your bandwidth disappears.
03
Handle work with confidence
Use clear scripts and checklists to request your leave, get every week classified correctly, and keep a paper trail that protects you.
04
Return on your terms
Extensions, transitions, pumping, accommodations, and the conversations that make going back feel a lot less abrupt.
Three modules. Every California program. One plan.
Everything in one place
What's inside the course.
Three modules. 23 short lessons. About two hours start to finish. Every module ends by putting the piece you just learned onto your own plan.
My maternity leave plan
The dates that matter
Workbook · Template · Checklist
made for real life, not an HR textbook
Map Your Protection
Map Your Pay
Stack Your Plan
Plus a short welcome lesson, How This Works, and lifetime access so you can come back whenever the next question shows up. Including the next baby.
Your planning tools
Not worksheets. The machinery.
These three are how the course actually works, not extras bolted on. The lessons tell you what to decide. The tools are where your plan gets built.
01
Custom Leave Calendar
Maps your estimated leave and protection dates.
02
Benefits Calculator
Estimates your California state benefit amount.
03
Pay Map
Pulls together the different sources that may pay you while you're out.
Three bonuses
For the parts that get complicated.
You don't need these to build your plan. You'll want them the day HR gets confusing, the day your claim doesn't go the way it should, and every time you think wait, what am I supposed to be doing right now?
Bonus #1
What to Say to HR
Scripts, questions, and templates to help you communicate your maternity leave plan with HR.
Bonus #2
EDD Troubleshooting Resource
A quick-reference guide for what to do when your SDI or PFL claim doesn't go as expected.
Bonus #3
Maternity Leave Action Roadmap
Your week-by-week reference for what to focus on and when, from planning your leave through returning to work.
Everything above, yours for life.
Hey mama, I'm Ashley
I built this because
I was you.
Three times over six years I navigated California maternity leave. Each time I figured it out alone, googling at midnight, second-guessing what HR told me, and leaving time and money on the table.
During one of those pregnancies, I was let go. It was only afterward, digging through the system myself, that I found out how much more paid leave had been available to me the whole time. Nobody had told me. Nobody was going to.
Smart, capable women leave weeks of paid, protected leave on the table. Not because they don't care, but because nobody ever showed them the full picture.
Today I write and administer maternity leave policies for employers, so I know exactly what's on the other side of the desk: what gets disclosed, what doesn't, and why. I'm also a mom of three boys who built this business to be home with them.
in your corner,
Ashley
CLMS Certified Cal Chamber Trained California-only focus
From moms who've used it
What happens when you
walk in prepared.
“My HR team was floored by how prepared I was. I had to cross-check my leave dates with them multiple times because they had them wrong, twice. Thankfully I had Ashley and our plan in place.”
Katie P. Two jobs
“I was unexpectedly laid off while on maternity leave. Ashley helped me understand my rights, make informed decisions, and maximize my leave. I ended up taking 8 months of paid leave.”
Annie M. Laid off mid-leave
“I can’t recommend Ashley enough. Her insight is empowering, and I was able to spend 6 months at home with my newborn while paid.”
Rachel S. Six months, paid
26+
Average paid weeks off
$43,950
Average paid leave secured
★★★★★
Average client rating
Walk into that HR conversation with a written plan.
Built for the mom in the middle
This is for you if…
✦You pay into California SDI, check a paystub for "CASDI", and want to understand your leave options.
✦You're pregnant, planning, already on leave, or lining things up for a future pregnancy.
✦You want a practical plan, and to understand why it works, without becoming a leave-policy expert.
✦You care about your career and about protecting this once-in-a-lifetime season.
And honestly, not for you if
You've never paid into SDI, you'd rather someone handle it for you than learn the system, you need legal representation, or you're hoping for a loophole. There isn't one. The extra weeks come from using the system exactly as it's written. Almost nobody does.
Everything you get
One course. Everything in it.
Yours for good.
The course · 23 lessons · 120 min
✦Welcome, How This Works
✦Module 1, Map Your Protection
PDL, CFRA, your 17.3 weeks, extensions
✦Module 2, Map Your Pay
SDI, PFL, employer top-offs, supplemental
✦Module 3, Stack Your Plan
Your Plan A, and the HR conversation
Planning tools · 3 included
✦Custom Leave Calendar
Your estimated leave and protection dates
✦Benefits Calculator
Your California state benefit amount
✦Pay Map
Every source that may pay you while you're out
Bonuses · 3 included
✦What to Say to HR
Scripts, questions, and templates
✦EDD Troubleshooting Resource
When your SDI or PFL claim goes sideways
✦Maternity Leave Action Roadmap
Week by week, planning through return
Lifetime access Every future update, free Graduate rate on 1:1 consulting
Before we talk price
One extra week pays for this course. Twice over.
SDI is tax-free, so every additional week of disability you're able to certify puts the full benefit amount in your pocket. Here's what a single extra week is worth:
But that's the smaller half of it. That extra week isn't a line item. It's one more week you're home. One more week of not setting an alarm, not pumping in a parking lot, not handing over a baby who is still brand new. Nobody gets those weeks back.
So the question isn't what does this course cost?
It's what does it cost you not to take it?
Your leave can feel clearer
The Maternity Leave Method
A self-paced course for California moms who want less uncertainty and a leave plan they can trust. Three modules, three planning tools, three bonuses, and lifetime access.
Founders pricing · Closes November 30
This is launch pricing. When the window closes it goes to $397 and stays there.
Have a question first? Email hello@thematernityguru.com
Zero risk
Go through Module 1. Then decide.
If you finish it and don't understand your leave better than you did before, email me within 14 days and I'll refund you in full. No forms, no hoops.
Still deciding?
The questions I get
before people say yes.
How is this different from just googling it?
Google gives you five programs described separately, by five different agencies, none of which mention each other. The whole value here is the sequencing: which one you file first, what that does to the next one, and where the weeks actually come from.
My HR has been really helpful. Do I still need this?
Probably, and it isn't a criticism of them. HR's job is to explain company policy and keep the organization compliant. Designing your personal leave strategy across state programs was never their role, and most of what decides your outcome sits outside their remit.
I'm already on leave. Is it too late?
Later than ideal, but rarely too late. Extensions, classifications, and the back half of your leave are all still live decisions. If you've already returned to work, this one is for next time.
How long does the course take, and how long do I have access?
About 120 minutes of lessons, which most people spread over a week. Access is for life, including every future update, so you can come back when the next question shows up, or for the next baby.
Is any of this... allowed? It sounds too good to be true.
Yes. There is no loophole here and nothing clever. The extra weeks come from using California's programs exactly as they are written. The reason it sounds surprising is that almost nobody is ever shown how they fit together.
What if my doctor won't extend my disability?
Then your plan adapts, which is exactly why the course teaches you the whole structure rather than one path. Module 3 covers what happens when Plan A changes, including how the rest of your stack shifts.
I was laid off, or I'm between jobs. Is there anything here for me?
Often yes. Your benefit eligibility is based on your earnings history, not on whether you currently have a job. This happened to me at seven months pregnant, and it is a large part of why I built this.
Does this cover twins, adoption, or surrogacy? What about my partner?
Bonding leave applies to adoption and foster placement as well as birth, and partners have their own bonding entitlement that most families never claim. The disability side is specific to the person who gave birth.
Is this legal or HR advice?
No. It is education about how California's programs work. Benefit amounts and eligibility are determined by the state, your insurer and your employer, not by me. For advice specific to your legal situation, talk to an attorney.
You don't get
this time back.
Your recovery matters. Your mental health matters. And the weeks you spend with your baby are the ones you'll remember. You've paid into this system every single paycheck of your working life in California. Now go use it.
Get the Maternity Leave Method →
$297 · Lifetime access · 14-day refund
And the deadline that actually matters is not my pricing. It is your own filing windows, which close on their own schedule whether or not you are ready.
Not ready yet?
Then start with
the free guide.
What to Say to HR, the exact language for asking about your leave without tipping your hand before you have a plan. It'll tell you within five minutes whether the rest of this is for you.
The Maternity Guru
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California parental leave planning. Educational guidance, not legal advice.
