i had nasty morning sickness so barely worked for my whole pregnancy. i was put on short periods of leave without pay and kept trying to return (who'd have thought i'd get it ALL pg - what happened to first tri??). eventually we decided i'd go on LWOP until mat leave kicked in six weeks before EDD. it really will depend on your individual employee agreement/contract though. ours allows for this - it actually allows you to take the first six weeks of mat leave at any time before EDD and the other six after baby arrives so you can split it up if needed.

i hated not working for so long - but i live a fair distance from work and no matter what time of day i tried to go to work, the trip made me seriously ill. if you're thinking of finishing up early, make sure you will still be eligible for your mat leave (esp if it's paid) as some will allow you to have your time off work, but if you've finished early and have taken LWOP you won't be eligible for payments as they "pay" you the same rate as you were on when you went on mat leave (hope that makes sense - i'm struggling to find the words!)