16weeks To Months

[Olivie Inoue]

Asyour pregnancy progresses, your baby might begin to seem more real. Two months ago, your baby was a cluster of cells. Now he or she has functioning organs, nerves and muscles. Find out what happens during the second trimester by checking out this weekly calendar of events. Keep in mind that measurements are approximate.

Fifteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 13 weeks after conception, your baby is growing rapidly. Bone development continues and will soon become visible on ultrasound images. Your baby's scalp hair pattern also is forming.

Sixteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 14 weeks after conception, your baby's head is erect. His or her eyes can slowly move. The ears are close to reaching their final position. Your baby's skin is getting thicker.

Eighteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 16 weeks after conception, your baby's ears begin to stand out on the sides of his or her head. Your baby might begin to hear sounds. The eyes are beginning to face forward. Your baby's digestive system has started working.

A greasy, cheeselike coating called vernix caseosa begins to cover your baby. The vernix caseosa helps protect your baby's delicate skin from abrasions, chapping and hardening that can result from exposure to amniotic fluid.

Halfway into your pregnancy, or 18 weeks after conception, you might be able to feel your baby's movements (quickening). Your baby is regularly sleeping and waking. He or she might be awakened by noises or your movements.

Twenty-three weeks into your pregnancy, or 21 weeks after conception, your baby begins to have rapid eye movements. Ridges also form in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet that will later create the foundation for fingerprints and footprints.

This week marks the end of the second trimester. At 27 weeks, or 25 weeks after conception, your baby's nervous system is continuing to mature. Your baby is also gaining fat, which will help his or her skin look smoother.

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The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave a year, and requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work instead of taking leave. Employees are also entitled to return to their same or an equivalent job at the end of their FMLA leave.

The FMLA also provides certain military family leave entitlements. Eligible employees may take FMLA leave for specified reasons related to certain military deployments of their family members. Additionally, they may take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.

The 1,250 hours include only those hours actually worked for the employer. Paid leave and unpaid leave, including FMLA leave, are not included. ( Special hours of service rules apply to airline flight crew members. )

Mothers and fathers have the same right to take FMLA leave to bond with a newborn child. A mother can also take FMLA leave for prenatal care, incapacity related to pregnancy, and for her own serious health condition following the birth of a child. A father can also use FMLA leave to care for his spouse who is incapacitated due to pregnancy or child birth.

FMLA leave may be available to address certain health-related issues resulting from domestic violence. An eligible employee may take FMLA leave because of his or her own serious health condition or to care for a qualifying family member with a serious health condition that resulted from domestic violence. For example, an eligible employee may be able to take FMLA leave if he or she is hospitalized overnight or is receiving certain treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted from domestic violence.

Yes, an organ donation can qualify as a serious health condition under the FMLA when it involves either inpatient care or continuing treatment as defined in the regulations. Organ-donation surgery commonly requires overnight hospitalization and that alone suffices for the surgery and the post-surgery recovery to qualify as a serious health condition.

No. An employee is not required to give the employer his or her medical records. The employer, however, does have a statutory right to request that an employee provide medical certification containing sufficient medical facts to establish that a serious health condition exists.

Under the regulations, an employer should request medical certification, in most cases, at the time an employee gives notice of the need for leave or within five business days. If the leave is unforeseen, the employer should request medical certification within five days after the leave begins.

Additionally, employers may request a new medical certification each leave year for medical conditions that last longer than one year. Such new medical certifications are subject to second and third opinions.

Janie takes six weeks of FMLA leave for a cancer operation and treatment and gives her employer a medical certification that states that she will be absent for six weeks. Because her certification covers a six-week absence, her employer cannot ask for a recertification during that time. At the end of the six-week period, Janie asks to take two more weeks of FMLA leave; her employer may properly ask Janie for a recertification for the additional two weeks.

Joe takes eight weeks of FMLA leave for a back operation and intensive therapy, and gives his employer a medical certification that states that he will be absent for eight weeks. At the end of the eight-week period, Joe tells his employer that he will need to take three days of FMLA leave per month for an indefinite period for additional therapy; his employer may properly request a recertification at that time. Six months later, and in connection with an absence for therapy, the employer may properly ask Joe for another recertification for his need for FMLA leave.

If an employee fails to timely submit a properly requested medical certification (absent sufficient explanation of the delay), FMLA protection for the leave may be delayed or denied. If the employee never provides a medical certification, then the leave is not FMLA leave.

If an employee fails to submit a properly requested fitness-for-duty certification, the employer may delay job restoration until the employee provides the certification. If the employee never provides the certification, he or she may be denied reinstatement.

Yes. Assuming that you work for a covered employer and are eligible for FMLA leave, you may take leave if you are unable to work due to a serious health condition under the FMLA. A chronic condition whether physical or mental (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety, dissociative disorders) that may cause occasional periods when an individual is unable to work is a qualifying serious health condition if it requires treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year and recurs over an extended period of time.

(Q) I am under the care of a psychologist and attend psychotherapy sessions regularly for anorexia nervosa. Is my leave for treatment related to this condition protected under the FMLA?

Yes. Assuming that you work for a covered employer and are eligible for FMLA leave, you may take leave for treatment visits and therapy sessions for the condition. Under the FMLA, you may use available leave when you are unable to work, including being unable to perform any one of the essential functions of your position, due to a serious health condition, or when you are receiving treatment for that condition.

(Q) My daughter, who is 24 years old, was recently released from several days of inpatient treatment for a mental health condition. May I use FMLA leave for her care? She is unable to work or go to school and needs help with cooking, cleaning, shopping, and other daily activities.

Yes. Assuming that you work for a covered employer and are eligible for FMLA leave, you may use FMLA leave to care for your child who is 18 years of age or older if the child is incapable of self-care because of a disability as defined by the ADA, has a serious health condition as defined by the FMLA, and needs care because of the serious health condition.

(Q) When my father passed away, my mother began to see a doctor for depression and needs assistance with day-to-day self-care because of this condition. Currently, I use FMLA leave to take her to her medical appointments and my sister stays with her during the day. May I also use FMLA leave to help my mother with her day-to-day needs?

Yes. Assuming that you work for a covered employer and are eligible for FMLA leave, you may use FMLA leave to provide physical and psychological care to your mother. You do not need to be the only individual or family member available to help to use FMLA leave for her care. Caring for a family member under the FMLA includes helping with basic medical, hygienic, nutritional or safety needs, and filling in for others who normally provide care.

Yes. The FMLA requires your employer to keep your medical records confidential and maintain them in separate files from more routine personnel files. Your employer must also maintain your records with confidentiality as required under other laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), where those laws also apply.

The FMLA prohibits your employer from interfering with or restraining your right to take FMLA leave. Your employer is prohibited, for example, from sharing or threatening to share information about your health to discourage you or your coworkers from using FMLA leave.

(Q) My son is in the fourth grade and sees a doctor for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After I used FMLA leave to take my son to a behavioral therapy appointment for this condition my employer sent me an e-mail informing me that I received a negative point on my attendance record. Can my employer punish me for using FMLA leave?

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