California offers the most generous paid parental leave in the US. Up to 29 weeks at 70–90% of your income. Most parents don't claim it all.
I'm Brittney O'Brien, founder of Itsyourleave Parental Leave Consulting. I left a 20-year tech career in Silicon Valley to help California families maximize what they've already paid into. Over 1,100 families served. No guesswork. Just a clear plan to claim what's yours.
No one talks about how complicated navigating parental leave is!
You've probably already spent hours researching paid leave after work
Googling what you're entitled to, only to hit a wall of conflicting information and acronyms nobody explains. SDI. PFL. PDL. CFRA. FMLA. HR hands you a PDF and asks when you're coming back.
Here's what HR is actually there for: making sure your job is waiting when you get back. That's it. That's their job.
They're not your leave advisor. They're not tracking your deadlines. They're not telling you about PDL and CFRA — separate California laws that can extend your leave to 29 weeks, with up to 25 of those weeks paid at 70–90% of your income.
California's leave system is four separate programs. Each with their own timelines, paperwork, and deadlines. Filed in the right order at the right time, you could have six or seven months at home with your baby, with real income coming in.
Miss one step — a deadline, a form, a transition nobody warned you about — and you lose weeks of pay you will never get back.
I know because it happened to me. My EDD claim was denied postpartum. I spent a month fighting to recover benefits I had already earned. That experience is why I built Itsyourleave Parental Leave Consulting 2.5 years ago.
HR legally just has to tell you about how your job is protected (not how you get paid!).
Now let's make sure you actually use your leave!
The parents who get every dollar and every week they're owed are not luckier or better-connected. They just had someone in their corner who knew how the system actually works.
That's exactly what I'm here for!
You've already earned this money + time with your baby.
Since 2024, I've helped more than 1,100 California families do what their HR team never offered to help with.
Parents who were told they had twelve weeks. Who planned early, filed correctly, and walked away with 29 weeks at home and $20,000–$40,000 in paid leave benefits.
You've already paid into this system. The money is there. The time is available. California has the longest paid parental leave program in the country — and most parents collect a fraction of what they're owed simply because nobody walked them through it.
That's the only thing standing between you and your full leave.
Someone who knows the system.
Every week with your baby is worth fighting for.
Here's where to start.
Paid Leave Digital Resources
Everything you need to navigate California paid leave — step-by-step guides, templates, and tools to help you claim every dollar and every week you're owed.
California Paid
Leave Blueprint
$297
I want to understand the full picture and build a proper plan.
The complete California leave system — SDI, PFL, PDL, CFRA — explained in plain English in under two hours. You'll know exactly how to stack your benefits, protect your job, and walk into your leave with a plan that works.
1:1 Leave Planning Concierge
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
I want this handled. By someone who knows this inside out
Private, done-with-you support from your first trimester through to your return to work. We build your leave plan together, prepare you for every HR conversation, walk through your EDD filing, and I stay with you postpartum if anything comes up.
This is the highest-touch support I offer. A short discovery call comes first to make sure we're the right fit.
"I was able to successfully take 5.5 months of maternity leave and felt so at peace knowing I did all I could to be home with my baby as much as I possibly could!"
...I got denied by the EDD and spent the first month of my leave setting an alarm at 8am every day to try and speak with someone to get paid. It was the most isolating experience.
I was supposed to be on maternity leave from my tech career. Instead I spent a month on hold with EDD, fighting to recover benefits that were already mine.
Eventually I did — $30,000 in paid leave I had earned and almost left on the table.
That experience became my mission. I became a California Parental Leave Strategist because I knew I wasn't the only one this was happening to. Since then I've helped more than 1,100 California families claim what they were owed (because you deserve this time!)
No parent should have to fight this hard for something they already paid for.
That's why I'm here.
Read my full story →
"I had a clear understanding of my leave and learned I could extend my disability.
I gained 3 months of paid leave because of what I learned by working with you."
Free California Leave Overview
Told you get 12 weeks of leave? Find out how to get 29 weeks! Join the email list below to receive the free overview!
Don't go back to work a day earlier than you have to.
You've been paying into this system since your first day of work. You've earned every dollar and every week — you just need someone to show you how to claim them.
Whether you're newly pregnant and want to plan this right, or you're further along and need answers fast — there's a place for all expecting parents here!
