Client Testimonials
2.5 years of working with over 1100 parents!
"I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders just having someone to guide me through the process of maternity leave. I’m the first in my family to have a professional career that offers formal, extended maternity leave. My mother and grandmother were farm workers, so it was deeply important to me to take full advantage of this privilege and spend that time bonding with my baby. Because this is my first child, but I hope to have more, I also felt it was important to learn as much as I could now, to set a strong foundation. I wanted to do things right the first time, so the process would feel more manageable and less overwhelming in the future."
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"I had a total of 7 months of maternity leave (6 months paid)... I recommend all mom's to be to take advantage of Brittney's services to make the most out of your maternity leave. Thank you so much!!
"Buy this course! It’s SO reassuring knowing that someone has already done all the research for you. Thank you Brittney for answering all my questions and leaving me satisfied that I am maximizing my benefits."
"Figuring out the federal, state, and company benefits on my own was overwhelming. The course just saved me so much time and I was able to use the extra time to be with family and prepare for my baby's arrival. Also, the email templates to HR saved so much time!"
"I felt empowered to approach HR with my leave requests, and I felt I had a better understanding of what I was entitled to versus what was being offered to me."
"I was able to get 10 months of paid leave which during I was able to look for another position remotely and still spend time with my baby... it will be the best decision you’ve made during your pregnancy."
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"The entire concept of maternity leave and all that goes with it is extremely daunting and overwhelming. I was so grateful I found Brittney through Instagram because she has helped to eliminate SO much stress and concern over making sure I was doing everything correctly. You can tell that she truly cares about her clients and is invested in making sure that they receive the maximum amount of time off while receiving the maximum amount of pay, which is what we all want! I have also appreciated all of the time she has spent in compiling resources, email templates, website links and additional information through her modules. After through those modules, I feel like I finally have a grasp on what policies/laws/benefits I'm entitled to, which I don't think I would have fully understood if it wasn't for her. Thank you thank you THANK YOU, Brittney! I don't know what I would have done without her."
Every parent deserves to know this information
I'm Brittney O'Brien. I'm a working mom in Sacramento, California. My husband and I are both entrepreneurs and small business owners, so I know firsthand how much is riding on getting your parental leave right (financially and personally!).Â
I spent nearly a decade in Silicon Valley tech sales. While pregnant with my son, I did everything right. I filed on time. I thought I had it handled.
Then the denial letter arrived from the EDD. My claim was denied for "still working" and I had no idea what to do to get paid.
What followed was weeks of phone calls that went nowhere, setting an alarm every day at 8am (only to be hung up on) and EDD representatives who gave me a different answer every single time I got through. My company also said they couldn't help so I almost gave up on $30,000 of my own tax money coming back to me.
I was exhausted. I was fighting a system that seemed designed to make people give up.
I didn't give up. I recovered $30,000 in benefits.
But I couldn't stop thinking about what came next.
I had years of navigating complex, broken systems. I knew how to be persistent. I knew how to read the fine print. I had the energy and the toolkit to fight back.
Not every expecting parent does.
How many accepted the denial without question? How many went back to work at six weeks because the money ran out and they never knew they had options? Companies are doing the bare minimum to help and it's not okay!
That's why I left corporate tech after 20 years and built Itsyourleave! Since 2024, I've helped over 1,100 California families claim every dollar they're owed. This is my full time career now and I love making parental leave equitable for everyone!
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This is bigger than your leave plan.
The United States is the only developed country in the world with no federally mandated paid parental leave.
Zero.
Which means that in California, where the benefits are genuinely world-class, parents are still left to figure out a fragmented, complicated, poorly communicated system entirely on their own. At one of the most overwhelming moments of their lives.
HR isn't legally required to help you navigate your leave. The EDD isn't designed to help you optimize your claim. Nobody is coming to hand you the map.
Until that changes at a federal level, and I'm committed to advocating for exactly that, parents need someone in their corner who understands this system inside out and will fight to make sure they get every dollar and every week they're owed.
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Since launching IYL, I've supported more than 1,100 California families.
When you go through the Blueprint, here's what that actually looks like for you: you sit down for under two hours, work through your specific numbers and your specific employer's policies, and walk away with your full timeline mapped from your due date, your filing order locked in, and your office hours access ready for whenever a question comes up that the modules didn't cover.
No call to schedule first. No waiting on a strategist's calendar. You start the moment you're ready, on your own time, and you're never doing it from scratch, because the entire system, every form, every deadline, every transition point, has already been mapped out by someone who's lived it 1,100 times over.
I'm a one-woman operation, intentionally. Every answer inside the Blueprint, and every answer in office hours, comes from two and a half years of documenting everything this system doesn't explain. Not a generic template. Not a chatbot. Me.
The parents who come out ahead are almost always the ones who started early. If you're in your second trimester or earlier, right now is the right time!
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"Brittney's course was amazing to have in my corner throughout the entire process of figuring out what my maternity leave would look like.
Because of Brittney's help and resources, I was able to take 5.5 months off to spend time with my baby, which I will be forever grateful for. I would 10000% recommend this... Worth every penny!"
You can absolutely do this on your own. But, this is the easy button!
You knew something wasn't adding up when HR handed you that packet. You knew when the EDD website defeated you. You knew when you found yourself on Reddit at midnight trying to figure out whether the rules had changed since 2021.
You've already paid into this system. You've already earned this time.
You just need someone to show you how to claim it.
Let's go get it!
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It’s Your Leave provides educational information only and is not legal, financial, tax, or medical advice. We are not a law firm and are not affiliated with the California EDD or any government agency. Using this site does not create an attorney-client or other professional relationship. Confirm details with the relevant agency or a qualified professional before making decisions.
