How it works

Pregnancy and Baby Payment helps with the costs of having a baby. You can apply for this payment during pregnancy to help prepare for your baby's arrival, or after your baby is born.

You can get Pregnancy and Baby Payment any time after you have reached the end of the 24th week of pregnancy until the day your baby is 6 months old. If your baby is born before 24 weeks, you can apply from this date up to the day your baby is 6 months old. If you've taken over looking after a child, for example, if you've adopted, you can apply up to the day before the child's first birthday.

You can get Pregnancy and Baby Payment for multiple children, as long as each child is the right age when you apply. The amount paid for each child will be different if you have more than one child.

You'll get a Pregnancy and Baby Payment of £767.50 for your first child. Your first child is your oldest child under 16. This includes a stepchild, if you have one. It also includes any child you've taken over looking after, for example, if you've adopted, or kinship care.

This will change to a payment of £383.75 for any child that comes after your first. For example, your second or third child, or any child after these.

You can use the payment for anything you need. This could include:

• pregnancy clothes
• a pram
• a cot
• baby clothes
• toys

Extra support

In certain circumstances, you may be able to get extra support for a child that’s not your first. You may get the £767.50 payment if:

• you or your partner became responsible for your other children when they were more than 12 months old and did not have care of them when they were born. This could be children you have adopted or look after as a foster or kinship carer
• you had to leave your home with your other children because of domestic abuse by your partner or ex-partner
• you are a refugee or have humanitarian protection and your other children were born before you arrived in the UK 
• you have leave under the Afghanistan or Ukraine resettlement schemes, and your other children were born before you arrived in the UK 

Applying for a multiple birth

If you apply for triplets

If you have triplets, you'll be paid an extra £383.75 on top of what you get for twins. This means you'd get either:

• £1,918.75 if you do not have any other children under 16
• £1,535 if you do have other children under 16

If your application is successful you'll get £319.80 to help with the costs of early learning. You can get the payment when your child is aged between 2 years old and 3 years and 6 months old. To get this payment your child does not need to go to nursery.

You can get Early Learning Payment for multiple children, as long as each child is the right age when you apply.

You can spend this money on anything you need for your child at this age. This could include:

• clothes
• toys
• trips to new places

School Age Payment is a payment of £319.80 per child. It helps with the costs of preparing for school when your child is first old enough to start primary school.

You can get the payment for multiple children, as long as each child is the right age when you apply.

To get a payment, your child does not have to take up a place at school. You'll still need to apply in the year that your child is first old enough to start school, if:

• you're deferring when your child starts school
• your child is not going to school

When you need to apply for the School Age Payment depends on when your child was born:

The application dates for children born between 1 March 2018 and 28 February 2019 have now passed. You cannot apply for a child outside of these application dates.

You can spend this money on anything you need for your child at this age. This could include:

• clothes
• school trips
• stationery for school

This table shows Best Start Foods payment dates for the next few months: