im 29weeks pregnant, baby is due 23rd july

i left UK in june08 until 24th febuary 09 working abroad, like a working holiday visa.

since getting back i have been on jobseeker allowance, though that finished yesterday and today ive made a claim for income support, which i seen is same rate as jobseeker allowance 50.94, though after my baby is born i will be classed as lone parent 64.30.

i would like to know if i would be eligible for maternity allowance, and does this affect income support, and also after the baby is born will i automatically change to lone parent or need to call them?
ive seen their is a sure start grant that i think i will be able to claim as i have no other form of income, but i would like to know more about matenity allowance and if i will be able to claim. i was working in a childcare centre abroad from before my pregnancy until start of febuary.

thanks for any information given

[single parent adoption]

I am going on holiday to Ecuador and Peru, and maybe other South American countries, with my teenage children. Their father’s name is not on the birth certificate (this is quite usual in England these days). Has anyone travelled like this? Did you have any problems at immigration when you arrived? I have legal passports, and all documents needed – but some countries say they need a notarised letter from the other parent. Is this necessary even when his name is not on the birth certificate and he is not in the picture?
(Please don’t write polemics against single parents – this is a genuine question!)

Are single mothers more likely to come up with a parenting plan outside the courts if they are dealing with a father that she can trust 100 percent as a parent (he has very good parenting skills), and has the desire to be the best father ever. The mothers both parents that are married. I if her parents are divorced, both her parents did it civil never went to court and were very comparative with each other but were fair to each other. Four days a month and child support is not fair.

Over the holidays relatives were assuming one single parent’s concern over a daughter’s myspace use was silly because she could "access it at her high school anyway." One assumed access because he was in college that all schools at high school level also "obviously" provided access, but college students are of legal age. I didn’t imagine many high schools allowed access to a site of so much controversy. Do you know what the policy on Myspace access on jr. or senior high schools in your area are and what do you think of the policies?