Cherrytastic

Hi there, I just started work as a newly qualified kids nurse and have also just discovered that I am pregnant. I am thrilled about the pregnancy but am very confused about the maternity leave entitlement as a new starter in the NHS. The policies are all very confusing and I am nervous about approaching HR as I've literally just started. There seem to be a couple of rules but they are conflicting. One says to get 100% of pay for 8 weeks and then statutory maternity pay and so on for a year you must have 12 months continuous service. Obviously this is not going to apply to my situation. But there seems to be another option that might apply and it is that you have 26 weeks continuous employment at the point at which you are 15 weeks away from giving birth with lower entitlements. Can anyone explain this to me in some sort of plain English please? Thank you so much.