Travel during Maternity break and ILR continuous residence calculation

[Saumya99]

Query: impact (on ILR eligibility) of being outside of UK during maternity leave
Hi ,
I am from India on a tier 2 general visa in UK working for an A rated sponsor. BRP is valid from Aug 2015 upto Aug 2018.
Probable date of ILR application : 15th July 2020.
Currently I am on maternity leave. Came from UK on 23rd May 2017 (maternity leave started from 12th Jun 2017) and planning to return to UK soon while ensuring that I do not loose my eligibility for ILR when I apply for it in July 2020.
As I understand as per current guidelines on continuous residence for ILR I should not be away for more that 180 days in any year leading upto the day of application, I hv following queries-

1) is it okay for ILR application if I continue to stay in India during maternity break ( six months paid, six month unpaid) in UK ?
2) is it okay if the maternity break is paid by employer and total absence from UK doesn't exceed 180 days in that year ?
3) if I want to avail unpaid maternity leave also while being in UK, do I need to avoid any travel during that unpaid period to avoid any negative impact on my ILR eligibility ( guidelines say that while traveling, one should be only on paid leave like annual leave ).
3) As mentioned above I came from UK on 23rd May, 180 days period for year 2017 ends on 19th Nov 2017 so should I travel back before 19th Nov?
Or
If we take a year to be consecutive 12 months before date of ILR application ( probable date of ILR application : 15th July 2020), can I continue to be absent from UK from 23rd May till 10th Dec ( days absent during 12 months ~ 150) by having a 30 days margin till 15th July 2018 for travel for some unforeseen reason ?

4) is there any restriction on total number of days soent outside UK in 5 years ? Or total number of days at a stretch?

Any guidance on above queries will be really helpful.
If anyone has faced similar situation ( being outside UK during maternity break) please share your experience. That will be of great help.

Thanks In Advance

[CR001]

An absence of 180 days or more in any 12 month cycle breaks continuity.

You are permitted no more than 180 days per 12 month cycle.