Kiddipedia
Pregnancy looks and feels different from woman to woman but also from pregnancy to pregnancy for the same woman. Depending on age, job type, and health risks, the list goes on.
My first pregnancy in 2008 when I was a young 20-year-old was far different from my recent pregnancy, over a decade later in 2020 when I was in my 30s.
In 2008 I had a very ‘normal’, very ‘easy’ pregnancy. Apart from putting on 30kgs (got to love cake for dinner), I had no morning sickness, no back pain, and only slightly swollen feet at the end of the day. I worked selling pay TV in a shopping centre for 8 hours a day standing on my feet right up until I was due to drop. I spent the next decade as a martyr for how I worked so hard during my pregnancy and being pregnant should never be an excuse for ‘laziness’.
2020 rolled around and I was now working in an office doing admin and recruitment, easy right? Wrong, not only did I have a horrible case of morning sickness (more like all-day nausea) but I also ended up hospitalised with a partial placenta abruption and severe pelvic girdle pain. Conducting interviews was a game of Russian roulette with my nausea, the slightest smell of food or cologne would put me over the edge, and even sitting at the desk doing administration caused excruciating back pain as well as the hospital stays, and appointments meant I was completely unreliable.
Same woman, same work ethic, very different experiences for myself and my employer. Here are a few tips to remember when working while pregnant.
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Be Kind to yourself
Your body is creating life! Pregnancy is hard work both mentally and physically. During the first trimester, you could be battling an invisible pain of nausea or emotional struggle, only you can feel this so make sure you put yourself first and have a real conversation with your employer. You, your mental health, your body, and your baby come first, always.
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Listen to your body and communicate
If you were me in 2008, great! Get on with your job and live your life for the next 8 months until your new normal arrives.
Should you be 2020 me, then you need to be open and honest with yourself and your employer. Be as flexible as you need to be the healthiest version you can be. Do not over-commit, do not push yourself, rest when needed, and work in your robe from bed without any feeling of guilt if your job allows. You, your mental health, your body, and your baby come first, always.
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Don’t compare yourself to others
The way you are feeling during your pregnancy is valid for you. Just because Susan was able to complete her responsibilities without missing a beat throughout her entire pregnancy does not mean you should be painted with the same brush. Okay so last pregnancy you excelled, but this one is proving harder for you, do tips 1 and 2 because You, your mental health, your body, and your baby come first, always.
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Have your priorities in check
I am not saying to become a Karen at work, I am simply saying that at the end of the 9 months you will be looking after that beautiful bundle of joy and your tasks at work will get done by someone else anyway, so if that needs to happen earlier, then so be it, because you, your mental health, your body, and baby come first, always.
We are extremely lucky in this country to have the level of support we have during our perinatal period. Always put yourself first without any guilt because by choosing you, you are also choosing your unborn child too. Seek all the help that is required to make sure your body can worry about creating life rather than stressing about what boss Tracey is going to think of you as an employee when in a few months’ time all that matters is baby anyway. Tracey will be fine; she has Susan, and you have your babies’ cuddles to look forward to.
Since having baby Jaxon in 2020 I suffered severely from perinatal anxiety and am a huge advocate for mental health education for the support people of the mother because they have a massive impact on the mother’s wellbeing. I have also since started my own e-commerce company, my true passion Emily Luise Skin.
Emily Anderson
