TheHolisticParent.ORG Healthy Pregnancy Work

Work

Balance

I feel the most important aspect of working while you are pregnant is to have a correct
balance. The demands and expectations of women to do it all is insane. Not only are
we supposed to work and bring in part of the income, but we also have to keep house
and raise our kids. Maybe you survive being superwoman when you’re not pregnant,
but if you are, something will have to give. Being pregnant, you now have even more on
your plate than you did. Prenatal appointments, birth preparation classes, and
preparing for baby all take up a lot of time. Work is not the most important. If you spend
too much time working, you risk not enjoying your pregnancy. Take the time to relish
being pregnant. You’ll look back with fond memories if you do.

Stress

Jobs can be stressful. Life can be stressful. When you’re pregnant, you’ll have to find a
way to minimize the stress in your life. Does stress really affect a pregnancy? Yes, I
believe it does. This is an area that needs further study as science is a bit behind.
There have been recent studies, however, that show too much stress can possibly
result in miscarriage or preterm labor. There are other studies that found if a woman is
under severe emotional stress, it can possibly affect her child later in life with emotional
or behavioral difficulties. Whether or not any of this is true is beside the point though. If
your job is causing you undue stress, figure out why, then fix it or leave.
I understand how difficult this may be. It is easy to feel stuck in a job. You need the
money, insurance, or whatever. Many people feel very loyal or even “married” to their
job. It may be your identity of sorts. I had a lot of stress at my job during pregnancy.
There was a lot of drama, non-respect for being pregnant, and expectation to do things
beyond the capability of a pregnant woman. In the last few months of my pregnancy, I
was having anxiety attacks before work and crying before every shift. I felt trapped there.
Talks with my boss didn’t yield any helpful results. Yet, I felt like I had to stay at that job.
When I hit 37 weeks, I felt so desperate to go into labor, not because I was tired of
being pregnant, but because I couldn’t handle going into work anymore. My boss was
not willing to work with me on any of my needs towards the end of my pregnancy. In
retrospect, I was miserable, and I should have quit. I just felt trapped there. Don’t make
the same mistake. No job is worth it.

Lunch and Breaks

It is required by law that you get to have a lunch as well as various other breaks
throughout the day. Some people get caught up in their work and don’t take regular
breaks. Don’t do this while you are pregnant. For starters, you must eat. You also need
a chance to clear your head a few times a day and just take a breather. Make sure you
get up to use the restroom often. You do not have to be a martyr. If your job doesn’t
require or even allow you to take these breaks, pregnancy is the time to start. Breaks
are a huge issue for me. I had to work 12 hour shifts when I was pregnant. I tried to cut
back to only twice a week shifts or 8 hour shifts with no luck. It was work this schedule
or quit. Lunch breaks were hard to come by. I was seriously expected to work 12 ½
hours straight with no break, which equated to 14 hours without food driving time
included. This is not okay when you are pregnant. Your first responsibility is to create a
healthy baby. I began keeping food near me and snacking when I could. Surprisingly,
this became an issue at my work as well. I found ways to feed myself and sneak
bathroom breaks because I had to, but I took a lot of flak for it from co-workers. All I can
say is to stick up for yourself and demand that you get your mandated breaks. You may
look like a royal pain, but who cares. Interestingly, my former job was investigated for
issues with employees not getting at least a lunch break, and we were paid back pay
for all the times we were forced to work through our lunch break. If you think this is an
isolated case or I worked in a particularly cruel environment, let me just say, where I
worked was a labor and delivery unit in a hospital. We had several people pregnant on
staff at all times. If this place didn’t respect or understand pregnancy, where else truly
does?

Insensitive People

The sad reality is that there are going to be a lot of encounters with people who just do
not get what it is like to be pregnant. Most people are quite supportive, but only you
know your limitations. I’m sure you’ll encounter some rude, insensitive people who
make dumb comments. Let the comments role off your back. Those are their issues,
not yours. If someone is consistently badgering you, however, confront them. You don’t
deserve to be treated that way, especially while you are pregnant. What about people
rubbing you belly? It’s a weird phenomenon, isn’t it? I have yet to meet a pregnant
woman who actually liked it. You have every right to say something as simple as,
“Please don’t touch my belly.” Being assertive during pregnancy lays an important
foundation to be an assertive mother. There will be times when your children will need
you to stick up for them, so start now.

Responsibility to Baby

I mention all the above things with a unique thought in mind. You have a divine
responsibility to your baby during this time of pregnancy. This is the only start in life that
your child gets. You want a healthy, properly developed baby. Everything I mentioned
seems like common sense. For some people though, it is hard to be assertive and
hard to stand up for yourself. Sometimes, it is especially more difficult to do so when
you are pregnant. Find the power inside you. Your baby is counting on it.

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