Did you take any time off work in the first trimester?

[Sparksi]

I am so overjoyed to be pregnant with our rainbow baby, but wow do I feel rough!

Just feel as though I am recovering from a tummy bug - intense nausea, food aversions (even the thought of most food makes me want to vomit!) weird lethargic feeling, very fatigued but not fall asleep tired. Generally a little spaced out too.

My attendance record is generally great, only ever had 2 sick days in my few years of being in this position. I feel weak and rubbish and would love to just hibernate but equally know that is frowned upon and will be very hard to get away with without disclosing to my line manager that I’m pregnant.

How much time did you have off work, why and what weeks of pregnancy?

No, I was obsessed with concealing my pregnancy from colleagues in case I miscarried. I dunno why, looking back, that I was so focused on this.

First trimester was, out of the whole pregnancy and motherhood, absolutely when I most needed support. I fainted a couple of times, I suddenly got vertigo, I vomited often, sleep was tough, and also I reacted to the prenatal vitamins with diarrhoea for one particularly rubbish day. During this I was commuting 3 hrs a day on trains where no one gives a seat to pregnant women anymore (because of all the stupid selfish women who’ve boasted in the media ‘pregnancy isn’t an illness it’s sexist to offer me a seat’) and I was also doing long distance flights every month.

I’m so angry looking back that our society expects women to just ‘get on with it’ in first trimester.

Do whatever you need and don’t worry about others at this time is my advice to you.

I was mostly off until after my 20 week scan - IVF, previous miscarriage, so sickly I could barely drink anything until 16 weeks.

none

I was off sick for several weeks both times. Never been so sick. Felt like I was being poisoned.
Hideous.

Pregnancy one and two, off work from 6 weeks with HG. Initially said I was vomiting whilst self-certifying but then had to provide a sick note which meant I had to tell them I was pregnant. Like you I was almost never off work before either time and actually didn't take any sick leave in between those pregnancy sick leaves. My manager I'm sure figured out what was going on when I was say 4 days through my second one I reckon! My whole team also guessed, I was signed off for about 12 weeks first time and I think about 14/15 weeks second time.

I'm 11 weeks with #3 and not had HG this time but still significant sickness. I took last week off self-certifying as vomiting and was going to fess up in my RTW because I want the absence recorded as pregnancy related to protect me in future. But my (different job) manager seems to have forgotten about it entirely so I'm not going to say anything unless she brings it up. Im feeling a lot better this week so can't imagine I will need any more time off now.

Yep, I had loads. Also had HG. I had to get continuous sick notes for weeks and weeks. Yuk!

None for me either. Although I was signed off sick at 32 weeks due to spd.

First DC none until 26wks when I was put on bed rest so was signed off sick for the remainder of my pregnancy with maternity leave kicking in at 36wks.

Second DC I had two weeks off while we got HG medication settled and then I struggled through until maternity leave started at 29wks as I had planned to start it as early as possible (my role was ending and I wanted to be out of the way for the office reshuffle).

Third DC I managed to have no time off but I spent most of every shift in the loo with my head down the toilet for around 5-6 weeks. I was clinic-based at that point but in the back office so no patients and my direct manager was happy for me to just do what I could. On days when it was really bad she'd send me upstairs to EPAU.

Fourth DC I was signed off with HG for almost the entire pregnancy and then was on bed rest for the final two months of it so didn't work at all from around 2-3wks.

If you're feeling rough, do what you need to do to help you feel better.

I was signed off for a week with HG - just about managed it in after that thanks to the anti sickness meds but I looked green. Done if my older colleagues twigged but kindly kept it quiet (it was before 12 weeks).

Growing a human is bloody hard - take time off if you need it.

I had HG from 4 weeks to 21 weeks. 'Luckily' it was during lockdown so I was able to WFH - there's no way I could have come into the office, I could barely sit up (worked from the sofa). I told my managers way way earlier than I would have liked to, so they could manage my workload.

Although it was horrible to have to work in that condition, on balance I think it was better than not working - at least it was a distraction.

This was like me. I couldn't leave the house, vomited after everything I ate and felt insanely nauseous the rest of the time. There is no way I could have even travelled to the office.

First pregnancy not in first trimester, but I was only working part-time and my worst week was thankfully a week off, then a couple of weeks off at the end off around 11w, and by the time we were back, things were easier.

I then had emergency surgery at 17w and needed a couple of weeks off. I stopped most work at 6m and haven't worked since.

But I've had 3 children, and the first trimester has always been the most exhausting, the most nauseating, the most tearful... Recovering from surgery at 17w was SO much easier than the first trimester. I find newborns easier than the first trimester!

I tell almost as soon as I know I'm pregnant, not least so that noone expects very much from me for a couple of months.

One saving grace is that pregnancies making mothers feel awful in the first trimester are slightly safer - feeling rotten is a sign that they're growing and having a major effect on your body.

1st time around I took very little (if any) time off in the 1st trimester. I figured I would want to keep my holiday days for the 3rd trimester because I'd be fat, exhausted, and fed up. It was in one of the lockdowns and my boss (he knew, but no one else at work did) volunteered me to WFH for a few weeks.

2nd trimester I had a handful of days off when I really needed it.

3rd trimester I took at least 1 holiday day every week until mat leave started because I was feeling fat, exhausted, and fed up.

It's a long 9 months. Do what you can, but listen to your body and if you need the day off take it.

Yes, I did. Then when telling people, everyone said "we suspected!" which I didn't mind. I didn't want to tell people, so didn't, but fainting at work, sickness bugs etc people obviously suspected. Most people won't confront you tho!

Thanks everyone! Interesting that there’s such a mix. I want to listen to my body, as I just feel run down and feel the need to stay in bed - but I also don’t know if that’s just a bit of laziness on my part rather than just getting on with it x

I didn't with either of mine but I was lucky not to feel sick (apart from one day when my colleague had had a ton of garlic the night before) garlic was one of my nausea triggers but generally I felt well.

I had awful SPD with the second but still didn't take time off. Just had physio and made adjustments to help.

I did however use mat leave to leave work at 34 weeks in both cases though because I I wanted a rest before it all kicked off!

I had HG, but managed to sidestep absence by mostly being self employed during the first trimester.

It was fortunate that I started my next job at 15 weeks pregnant and the H& S team told me that they wanted me fully WFH from 20 weeks.

HG caused a fair bit of dehydration related absence, and I had a day or two where I used flex to sleep laaaaaate.

I had to get DH to pick me up early a couple of times as I just couldn't stop heaving. Although, I was on the premises I'd often
disappear for an hour alternating between being sick and sat on the stairs with head in hands, so I lost quite a few hours to sickness. Luckily there is a lot more medical support now, I was told to eat cakes as my body could take some energy from them even if I couldn't keep them down.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I was on maternity leave whilst pregnant with my second, so I spent the first ten weeks of pregnancy not at work. Of course looking after baby #1 was exhausting, but at least I could be sick in privacy and not have to actually get to work! I only had one day off after I returned to work, as I was too sick to get out of bed.

You’ve got my every sympathy, the first trimester is so tough.

I was signed off at 5 weeks pregnant and never managed to return until after maternity leave!! Very severe HG to thank for that one! My work were so so brilliant, thank goodness!
listen to your body… there’s no prize for struggling on if you’re feeling awful and your baby needs you in decent shape. X

Yes. I had hyperemis gravidarium. Nightmare!

I didn’t have any time off but regret not milking it a bit.
You’re genuinely ill so don’t even give it a second thought.

None, with either of my kids. My morning sickness wasn’t bad so I could easily cover. I felt absolutely shattered with my first baby (busy job about 50 hrs a week and a parent with terminal cancer who needed lots of care) but just powered through. If I had my time over, I’d probably have taken a few days off when I was just a complete wreck. I certainly would have rethought the 50 hour weeks! Although it did lead to a healthy bonus that meant I could afford my maternity leave.

I don’t think you need to worry too much about what is “normal” as there’s a massive spectrum of suffering in the first trimester

I had to take time off due to HG. I lost 1/2 a stone and couldn't even keep water down. I ended up in hospital on a drip for a few days.

I used to throw up at work a lot in the mornings and sometimes take naps in the loo too!

It was the first trimester that was grim, felt amazing from the 2nd.

This too shall pass OP.