AIBU to go on sickleave or is that a very, very bad idea?!

[Natnat29]

Please help advise me I really dont know what to do for the best?
Basically im 23 weeks preg and I feel like utter shit. I was in a car accident a couple of weeks back and had to have 2 weeks off with whiplash. Back in work today thinking whether I should have stayed off.
Basically I still feel like utter crap, tired, achy. My work is very stressful I had to have a month off last year with work related stress and there are still a lot of unresolved issues it is not a nice place to be at the best of times but at the min its awful.
I don?t want this stress to affect the baby so in that way feel like I should go on leave- theres nothing really the managers can do at this point the issues have gone through HR and in terms of appointments etc they are being flexible.
The reasons I feel like I shouldn?t go on leave now are that- I will possible take voluntary redundancy on my return to work after mat leave so I worried if I take a lot of sick leave now it will look bad when I am applying for other jobs a year to 18 months down the line and if I don?t take redundancy and do come back to work it wont look good that I went off before mat leave.
WWYD?

If you're sick, you're sick. Provided you have a doctor's confirmation that you are genuinely unfit for work, taking time out to recover should never look bad on anyone.

I'd go on sick leave, you don't sound well enough to be at work,the stress wont be good for either of you. You can worry about the other stuff later. Good luck

You have all the pros and cons, and think also part of your worries is your conscience about your decision. You do not seem happy in your job and you should consider changing it when you are ready to return to work. You and your baby's health is the most important consideration now, and you should make a decision soon. Good luck

I pushed through stress and low level ill health in pregnancy because I didn't want to lose my much needed monthly bonuses.

I ended up with pre eclampsia and dd and I were both very poorly. I remember your posts about your accident and IIRC your work were very unsympathetic and unsupportive.

If I were you I'd ask your dr to sign you off with 'complications of whiplash following automobile accident'. If you need to disclose sickness in future job applications, explaining that you were off after a car accident is going to come across differently to 'work related stress'. Which is a shame because stress and depression should NOT be stigmatised, but they are. Covering your back from that perspective to allow you to feel ok about taking time off is acceptable IMO.

thanks, you are right digard i think its guilt to work that i havent stayed off am worried about letting others down as things are very tight with no cover but i feel guilty to my baby if i do work i really dont know

If you are not well then you are not well.

Take as much time off as you need.