To say enough is enough?

[LampShadeHeid]

I’m 34 weeks pregnant.
I don’t think I’ve felt as awful as this ever. Im exhausted, waking constantly through the night, having awful pelvic pain and feeling so overwhelmed.

I’m currently still at work. It’s not the most strenuous of jobs, I’m mostly desk based, full time, and currently driving 45 mins each way Monday to Friday. I work with adults with disabilities, and I’m basically the problem solver. There seems to be so much shit right now being landed at my feet. It’s not unusual, but given everything else I’m dealing with I just have no patience or energy to deal with all this as well. My mat leave isn’t due to start for another 3 weeks, but basically I’m thinking of just calling it a day ASAP.

But I have so much guilt! We’re already so short staffed due to circumstances around the future of my work, which have meant we can’t recruit to replace those who have left. They’ve not even started looking for my cover. I know none of this should really be my concern, but I genuinely really like my colleagues and my line manager. They are already taking on so much, I will feel awful about adding so much more to their workload.

I’m unlikely to go back to my job, as it’s at risk of redundancy in the new year. So even if I leave now and people think poorly of me for it, I shouldn’t need to return to deal with any of the repercussions. My dh is entirely supportive of me just getting a sick line to cover me until my mat leave will start, my work will enforce it to begin one week earlier than planned due to their sickness policy. But should I just suck it up for the sake of another three weeks? Lots of other pregnant women have it so much harder than I do. And I will genuinely miss my job, especially as I know I won’t have a job to return to.

I’m so torn! Do I just be incredibly selfish in this situation and see if my gp would sign me off in these circumstances?

Definitely get signed off. It's no good for you to run yourself into the ground ahead of giving birth.

would a gp be quite supportive of this? On the other hand I could request taking some holidays, but I was counting on them after my mat pay ends and before I get made redundant to save me going back for a few weeks.

Check your Ts and C's sometimes if you go duck within so many weeks of mat leave starting and the illness is pregnancy related it triggers your mat leave which will affect your income

*sick not duck

I think it's oyf you go off sick with a pregnancy related illness in the four weeks before your maternity leave should start, your employer just starts your mat leave early, which means it will finish early, which means you'll have a bigger gap between going back and redundancy, dich your accrued leave might not cover

Go off sick. You're pregnant, it's affecting you. You need rest.

With my work, if I go off sick 36 weeks or after then they’ll start my maternity leave then. Anything before that should be covered with sick leave

If that's the case get signed off until the day before 36 weeks, go back for a week then go on mat leave

I think if I was to stop then that would be it. I imagine I’d find it easier to not go back when I’m out of the cycle of it all. I just feel awful right now about initially the increased workload of my colleagues and I’m going to miss my routine, albeit ill be so thankful for time to rest and may actually have the energy to cook a meal or go for a walk.