Caught Covid at work and pregnant

[Mightbeokmightnot]

I’ve posted this in the staff room but had nothing so…

I’m currently 16 weeks pregnant and isolating because I caught covid at work (secondary school teacher).

I’d had a risk assessment done (which obviously didn’t work very well given I still caught covid). I’ve luckily not been too ill with it and I’m sure this will be down to being fully vaccinated and boosted.

However, given I managed to catch covid despite all the extra ‘measures’ they’d put in place to protect me (which were token tbh), I’m now feeling anxious about potentially having to be teaching face to face during my third trimester? Rather than feeling more relaxed because I’ve caught it and been ok it’s made me realise that catching it in my third trimester is a genuine possibility. Won’t my booster have worn off by 28 weeks? What if it affects me differently or my baby badly because of how far along I am?

I spoke to a midwife about WFH from 28 weeks today and was told ‘that’s a conversation between you and your employer, we can’t give any guidance at this time’.

AIBU to be feeling throughly p’d off that this is the situation vulnerable pregnant teachers are in or will it be ok?

The government guidance (or lack of) has made these situations so difficult op. I’m currently wfh and teaching my classes online as I am in the third trimester. My gp put it in writing that I should wfh until maternity leave starts. You could also ask for a referral to occupational health to see what they advise.

[quote Mightbeokmightnot]@user1471504747 I don’t know how to quote you but I honestly just think I need to have this as a mantra for a few weeks;

If you’ve had all 3 vaccines and are not seriously ill with Covid now, it’s unlikely you will catch Covid again before the end of your pregnancy AND be seriously sick with it.

I’ll ask about moving classrooms as the room I’m in currently doesn’t actually have windows but I think it’ll be difficult.[/quote]
Try and remember too that you will have super antibodies too now that will last at least 3/6 months (from actually having covid and being vaccinated and having covid).

No advice on the school side of things, just trying to allay anxieties.

There are lots of recommendations from unions etc but no legal requirements anymore in schools other than a cursory tick box risk assessment which usually says 'high risk staff can open a window'. I feel for you OP, I'm a CEV teacher and although they have paid lip service to writing me a risk assessment my school have done nothing to actually make it safer for me.
We have actually had to decide not to have a baby because it would be so dangerous for me to go to work now if I was pregnant with my existing conditions and all the covid dripping from the walls.
Leaving teaching looks more appealing by the day.
and hope you feel better soon

So sorry to hear that @SchrodingersUnicorn and that you feel so vulnerable too. We actually also postponed trying for a baby for the same reason- I’m not CEV but I had two close family members die in the first wave, one of them by all accounts completely healthy and I knew that the anxiety of being in school and feeling vulnerable would be a lot for me for me to handle. This baby was actually unplanned but is very much wanted.

Thanks @AppleTree16 - this is a good, reassuring reminder.

I feel so bad for you. I was pregnant before we all got offered the vaccine and it was a horrendous worry. Def ask your gp mine was great and signed me as needing to work from home, granted the guidance was there at that time but sure covid is still here boosted or not!

@Remmy123

Considering you have been vaccinated and had the booster I do not see how being pregnant makes you vulnerable

You have just said you feel fine with civid now so you will be next time too.

Booster (Pfizer) only works for about 10-14 weeks when it comes to Omicron.

She is concerned about the effectiveness running out during her third trimester.

And she would be correct to do so.

Start maternity leave at 28 weeks your entitled to a year off so if it makes you feel less anxious it would be an ideal use of your levee

Given you will have developed increased natural immunity from the current infection it’s unlikely you will catch it again in the next 20 weeks, presuming you stop around 36. If things changed like a new variant were to develop in that time then there would be an increased argument to sign you off. I get that being pregnant is anxiety inducing but I’d imagine the risk of harm in your situation if you caught it again is relatively low.

@Mightbeokmightnot I'm a secondary school teacher and I'm working from home from 28 weeks. My GP wrote a letter and the school didn't argue at all.

I had a specific covid-based risk assessment done at 20 weeks and they put as many measures in place as they could but obviously they can't guarantee I won't catch it. The union guidance is still wfh.

I feel like other staff members are going to be a bit but pushing this was the right decision for me- I'm not prepared to put this much strived for and wanted pregnancy at risk.

I totally understand why you feel so vulnerable. I would push wfh. Good luck x

@vickyc90 this is an option but feeling forced to take maternity leave 3 months early when I really can’t afford in order to prioritise the health of myself and my baby seems unfair.

Thanks @Barrawarra - this is another reassuring perspective. Although if you see the classrooms in schools at the moment you might change your mind about it being unlikely to catch it again in the next 20 weeks unfortunately. It feels terrifyingly inevitable and even though I’ve now caught it, I don’t know how I’m going to keep avoiding it again in school with no masks/fewer restriction etc.

Thanks @glowingtwig I’m definitely going to speak to my GP. I’m also struggling with what other staff members will think, even though we do have several pregnant staff wfh currently. I’m usually a massive people pleaser/probably a bit of a martyr to the job so struggling with feeling so conflicted about this.

You will be fine and should now have some immunity unless another variant comes along.. I'm an NHS worker, unvaxxed by choice and worked on wards with covid and worse diseases all throughout my pregnancy.. Iv had delta in first tri and omicron in third both very very mildly. Immune systems are incredible things.

@Mightbeokmightnot I really feel for you right now tbh - I'm in third trimester and all restrictions lifted and the sentiment has gone from pregnant women are high risk in terms of covid (from government and WHO) and now because bojo had his little garden parties he's like ahhh fcuk ok people go have your freedom regardless of what WHO or every other country is doing (including our Scottish pals) because people are frankly annoyed by living under the rules of the pandemic. We want our freedom we don't care about covid so he's given the people what they want rightly or wrongly (don't @ me people I'm not getting into what's right or wrong)

Those restrictions have basically made it so actually there is no protection for anyone, and everyone will get it come hell or high water so satisfy people who have a high risk tolerance to covid (usually young and not vulnerable)

Frightening that people keep mentioning as "if you have anxiety" rather than a genuine concern which all medical professionals were saying be v careful if you were pregnant a few weeks ago. Must have been easier to be pregnant in a world where everyone was actively being cautious and workplaces supporting choices re covid and the risk of catching it was much less than comparably now (which to me at least it feels almost inventible) but plenty of pregnant women are still on wards with ventilators according to my consultant friend. The vaccine is not about stopping covid so much as lessing it's impact. Positive cases went down because the government's sentiment was it's all ok and people where like great let's stop testing.. which they did.

Time to get a bit selfish it would appear, get a note from the doctors you do have a absolute right to have a safe working environment by law and if you don't agree to the risk assessment they do have to suspend you full pay . I'm assuming you didn't sign up to be a teacher in the middle of the pandemic so you had no way to know this is how teachers would be treated in a pandemic so leave that guilt behind. Let alone the virile and scoffing people have expressing towards teachers since day one (because funnily enough they really don't like home schooling which you would think would make them appreciate teachers more 🤔) but I transgress. Don't put your self in a position of risk for people who would happily set you alight to keep themselves warm by fire on your body.

I consider it interesting that although government restrictions have lifted, my hospital and many around have not lifted the restrictions inside of them which might actually say more about the risks than anything else.

Good luck op 💐

Not being funny, but you could WFH and catch it from the supermarket, friends or family or anywhere really: don’t think you can put pressure on your work when you might have caught it somewhere else!

There are already several pregnant members of staff wfh? Due to covid risk? Seems unlikely to me but if so why would they be allowed and not you?

@OliveTree75 yes there are currently two who started work from home at around Christmas due to the government and union guidance at the time and the risk assessment. However, given the relaxing of restrictions I feel that this won’t be offered to me, despite cases being higher than ever. I’ll actually be the first pregnant person in their third trimester to be in school in at least two years.

@Bravenheart but that’s a much more acceptable level of risk. Whereas being in school I’m literally coming into very close contact with hundreds of students a week- many of whom aren’t vaccinated and so have a higher viral load.

@candlelightsatdawn thank you so much for your empathy - it’s actually made me feel emotional just having my, very valid, concern recognised

[quote Mightbeokmightnot]@AgathaMystery I’ll try my gp first - I was hoping for some more support/guidance from the midwife but it felt like she was absolving herself of any decision making or responsibility.[/quote]
well she would be , and thats because shes a midwife and doesnt make decisions or have responsiblity in your workplace

By the end of April/early May, case numbers are going to be much, much lower.

Anyone who says 'but you might catch it in a supermarket' has not been in a school recently. Schools are currently the primary transmitter of covid (alongside pupils then transmitting it within their home). Other than living with someone with covid or working on a covid ward, schools are currently the most dangerous place to be from an infection point of view. And the government has just removed all mitigation measures (not that there were many).
OP, this is the time you look after yourself and your baby. Ignore what your colleagues think, they are stressed and exhausted but that is not your problem to fix, it is their manager's. And please ignore anyone telling you that your genuine, rational, evidence-based concerns are 'anxiety'. That is just a continuation of the constant 'schools are safe' gaslighting that teachers have endured throughout the pandemic. It's also a very gendered form of gaslighting (why is it always women who are told they are 'anxious' when they have concerns!)

YANBU. I also think it's a rational anxiety. Hope you find a solution.

[quote Mightbeokmightnot]@user1471504747 you clearly don’t work in HR. Just because my employer is unable to pause a global pandemic doesn’t mean I should forgo acceptable safe working conditions- occupational health and safety is a fundamental human right.

I was socially distancing as much as I possibly could but I still caught it. It’s not possible to socially distance adequately in my role and keep the students on task.[/quote]
There's been numerous court cases about this now.

None have established that an employee has a right to homework to date. Which is what you are looking for.

Given the figures for omicron and being boosted, you will have a hard time proving your working conditions put you at significant risk.

Not only that but you now have covid and aren't that unwell, which means you have just had a natural immunity boost too.

I just dont think you can use the health and safety argument because employers have done everything they can given your job requirements, and to go further means changing your job fundamentally to the point you cant fulfill the role required.

The only options that are viable therefore are a hardcore mask or being signed off sick.

I think you are actually being overly concerned - the problem with pregnancy has been overwhelmingly in unvaccinated women - which isn't you. You are not only boosted but also have had covid which (apart from if you got covid prior to being vaccinated which is extremely risky) is the way to get the biggest level of immunity. I think they are now calling this 'super immunity'. And once you have it, it should take a good while for your immunity to wane.

You will be fine.