Slightly concerned re my low blood pressure in pg and work........

[fannyannie]

Had an antenatal appointment today (well Consultant one actually but same as seeing MW really). My blood pressure was 90/60 (was 100/60 2 weeks ago, and 110/60 at my booking in appointment).

Now while I know that low blood pressure isn't something to be particularly worried about in regards to my pg - I am concerned about any 'side effects' it may give me - am I right in thinking it can make you light headed/dizzy??? I work nights as a care assistant and am on my feet for most of the night - has anyone else been in this position and coped - is there anything I can do to make it easier on myself???

I always had low BP and it was worse in pregnancy. I was a staff nurse then and also did a lot of nights.
Things that helped (IIRC) were not getting up too quickly, eating little and often, keeping a bottle of water with me and drinking regularly (dehydration makes it worse).
Do you sleep okay during the day? I know if I didn't it would be worse.
Hope someone else can help more.

Thanks Posey - I'm lucky that I do generally sleep quite well during the day - on the days I don't get much sleep I'm not usually working that night. I shall make sure I take a bottle of water with me to work tonight, and trying not to get up too fast as well.

Thanks.

It really used to bug me that my low bp in pg wasn't taken seriously by my mw or gp, so long as it wasn't harming the baby it was not worth even giving lip-service to .

I found that today when the nurse took my BP and said how low it was - she just brushed it off as "oh well it's more common with smaller, lighter etc people to have lower BP" - despite the fact that it was her who pointed out that it's been slowly but surely dropping over the last 11 or so weeks......I just hope it doesn't go much lower - I'm only 21 weeks now!!!

The risk assessment for your work also should take your BP into account - your employers need to ensure that you can work without putting you/baby at risk

• I haven't had a risk assessment done for work (my fault I haven't asked for one)

Hi Fannyannie. I completely sympathise - I had low blood pressure for much of my pregnancy and no one except me was bothered about it. I work in an office so being on my feet all day wasn't so much of an issue, but I did tell my manager that I wouldn't be climbing ladders, etc. to get files because I kept feeling light-headed. Just be careful and take precautions. Remember that any falls really wouldn't be good for you so it's definitely better to ere on the side of caution. You should probably make your manager aware of the situation to cover yourself.

I was very dizzy and faint throughout the final 8 or 10 weeks of my pg with DD. Plenty of 'I need to sit down NOW' moments.

Can't believe you are 21 weeks already !

My work (local government) refused to do a risk assessment as they reckoned it was all covered by the generic one.

NDP - I'm actually closer to 22 weeks now . I'm feeling pretty ok now (not too much lightheadedness etc) but if it keeps going down like that I'll hardly be alive by the time I go on maternity leave LOL.

Hiya

I agree with everything that Posey said. Have snacks with you in case you start to feel faint, and make sure you drink enough. Also I found one of the worst things was standing up (not walking about, which keeps the blood pumping, but standing still). So if you don't have to move, try to sit. (I am a lecturer, so was scared of keeling over in front of a roomful of people. I did a lot of pacing about, and by the end I took to sitting on a chair with my feet up on another chair. Looked ridiculous, but at least I never fainted halfway through a class!)

Hope you are OK. Do people at work know you are pg? Will they be sympathetic if you say that you need to just sit down for 5 mins? Don't be afraid to ask for a short break if you start to feel light-headed.

Good luck!

Yes they know I'm pg - and thankfully on the night shift there's only 2 of us on - so don't have to explain to masses of people if I do need to sit down the reasons why.

and I must apologise for the dreadful English/Grammar in that last post

Oops, sorry - have just seen that you are 22 weeks, so I'm guessing they do know by now!

Oh, and I have low BP (it got down to 90-something over 54 with dd1) am neither small nor slim (sadly)! Think it's just good/bad (depending on how you look at it) luck.

Oops, sorry - have just seen that you are 22 weeks, so I'm guessing they do know by now!

Oh, and I have low BP (it got down to 90-something over 54 with dd1) am neither small nor slim (sadly)! Think it's just good/bad (depending on how you look at it) luck.

I went on maternity leave at 28 weeks because of my dizziness, it was hideous and I only had a desk job.

Oh blimey - dodgy laptop sorry.

Yes, confide in the colleague you work with and just explain that you may sometimes need to have a little sit down with your legs in the air! The dizziness doesn't take long to pass.

Good luck!

ooo don't NDP you're scaring me - I'm looking forward to take my Annual leave, leading straight into Maternity Leave at 31 weeks and I want to ENJOY it.....although I suppose that could easily be done on my backside in front of the TV/Computer

I'm 32 weeks and at my last check up it was 90/50 and they weren't concerned.

Sorry, not trying to scare you, honest . Just my (not terribly tactful) way of sympathising. I can't actually remember what the 'figures' were wrt my bp. Other than the BP in the final trimester I was a textbook case, sailed through it.

How are things with your manager now ? They were being arsey about you 'shirking' earlier in your pg weren't they ?

i thought it typically dipped in the middle, but went back up towards end of pregnancy? ypou may be over the worst,

Twinklemegan - it's a legal requirement to do a risk assessment that covers potential risks to pregnant workers
info here

oh still the same as usual - one minute they're fine with me, next I'm being a lazy cow..........but that makes me laugh as ANYTHING that doesn't get done/isn't done properly on the night shift I've worked on is automatically blamed on me.........so I do ALL the jobs but am Lazy with it.....apparently.

I just laugh about it now - was joking with some of my colleagues last week that 6 months into my Maternity leave something won't be done right on the night shift and everyone will say "ooo that was Fannieannie didn't do that right".........and the realise I haven't been there for 6 montsh

Kiff - I had low BP with DS2 too - but wasn't working then and was spending most of my time on my ar*e so it didn't really affect me - and it got worse as my pg went on.....