HELP. am I pregnant? chemical exposure problem

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Have never seriously considered pregnancy, though have lurked on Mumsnet for a while, kind of getting in the mood while we set up my & DP's life to become kid-friendly.

Need someone with detailed knowledge of preg timeline here... pregnancy test currently negative. But I understand it could be false neg at this stage, and need to start psyching myself for/ organising abortion (if necessary) as my work involves high levels of exposure to known serious teratogens. Enough exposure to make it seriously irresponsible to get pregnant while I'm doing the work.

How soon am I likely to be able to tell if I'm pregnant?

Am on cerazette (mini pill, progestin-only). Have been relatively bad about missing a few pills per month at random because we have had very little sex in the last few years. We have re-instigated a sex life after some discussion about this.

Had sex 19 June, 3 July and 31 July.

Have noticeably found it harder to fit into jeans, felt sick & dizzy frequently, needed to pee more often, in the last 4 weeks or so. Had a strong metallic taste in mouth for a week from the 5th July. Had light bleeding last week. Extremely tender & enlarged boobs last few weeks.

So i could be 9 weeks, or I could be 5 weeks, or I could be 2 weeks. The 5 week one fits best with the symptoms.

Please, please, advice.

Your best bet is to contact the early pregnancy unit and see what they say. They time it from the 1st day of your last period if this makes any difference. An ultrasound can pick up uterine changes very early on (as in a few weeks)

The difficulty is as i'm on cerazette I have had no periods in years. As in, LMP was some time in early 2005.

Who are the early pregnancy unit?

If you were 9 weeks you would have a positive test by now. 5 weeks you ought to. It's possible you could have become pregnant on 31st July but that would make it very early indeed...how much exposure have you had in the last 2 weeks?

EPU is a hospital department but really you are best with a referral from the GP or family planning people.

You'd almost certainly have a positive test at 5 or 9 weeks.

No exposure last 2 weeks (I've been away, but going back on Monday ot the lab, and starting a new big project in October that involves massive exposure - either project or pregancy has to be put off).

Depending how long implantation takes, the bleeding Monday 2nd - Thursday 5th could have been implantation.

Cripes.

Will go to GP on Monday but have to get through the weekend of worrying first!

Could it be a "missed" miscarriage? Would light bleeding be compatible with that?

When did you do a test?

last week, on the 5th

No, it wouldn't really. You would bleed more I think and you would still have a positive test a few weeks afterwards.

Really, I think you're most likely either not to be pregnant at all or to have got pg this last couple of weeks - you could take a first response test but they are ££ and it might still not show up this early.

It is usual to have a positive test within 3 weeks of having unprotected sex, if you are pregnant. The bleeding would indeed fit the timescale for implantation.

Hopefully you will know one way or the other in time to cancel your work project or go ahead with it. Don't panic

I agree that you should do another test.

Thanks for the words of wisdom. Will try not to panic... and stay out of the way of all nasty chemicals & ionising radiation until I know...

You need to test again, the test will pick up a "positive" within about 12 days of ovulation (some even sooner).

You are not going to get the info you need about exposure to specific serious teratotens from MW at an early Preg unit - they simply won't know, and the problem is, the danger will be related to exposure BEFORE possible pregnancy/ovulation (depending what chemicals/how much radiation you were exposed too), as well as now.

Your work must have Health and safety people who can assess both your exposure to risk during your job, and also what risks these pose to your health (by law, they have to), and they would be the people to ask, if you are pregnant.

A MW or GP should??? be able to refer you to a consultant with interest/knowledge of these particular exposure risks, and maybe you can get some answers that way.

Yes, that's why I'm going to a GP, but I know what the consultants will say since i know the literature on these chemicals inside out and know the relevant biology inside out (er - despite not knowing the relevant pregancy biology ).

Thus posting here - re the timeline of pregnancy - which is remarkably hard to find out about without an embryology textbook to hand, unless one asks Mumsnet!

Health and safety people in university depts tend to be the 55 year old ex research technician who was too crap not to get promoted into admin... in my last 4 departments each has had not the remotest clue . (Though i have met some brilliant career HS people in logistics depts who are really on the ball... please god my university gets a few of those this century).

the other thing is - the knowledge for the relevant chemicals is based on rats etc, with relatively few reports in the literature for humans (it's old school stuff that women used not to deal with, in the days before safe doses were worked out empirically by killing off research chemists).

So there is no decision to be made really - if more than 2 weeks pregnant there has to be a termination. If 2 weeks then either the new project or the embryo goes, and it's not likely to be the project since it's the bridge to one of us having a permanent job and thus being able to provide enough security for a baby.

I realise that sounds bleak and harsh. It is. It is less grim than the potential consequences of keeping the embryo though. I'm trying to stay clear-headed about this.

Gosh, you must be feeling very apprehensive about all this.
You really need to find out. Test again in the morning? Preferably first thing so get your dp to run out to the shops and you stay in bed with your legs crossed?

Not sure if this will help regarding the chemical exposure but I was working with teratogens when I got unexpectedly pregnant (had been told I was infertile previously). Again, all work on the chemicals had been done on animals so no published safe levels for pregnant women. Work's view was originally that I was using PPE (gloves and lab coat) and working in a fume hood so exposure was minimal, although my pregnancy did then trigger a H&S review which concluded that no pregnant women should enter the lab where the teratogens were in use.
I told my GP as soon as I knew I was pregnant (4 weeks) and they got me a early scan (was 5 weeks IIRC) to check viability and I had regular scans (every 6 weeks or so) until fetus was fully developed. However my Obs Consultant's point of view was that these sort of chemicals would either result in an early miscarriage or baby would be fine. As it was, he was totally OK, as was my dd who was also conceived when I was working in the same lab.

thanks ecoli (and others). Will go to GP and ask for scan tomorrow. Having visitors today and local shops all closed, so can't get a test today...

I can't find any literature on epidemiology of foetal effects from progestin-only pills other than slightly increased rates of death or low birthweight. But given how many things (like vascularisation) are mediated by progesterone, I think having been on cerazette while getting pregant (IF I'm pregnant) is not going to help either.

Ecoli - what were the chemicals?

My problem is I'm being exposed to way above "safe" levels because there is no other way to do the work... and we write our own risk assessments and do all the HS officer's work for him, so of course there is noone checking up on this.

Next time I'll think twice about protecting myself legally while digging my own grave chemically....

I hope all goes well with the GP and you get the answers you need quickly.

For the future, the standard advice is clean living for 3mths before TTC in order to optimize internal conditions; but I don't know the strength of the evidence behind that (I expect someone will be along soon who does)

Your the expert on your teratogens, so will be able to decide if you need a longer interval.

I hope this all goes well. I really sympathise with you - what a horrible situation to be in. I agree, see a GP and test again. If you tested a week ago, then (if it were the 5 weeks pregnant option) you may well not have shown up at that stage. In your position, I think I'd terminate too.

I know how frustrating it is to check the status of hazardous substances - on another, far less worrying level, I was working in an office off a workshop where they varnished wood during DS's pregnancy, and I knew that varnish was a major no-no during pregnancy.

I was the office go-fer and admin person, so I ended up doing my own H&S review on the situation. Manufacturers of these various varnishes and resins supplied very cagey COSHH sheets, and there were no data directly relating to pregnancy, only theoretical risks (based, often, on rats!). I assumed this is because women don't often work in varnishing workshops... I ended up requesting that no varnishing be done on my work-days (I was part-time and it was a small outfit) and DS seems fine, but it still worries me sometimes.

Given that this is your work (and you've said you need this new project to go ahead in order to provide financial stability for a baby in the future) is there any way you could work with less hazardous substances in the future? A previous poster mentioned that working with teratogens is likely to mess with eggs and sperm prior to conception, just as much as with an existing pregnancy. I don't know what you do, or how central to your future work these substances are. But if I were planning a baby, I'd do anything to get away from these substances.

I hope you are not pregnant etc if you don't want to be, but if you are planning on having a baby it would probably be an idea to do something different for 3 - 6 months before trying to conceive. Even if you are not actually pregnant your body will be absorbing the chemicals, which could be released into your blood stream later, and your eggs could be affected.

I think you need to think very carefully whether you should be being 'bad' about taking your pill while you are still in this job.

I find it quite difficult to read the phrase 'If 2 weeks then either the new project or the embryo goes'.

I am definitely not anti-termination either, but you have a great deal of control over this situation and need to take responsibility. I don't know if this could be your first pregnancy, but rarely is life as simple as: I want to get pregnant, now, and like this and I will have a healthy baby at the end of it.

If, as you say, you need to do this job then do it, then decide a time to leave that environment, then come off the pill and start preparing to conceive.

I think you need to talk to someone senior in your department and see if there is anyway you could transfer to a less risky project as you are planning to get pregnant. I work somewhere with radioactivity, mutagens, teratogens and carcinogens and women who want to concieve are encouraged to speak to HR before concieving. And if you are pregnant you should arrange to move out of the lab immediately, even if this causes the Dept inconvenience. I found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks, then did paperwork for a while as it was nearly Xmas, then told them after the Xmas break, at 8 weeks. I haven't been back in the lab at all since.

everyone- thanks for the posts. Good points here. I am not actually trying to concieve at the moment, was just kind of thinking about these things. Was thinking of doing this project in October through to mid next year and then requesting some transfer non-lab time (while teaching a lot) for a few years.

Lucy - i completely agree re the pill and responsibility. Unfortunately remembering it daily takes a little time after 10 years on the pill and practically no sex until the last few weeks. I will have to try harder - it doesn't come naturally.
I also agree re that sentence. I was feeling pretty bleak when I wrote it.

I'm not going to identify the substances as I would be highly identifiable and don't particularly feel like talking about all this in real life, as it opens all sorts of cans of worms about - for example - the totally dodgy nature of H&S and the dubious legality of practices relating to it.

From what you have said you seem to know more about the chemicals you are working with than any other source of information you could easily go to. The week I found out I was pregnant was also the same week a very high profile news story emerged about a Russian spy being poisoned with a radioactive substance and there being traces of it on the aircraft I work on. My GP had no idea what to suggest, neither did my manager or company. In the end the only person who was able to reassure me was my friend who was a science teacher! It was very difficult to find anyone in either my industry or the mainstream medical profession who had any useful facts to give me in my unique situation.

Going back to your situation - what I know of teratogens suggests to me what other posters have said - that you need to get out of this work situation altogether if you are going to attempt to get pregnant. Chemicals which affect foetuses often affect eggs and sperm too, and can lurk in your system for some length of time. Also you cannot predict which month is going to be 'the month.'

I'm really shocked by this post, and speaking as a senior scientist with lots of experience of lab work, i really think you need to talk to someone about being exposed to amounts 'over the safe limits' regardless of whether or not you turn out to be pregnant. I know that there are safety factors within the safe limits, especially if there is no data on humans (which lets face it there never are!), but even still, you are putting your life at risk by working where you are. I'm sure you know lots about the chemicals you are working with, and thus are no doubt aware that teratogenic effects aren't the only effects that chemicals can have. What about effects to you - eg presently unknown effects such as links to cancers or other diseases. There are so many questions. Please please please do something about the H&S! I am very concerned (and i dont even know you!).

Oh, and one more point - use a condom next time you have sex. The pill is obviously not an effective method of birth control for you if you find it hard to remember to take it all the time.