Anxiety about work

[firstpregnancy]

Hi,

Can anybody give me some useful advise, please? I'm afraid this may be quite long.

I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and I'm having some real difficulties at work. To cut a long story short, I have 2 jobs - one is an admin job, which although I don't enjoy as much as my other job, is relatively non-physical and I feel able to do it at the moment. However, my other job is in a library and although I've always enjoyed it, I'm finding that because of the physical nature of the work, I'm absolutely terrified that something that I do will harm my baby.

When I went for my 20 week scan just before Christmas, I had to stay in overnight as the sonographer thought I had a shortened cervix of 1.3, and there was talk about me having a suture put in if this was the case and still being in danger of having the baby too early and it not surviving even if the op was successful. However, when I went for my scan the next day, they measured my cervix at 3.9 which is well within the normal range so they were happy to discharge me.

Whilst I am very relieved that there was nothing to worry about, I'm now convinced that there's something wrong, and I'm scared about the physical nature of my library work, which involves a lot of shelving and carrying books, a fair amount of bending and stretching, and being on my feet. I have had a risk assessment, and it was agreed that I don't do anything too strenuous, and can sit down as much as possible. However, in reality, it's not as easy as that if it is very busy.

In reality, I know that there is probably no medical reason for me not to just get on with my job, but I can't help but worry that I am still doing too much. I just don't know how little I can get away with not doing, especially as my manager is on leave until March, and there was no option of keeping her relief on after Christmas, so I am working with different people everyday and a manager only at the end of a phone. Everybody at work has been very good about everything so far, but there are so many tasks that I feel anxious about (even though most of them are probably fine - it's just me being a wuss) that I just feel like it's pointless me even being there most of the time.

I don't know if I am able to go off work sick, just because of anxiety about being pregnant, but I just feel like crying all the time. I just don't know what to do for the best. I expect I just need to get over my fears and do whatever is acceptable for most pregnant women to do, but I don't feel like I will be getting over this anxiety in a hurry. Ideally, I would like to take some time out of the job, at least until I am far enough pg that the baby would survive if it were born early (even though I know there is no known medical reason for me not to carry the baby to full term).

Apologies for the long rant. Any advice about dealing with anxiety would be much appreciated.

Can anybody give me some useful advise, please? I'm afraid this may be quite long.

I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and I'm having some real difficulties at work. To cut a long story short, I have 2 jobs - one is an admin job, which although I don't enjoy as much as my other job, is relatively non-physical and I feel able to do it at the moment. However, my other job is in a library and although I've always enjoyed it, I'm finding that because of the physical nature of the work, I'm absolutely terrified that something that I do will harm my baby.

When I went for my 20 week scan just before Christmas, I had to stay in overnight as the sonographer thought I had a shortened cervix of 1.3, and there was talk about me having a suture put in if this was the case and still being in danger of having the baby too early and it not surviving even if the op was successful. However, when I went for my scan the next day, they measured my cervix at 3.9 which is well within the normal range so they were happy to discharge me.

Whilst I am very relieved that there was nothing to worry about, I'm now convinced that there's something wrong, and I'm scared about the physical nature of my library work, which involves a lot of shelving and carrying books, a fair amount of bending and stretching, and being on my feet. I have had a risk assessment, and it was agreed that I don't do anything too strenuous, and can sit down as much as possible. However, in reality, it's not as easy as that if it is very busy.

In reality, I know that there is probably no medical reason for me not to just get on with my job, but I can't help but worry that I am still doing too much. I just don't know how little I can get away with not doing, especially as my manager is on leave until March, and there was no option of keeping her relief on after Christmas, so I am working with different people everyday and a manager only at the end of a phone. Everybody at work has been very good about everything so far, but there are so many tasks that I feel anxious about (even though most of them are probably fine - it's just me being a wuss) that I just feel like it's pointless me even being there most of the time.

I don't know if I am able to go off work sick, just because of anxiety about being pregnant, but I just feel like crying all the time. I just don't know what to do for the best. I expect I just need to get over my fears and do whatever is acceptable for most pregnant women to do, but I don't feel like I will be getting over this anxiety in a hurry. Ideally, I would like to take some time out of the job, at least until I am far enough pg that the baby would survive if it were born early (even though I know there is no known medical reason for me not to carry the baby to full term).

Apologies for the long rant. Any advice about dealing with anxiety would be much appreciated.

Oops, didn't mean to post this twice!

Sorry to hear you're feeling anxious, that scan must have been stressful with them suspecting problems. I think you need to be gentle on yourself and accept that it's normal to feel worried about the baby - I reckon most pregnant women have 'wobbles' every so often and feeling tired really doesn't help. Have a think about what practical steps you can take at work to make you feel less worried - can you find ways of carrying less at a time, or offer to take on projects/responsibilities that would have you sitting down a bit more whilst making you look helpful? It might be worth keeping in mind as well that staying active and getting a bit of exercise is good for you and the baby - and a lot of the advice about being careful lifting things is because our ligaments etc. are softer and easier to strain when pregnant, not because you'll do any harm to the baby - they're well protected in there. Saying that, this practical advice is probably not what you want at all - just a good rest, a hug and for hormones to settle down. I think I know where you're coming from as there have been days when I've felt exhausted and miserable and just wanted a break, and going to work is the last thing I feel like. It sounds like a lot of effort but I've found swimming perks me up when I make an effort to go - the peace and quiet, and gentle exercise, seems to do the trick at least temporarily. Do you have a partner of family you could talk to and get some support from?

I'm sure you're right diyqueen. My partner has managed to convince me to speak to my midwife, who was very reassuring about the scan. She has advised me to make an appointment with my doctor, but in the meantime has given me some information on yoga classes which she thinks will help - and looking at the web site might be just what I need. I also keep forgetting that my hormones are bound to be all over the place!