Antenatal appointments and hiding them from work.

[LauraInGuildford]

Just been for my booking in appointment and now I need a dating scan, bloods and 12 week scan all in the next few weeks. Also, all the appointments seem to be in the middle of the day making it difficult to get in late or leave earlier. Not sure how I am going to keep this all from work? Any ideas? Thinking I may need to tell work even though I am only 8 weeks along and I want to wait for as long as I could.

Laura x

I had to tell my boss because I thought it'd just make things easier - and it did. You don't have to tell everyone at work, if you are not ready yet.

Just tell your boss and HR. Nobody else needs to know...although at my place when we find out someone is pg it is always a big relief as I always think they have something really bad wrong with them that measn they are off to the doctors or the hospital all the time! :0

Tell your line manager, it will make things easier for you. All my appts were in the middle of the day, at my GP surgery (planned homebirth - actual EMCS so might as well have gone to antenatal clinic in the building I work in ). I'm reliant on public transport and I ended up having to use annual leave for some of them (yes, I know they're supposed to give you REASONABLE time off but if you really can't get a MW appt at a time where you need less than half a day off, you're going to end up using holiday :( )

Also if you have any complications (I suffered severe migraines in the first trimester and ended up telling my manager at about 9 weeks) or don't want to do certain duties eg lifting, it helps if your boss knows why.

Congratulations btw!

1 day annual leave, 1 day sick, 1 day doctors - you dont't have to lie at all or tell anyone x

By bloods do you mean the bloods they take along with the nuchal scan to give you your risk score of downs etc? I had my 12 week scan (which was the dating/nuchal scan) on the same days as my bloods, just popped down to have them taken after.

If that the case you could potentially only have 1 more appointment you need to hide. Could you not say you had a docs appointment if you dont want to tell yet? although i guess this could be different in other areas.

Dating/12 week scan are usually the same thing, and I had that followed immediately by my blood test. I was at the hospital for no more than an hour in total. If you only have one appointment I'd just say I have a doctor's appt and go in late. Either that or take a half-day holiday if you don't want to say anything yet. It can be helpful if you boss knows though.

I would just tell you boss and hr that you are pregnant and get the time off as pregnancy related, no one else needs to know.

I had to tell work when I was 4 weeks, so when I found out, as I do a physical outdoors job. glad I did though because otherwise I would have been brought into the office for a sick leave disaplinary as I ended up having a heavy bleed after my 12 week scan and had to have bed rest.

When were you planning on telling them?

Hey!

Thanks for all your responses.

I need a dating scan so they know when to take the blood (from 10 weeks one day to 12 weeks) so that the blood is taken at the right time for the nuchal test which is done at the 12 week scan. It all seems a little bit much as the blood is done at my GPs and the scan at the hospital so it means 3 more visits all within the next month. All in the middle of the day.

Torn between taking a day sick and telling my boss. Was hoping to keep it quiet for as long as I can as alot is going on work wise and career wise and I have taken on alot of responsibility recently and I am trying now to negotiate a pay rise to reflect it.