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Work and "morning" sickness

16 replies

MidLine · 07/12/2011 16:47

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this type of question has come up before, but am just looking for a bit of advice/reassurance about the logistics of working full time and coping with feeling as rough as a badgers arse unwell during pregnancy.

DH and I have finally agreed to start TTC in January but, as much as I know that not all women are affected, I'm just struggling to see how I would be able to work with the constant nausea/actual sickness as I don't have a job where I can easily just run off to the loo if needed.

I'm sorry if this is a trivial question and I know there can be far more important issues to worry about Blush but this is my immediate concern and was wondering how others dealt with it? Thanks

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HoneydragonAteCliffRichard · 07/12/2011 16:50

I had hyperemisis, in between hospitalisations I managed fine. It's not like gastro sickness you have some control. Work were fine when I put callers on hold, I'd apologise and say my system had crashed and would resume in a minute.

You'll be tired but you'll manage Smile

DizzyKipper · 07/12/2011 17:25

I'm a carer in the community so also working within a job where I'm not able to nip off to a loo whenever I feel the need. In fact at times I had to make quite a conscious effort to control the reflex, but I managed. You'll manage too - when you have to there's no other choice but to manage Wink

Oeisha · 07/12/2011 21:17

Most of my morning sickness was in fact evening sickness. Usually between 9 and 11. Some times I was sick post lunch, but mostly evenings, so you might be lucky like me and get timely MS.
There are things you can do to ease it like making sure you'e not too tired, too hungry (take snacks to bed and have a scoff of a biscuit before you get up)...etc. I took ginger capsuals too, but then I didn't suffer that badly. You usually get a fair bit of warning too, so can plan a quickish exit.
You're not really gonna know 'til you're pregnant alas... FX for you!

MissRee · 07/12/2011 21:26

You may not even get it at all!!! I didnt! Had a bit of a queasy feeling maybe once or twice but that was mainly due to not having enough snacks with me Grin

sharond101 · 07/12/2011 22:16

I am in a very demanding job. My decisions and concentration levels can make huge implications on peoples health and I have no opportunities to sit down or take some time out. I have just returned from 7 weeks sickness leave as I was feeling so nauseous I could barely stand let alone concentrate and be on my feet up to 9hours a day. That said my friend does 12 hour shifts on her feet and also mentally demanding and coped fine and she had no sickness or nausea. Everyone is different. My situation has been complicated by an unoccupied pregnancy sac and escalated hormone levels. I don't think you can base your decision on whether to try in January or not as it might or might not be a problem for you. Factoring in what ifs would make most months of the year inconvenient as snow in the winter might make it difficult to get to the hospital, sunshine in the summer might mean important people being on holiday at the time of the birth.....

monkeymamma · 07/12/2011 22:59

I cannot tell a lie, the first three (hmm... five?) months of pregnancy were incredibly difficult from this point of view (don't think you're asking a trivial question at all). I looked a mess (tricky when your job is quite image conscious!), had zero energy and vomited 1-3 times a day (usually straight after breakfast, possibly mid-morning, possibly as soon as I got home after work). Worst of all is not being able to fess up as to why you're behaving so strangely (my morning sickness went on for, yep, about 5 months but at least after 3 I could tell colleagues and friends... it explained a lot for them!) or even have a good old moan. You may feel sceptical about this, BUT I have to also say that I did eventually get used to it and went from being totally vomit-phobic to being able to boak quickly and neatly, wipe up and move on. Also (goes all gooey eyed) it's completely, 100% worth it. I'm 32 weeks now (haven't been sick in months... had lovely glowy time months 5-7 now just tired plus some other undignified symptoms but nothing as bad as the sickness!) and so so happy to be pregnant.
Remember you may not have sickness at all (lots of women don't) and you may not need to run to the loo. Looking back I rarely (though sometimes) had to run to the lavs but more often than not it would be at a very regular point in the day (as I've mentioned above) and I'd get a fair degree of 'warning'. It didn't make it more pleasant but if you're worried about not being able to rush off to vom you may find it less of an issue. The few occassions where I was very busy at work (Eg doing a presentation/event and rushing about) I was a lot less sick than the more 'routine' days (where my body clearly knew when it wanted to be sick). If that makes sense. Hope this is helpful and very best wishes with TTC! x

Grumpla · 07/12/2011 23:07

My first pregnancy I was absolutely FINE to work! No sickness and hardly any nausea. I was very active and worked until 8months + no problem whatsoever.

Second time round I have been thanking my lucky stars I work from home so
I can vomit whenever and lie down every few hours to get over the back pain! If I were in an office environment this time round I would have had to take an awful lot of sick days. As it is I can make the time up so thats working pretty well.

You may be absolutely fine, you may not be. Every pregnancy is different!

Your employer should do a Health and Safety assessment once you inform them that you are pregnant, to make sure you are safe to do your job whilst pregnant. You may be able to request certain adjustments etc to help you.

Honestly, the chances are you'll be fine.

Meglet · 07/12/2011 23:13

You might not get morning sickness. I didn't first time round.

But if you do get it badly then you may well need time off work. I was unable to eat or drink and throwing up all day. I was off sick for a week or so and limited to lying flaked out on the sofa in between chucking up. Not a chance of actually getting to work, I'd have been picking vomit out of my keyboard!

LoveInAColdClimate · 08/12/2011 08:31

I really, really struggled with work during the first trimester (demanding and stressful but desk based job). I was knackered and felt sick 24/7. Had 2 days off sick but other than that, coped because I had to - you will also manage, don't worry! I did used to go to bed as soon as I got home...

DeeOfTheNorth · 08/12/2011 08:38

As other posters have said it can range from not feeling sick in the slightest to more 'intense' variations! I was lucky and only felt nauseous a couple of times (and wasn't ever actually sick) - best advice is to keep some snacks with you (and I've heard Maccy D's has strange stomach calming qualities!).

outsidein · 08/12/2011 08:39

It's definitely not a trivial question! But remember that you might feel absolutely fine. My first pregnancy I had one day where I felt really ill! The rest of the time I felt great.

My second pregnancy was completely different, and I felt constantly nauseous and tired, but never actually vomitted. I just got on with work and went for a walk when it was really bad. Evenings were worst for me, not mornings.

HardCheese · 08/12/2011 14:02

I agree it's not a trivial question, and that it's impossible to know how it will be for you from other people's experience. I was quite sick for the first trimester, and I'm an academic, so was regularly giving morning lectures to several hundred undergraduates - unfortunately, at a certain point, talking made me gag, which made me throw up. I just dealt with it by keeping an airline sickbag in my bag and excusing myself for a moment to go out into the corridor and throw up, when it was necessary. (Fortunately my undergraduates are too self-absorbed to think this is weird...) But I think I got better at controlling it as the trimester went along, and was less frightened by the prospect of throwing up. It still happens occasionally if I'm overtired, and I remain easily disgusted by every day sights and smells (dogshit, the local fish shop, takeaway debris in a bin, kale etc).

tubtoes · 08/12/2011 14:22

I found out I was pregnant on Monday, and then on Tuesday I felt so ill I have been signed off until next week. I must admit, I am quite scared about how I am going to manage, I can barely get off the sofa so the idea of the commute, meetings, dealing with work colleagues etc seems pretty daunting. However, I am hoping to learn a bit about my nausea in the next few days, what to eat when etc, as well as letting the newness of the situation calm down (on tuesday another problem was that i had zero motivation or focus in work) so i can carry on with my career. It is intimidating though but I dont think it should ever be a reason not to start ttc!
Good luck with it!
TT

capecath · 08/12/2011 14:35

I found the tiredness more of an issue. I did get pretty bad "morning" sickness between about 8 and 18 weeks, but it was controllable - kept snacks on hand all the time and as soon as I felt it coming I munched something. For me seemed to be every time I got hungry! Ironic, since I sometimes didn't feel like eating, but it genuinely helped me. At it's worst was about 5 times a day. If left too long I did throw up... But really at work, me being tired all the time in the 1st trimester seemed like more of an issue. 2nd trimester generally it gets easier for a little while before the 3rd is tougher on your body again.

pinkpeony · 08/12/2011 17:08

I had some nausea with DC1, but wasn't necessarily in mornings - more often in evenings - and usually light, so wasn't too much of a problem at work. With DC2 I didn't have any nausea. Also, what you eat helps - in particular in 1st trimester, I seemed to live off carbs, which must have helped to keep nausea at bay. I didn't take any sick days either pregnancy. The bigger problem was tiredness - for first trimester was absolutely shattered with both, yawning away in the office and just wanting to sleep. Was more difficult with DC2 as had a toddler at home to look after as well. Tried to be in bed by 9pm whenever I could.

Original poster
MidLine · 09/12/2011 10:23

Thanks for your replys. Guess it's just a case of go for it and hope for the best. As lots of you have said, I suppose you just get through it because you have to!

Good luck with all your current and future pregnancies x

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