Night shifts in pregnancy. .

[sharkey1187]

I'm 6+4, suffering from fatigue and nausea. Tonight I start a run of night shifts, the first since finding out I am pregnant. The last set would have been shortly after I conceived.

At the moment tiredness is the main problem for me and I've always struggled with nights. Normally I'd fuel myself with coffee and chocolate for 12 hours but now I'm not go I no to be able to rely on my usual caffeine overdoses. Any tips for getting through the night from those who have had to do it too?!

Hi Sharkey, another night shift worker here!

They are tough in the first 12 weeks but now at 22 weeks I'm requesting them as seem to go quicker and I can sit down more!

My nausea really kicked in around 5am and I made sure I had some bread and butter or cereal to get me through to 7.30. It was a combination of tiredness, hunger and hormones I think!

I also had to make sure i grabbed 3 hours sleep before the first night and took a break around 2am.

And tut tut I also grabbed a red bull around 4am, but made sure disnt have any other caffeine in 24hrs. Think one can 80 caffeine and we can have 200? Anyway, it was under rec limit and I'm firm believer in whatever gets you through!

Hope your shifts go ok. I worked Xmas eve last year and it was surprisingly nice x

Your workplace has to make reasonable adjustments for pg so, if you're not coping with night shifts, tell them. I'm on 2300 finishes at the latest as I tend to collapse after that - mentally, not physically!

My work will offer me alternative duties when I tell them but as it's so early on I was going to hold out until I'd seen the midwife at least.

Thanks for the tips... I've got plenty of food to snack on and I've made sure I can have a coffee later! Hoping I might even get a chance to have a nap before home time.

merry Christmas ladies x