How are people managing at work?

[weebairn]

I am so tired I feel like I do nothing but lie down when I come home :(

29 weeks so still ages to go…

I feel wobbly and faint when I go too long without a break but it's hectic. I start early. I finish late. I take a break if I can. I fainted the other week (not at work) so I am a bit anxious about missing meals now.

I feel like no one appreciates how hard I am trying to just keep the pace and get the work done.

I have a toddler too and my days with her are also tiring. But in a different way. And I can pick what I do more. And she naps at lunchtime thank god, I sit down then.

Feeling a bit sorry for myself tonight. Just want to hear that there are other people who aren't just sailing through work and pregnancy sometimes I feel like the only tired tired girl with a bump...

I'm 30 weeks. Working in a demanding job whilst pregnant is difficult.
I don't want to make a thing of being pregnant and want to be professional, but the reality is, I can't work in the way I worked pre-pregnancy.
I go in extra early as commute on tube and its easier to commute before it gets really busy and hot - even though I get a seat, I still get dizzy on tube.
I HAVE to eat regularly - and can't skip lunch like I used to. It just isn't an option, I feel sick and ill if I don't eat.
By mid afternoon I'm achy and tired and dreaming about lying down on my comfy bed and no matter how hard I try, I can't concentrate as well as usual. I feel like I am not performing, but I truly am trying my best.
Sometimes in meetings I feel dizzy too. Sometimes I just feel like crying with the stress as it's I'm in a stressful job dealing with the teams problems, but just everything is that little bit harder now.
I miss being able to load up on caffeine when I really need to. I feel so hot all the time too.

Rant over! You are not alone! Oh and at least I can come home and be really selfish and put myself to bed. No toddler at home. This is my first.

Thanks missingcaffeine. It's good to hear I'm not alone though I don't like that you find it hard too. I think I remember you saying you were a nurse elsewhere?

I guess I feel like... I will get to some point in my pregnancy where people tell me to sit down and take it a bit easier... but I don't know when that point will be... No one even noticed I was pregnant till after 20 weeks and I am so tired and heavy already!

I don't envy you the tube though. My commute us pretty easy thank god. I do have to drive but it's only 20 minutes.

Toddler is sometimes a joy and sometimes a nightmare. Couldn't get her to sleep till 9 tonight and she is waking up at 5 am... Ugh!!! I am too tired to even eat now....

I think sometimes you have to acknowledge that you're pregnant and it's hard and tell people that you can't operate at the same level as before. I have called time on travelling to meetings so have just made five people travel to me instead. I have been lucky having understanding people around, but when I've said I can't do that because I'm pregnant, people have helped. It's nothing to be ashamed of to need to slow down a bit.

Having said that I've also been pretty stressed by work over these last few weeks so definitely not immune! And have a desk job and no other kids so maybe I should whinge a bit less!

33 weeks here and maternity leave can't come soon enough - at most 12 work days to go! The hot weather isn't helping at all.

I think the only answer is for you to stop and take breaks/time off when you need it, explaining why you're doing it - I've found that while you soldier on people assume you're fine, but if you start to take time when you need it they are really sympathetic and supportive. Apart from the fact that I need to look after my body and the baby, I also tell myself thaf if I hadn't paced myself earlier on I wouldn't have made it this far!

I think you ladies all deserve massive credit for coping so far, I'm currently 31+3 and have been signed off by my doctor. Like you I've suffered terrible exhaustion pretty much all the way through, my commute is an hour each way by train and I work for a busy government dept which I've found really stressful. I've had low blood pressure all along which has caused dizzy spells and I've actually fainted twice, I had a few funny turns when travelling to work which really freaked me out as I was alone.
I spoke to my midwife and GP who both recommended I get some rest which is exactly what I'm doing and after 2 weeks I don't feel guilty anymore. So I'm not saying all pregnant ladies should just take sick leave but in my case some time away is helping. I'd always planned to finish about 35wks so I'm fully intending to return to work to tie up loose ends before mat leave. I think its so important to put yourself and your baby first, you know your bodies and what is best for you.

I intentionally finished for maternity leave pretty early (32 weeks) due to a long commute more than anything else. Since I've been off I've realised how important it is to actually rest and put your feet up, I honestly don't know how well I'd have coped if I'd stayed at work any longer, especially given the weather got roasty toasty recently (especially for Scotland!). I agree with Jess in that if you soldier on then people will assume that you are ok, so start to reign it in a bit if you can. I think I was helped by the fact I fainted at work once, unintentionally scared the crap outta everyone but it certainly meant that people did what they could to avoid stressing me out!
Also, have you had your iron levels checked yet? If you are anaemic then that will definitely be making you more tired and the iron tablets the midwife got me are helping :)
Hope you feel better soon!

Hi!

I know how you feel; I was getting so drained with work and I was getting into work early just to avoid stressful traffic, but the long days made me feel so drained when I got home and bet weepy.

I did take a weeks holiday at 30 weeks which did reinvigorate me for a bit. Is there any way you could speak to work about adjusting your hours in these final weeks? I tried to soldier on and didnt want to be treated differently because I was pregnant, but at the end of the day your priority needs to be you and baby and you need some support!

I was hoping to work up to 37 weeks but ended up going just before 35 and it was the best thing ever.

Hope u get the rest you need x

34 & 1/2weeks here and struggling. Have an office job but journey into Central London involves 1 & 1/2 hour train/tube journey each way. Cried at my manager yesterday for no particular reason, just because I was hot and tired and fat and she has told me "to work from home" the rest of the week.
My last day is next Friday but has been bought forward a day so I just need to survive another 4 days!
My poor feet/ankles are so ridiculously swollen by the end of the day I can't stand up.
I feel all your pain! This part of being pregnant sucks!!

This all sounds familiar. I'm only 27 weeks and already struggling, I am sleeping so poorly (for various reasons) that it's affecting everything.

I just don't want to let people down here at work :(

I'm leaving at 36 weeks and so glad because at 28 weeks I'm exhausted already.

I find that when I'm having a particularly bad week it helps if I can work from home for a day, or call in sick if it's really bad. I feel guilty but you have to look after yourself.

I'm in my final week of work - ending the day I am 38 weeks. really wish I had stopped at 37. I've decided to work from home yesterday and today and only going in to the office Thurs & Fri because I'm just getting too uncomfortable. I really feel for those of you who are teachers or doing very physical on your feet work.

I would like to join this conversation as this topic is so close to my heart.
I’m 25 weeks tomorrow and for the last 2 weeks I’ve really struggled to concentrate at work. I’m truly amazed how much less I manage to do at work and I’m trying really hard.
I have ridiculous dependency on food. To make my brain to work at least at 30% of its pre-pregnancy capacity I need to have sth sweet every hour otherwise I feel light-headed and dizzy.
Agree about night time sleep, I have an achy back and it’s very difficult to get comfortable plus several trips to the loo and I wake up in the morning feeling absolutely shattered.
I have 1.5 hour commute to work each way and the trains I’m on in the evenings are usually kept in the sun for several hours so I feel like I step in a hell on wheels.
I try to stay active and walk around as much as I can but swollen feet and heat do force me to use a car even for a short trips.

I found that going to bed at 9.30 helps me to feel better next day so I try to have an early night as often as I can.

I stopped at 34 weeks (annual leave for 2 weeks then starting Mat leave at 36) because I was just exhausted and also had reduced what I did through my risk assessment so I was starting to run out of stuff to do! I have had the best week and a half so far, being able to nap after a horrible nights sleep, not sitting on office chairs all day or being in front of people when you need to have a moment to yourself is great. The flip side may be that I get sick of waiting for baby to come, but I'm prepared to take that risk!

Today was just stupid. Covered 4 wards on my own. Supposed to be 9-5 but was about 10 hours with no break at all. A nice nurse fed me a sandwich on the sly while I was trying to do a million things at once because she said I looked all pale and shaky.

I know it is ridiculous and i have asked for risk assessments etc and they say shit like "take breaks, take it slowly" but I am the only doctor on the rota today and there are 40 patients to see on one ward 6 to go home on another 8 to go home on another and sick ones to review and there isn't any way to say no I just get called nonstop!! (i am an acute medicine doctor) It is quite physical, probably not as much as it is for the nurses but I think the nurses look after each other better.

Last pregnancy I stopped at 32 weeks because I was fainting on the wards. I still feel shit about it like everyone else is so much tougher than me, they made me feel terrible about it. But I can't afford to do that this time anyway.

I have a couple of days annual leave next week (toddler will be in nursery) and I am just going to sleep I think.

I'm 32+2 and struggling. I work 6.30am - 1.00pm so not a long shift but as I don't drive and there are no busses I have a 45 minute walk to work, then home again. And I work in catering so am on my feet all day too in a hot environment. I finish next week at 33 weeks and it can't come sooner. Especially with the hot and humid nights where I can't sleep. Add to the mix my active 6 year old and the fact holidays start Friday, bleurgh lol x

Think about seeing your GP. Mine signed me off work at 29 weeks as she thought my job was too pressured and a couple of minor health issues. She was very sympathetic (I think she may have worked very hard during her pregnancies) and said that this was my only chance to have this baby, so I needed to look after myself.

Your GP might be able to write you a "fit note" with some conditions to your continuing to work.

Struggling, but only one and a half days to go until school holidays. The place is an OVEN, and it's the worst time of year in terms of business, behaviour, demanding boss etc. I'm exhausted from standing up all day.

I'm 30 weeks at the weekend, will be off for 6 weeks, then going back for 3... those 6 weeks are going to be amazing, I predict the 3 back at work will be horrible.

The heat isn't helping.

weebairn you're right, I'm a nurse - well remembered! Thankfully, no longer acute, so I don't have the same pressures as you.

I don't know how I would be a medical on-call doctor and this pregnant, especially without supportive colleagues to help. I've seen how tough it is for medics on a busy shift and appreciate you can't go home on time when someone desperately needs you and there's nobody else available. Is it normal that you'd be the only doctor on?
I would put your concerns in writing, very politely to your line manager and suggest they review the staffing as you cannot work extended hours like this, but if you take breaks and work the contracted hours, this is going to have implications on patient safety. Apart from anything else, there is a risk of you making a mistake working at that level of stress especially with the way pregnancy affects your concentration - especially if you don't take breaks and hydrate/eat properly - at least if you've put your concerns into writing, you are protecting yourself - and your line manager can then explore options to provide extra support. It also sends them a message that if they don't try to support you better, they are going to end up with you potentially off sick.
You should also force yourself to take breaks whenever you can - even if it's to get a quick snack and drink. Don't feel guilty - it is essential for your baby and your patients.

Please take note of this, everyone, this is the pressure most NHS staff are working under. The NHS is grossly underfunded, and at present is propped up by clinicians giving so many extra hours for free - but consequently most front line staff are stressed and exhausted, and they drag themselves in to work when they are not feeling great because sometimes if they didn't, there are no other clinicians available to cover, and patients would suffer. It's very sad. It's not the fault of management either, as they are just being given orders to cut staff as the money is not there.

I will have done 53 hours by friday in a manual managerial role looking after 45 children. I dont sit down except half hour break and have 2 children of my own who are always with me. I am 30 weeks and Im only taking 2 weeks maternity. I must be mad

weebairn bloody hell. At least I'm an ortho reg so can switch to clinics when it gets too much (currently pg but not informed work yet as don't want argument about XR).

What grade are you if you don't mind me asking?

You have to think you are a strong person and can do what ever is thrown at you. Its tiring sometimes but dont dwell or think about it. Set yourself goals, eat on run, carry snacks, drink a lot of water, when you get home get in bed even if you dont sleep.

I was dizzy before as I do a lot of heavy lifting and there is a lot of being kicked/punched etc in my role so have to be quick on feet but as the pregnancy has progressed its gone off. The doctor just said drink and get to the floor.

I'm an SHO, a core medical trainee. Some days my consultants/regs are more available than others… I sometimes have an F1 with me (he's great and I make him do all my work) but he's been on call this week.

I'm not always on my own but I wouldn't say it's unusual.

I am part time as I also have 2 days a week with my toddler. So at least there's that.

moreisnnogedag I didn't tell them till after 20 weeks cause they were so unhelpful last pregnancy! They weren't as bad this time (different hospital: they've taken me off night shifts without argument, it was a huge deal last time). Hope you are feeling ok - early pregnancy is the pits.

Ugh, I feel really responsible for it all - I can see the workload coming and I try and ask for extra help or tell them that I'm not really coping (or even just simple things like can someone do a bloody catheter for me cause bending over is getting uncomfortable) but you know how it is when it's sometimes just bloody easier to do it all yourself. I know the no breaks is bad but my bleep was just relentless today.

I'm so pleased to hear that others are having a similar experience, I am 32 weeks with another four weeks to go and I am finding the journey into central London absolutely exhausting. I also find I am not as "on it" as I used to be, but I'm managing most of the workload. I honestly think without the travelling I would be fine, and am starting to work a day or two at home a week until I go off. Not long to go now, thank God!

Oh god yes. I was a core surgical trainee with DS doing a horrendous job with zero support. They threatened to make me take maternity leave at 30/40 when nights weren't an option - sole doctor, tertiary referral centre, theatre 24 hrs. It's only when I printed out their legal responsibilities did they back down.

I get it, it's not the same as just being firm, you know that there's shit to do that if you don't do, you're dumping it on someone else or prescriptions don't get done and somebody doesn't go home.

Seriously chat to your reg, they should be helping out. How do you get on with the sisters/nurses? They usually can ease the burden.

I'm trying not to look too green and look slightly less vommy.