Morning sickness and sick pay.

[Latitia]

Hi all. Suffering from pretty terrible morning sickness at the moment. Really struggling with work, as I am up from my desk every 30 mins to be sick or wretch over the toilet bowl. Very embarrassing and awkward as nobody knows I am pregnant yet (other than my manager). I would usually be off sick and very much want to take a few days, but my worry is that I was off work last year with an infection for 5 weeks which hospitalised me. This in turn used a lot of my sick pay which only renews after 4 years. I'm only 7 weeks pregnant and only have 3 weeks of sick leave left. I don't want to take them now and then need them later in my pregnancy. I CANNOT afford to take unpaid time off, it's just not doable.

My question? How the hell do you cope with morning sickness at work, being sick every 30 minutes, and continue to work without people noticing? I'm close to tears and am really struggling. I just want to go home to bed...

I'd tell work and ask them what the policy is for sickness in pregnancy. I'm pretty sure they're not allowed to use pregnancy related illness on your sickness record and you can have as much time off as needed.

I'm in a similar boat - I have about 4 weeks left sick pay and I've had to take the time off because I'm too bad. I don't have any real advice but you should take time off when you need it even if it's just a day to try and recoup. Could you use flexi time or something and get in later if you're worse in the morning so you get a lie in? My sickness is so much worse if I'm tired.
I hope the sickness starts to alleviate soon x

I’d check your specific HR policies but in my worksplace (and most others I’m aware of) pregnancy related sickness isn’t counted against your sick record so shouldn’t effect your amount of sick pay left. If your manager knows they can make sure it’s recorded in the right way

Thanks all. I hate taking time off. Too stubborn for my own good!

Pregnancy related sickness is treated separately at my workplace too. Ask your hr about it.

Same here - pregnancy related sickness doesn't count where I work.

I thought it didn't count towards and disciplinary action (if you have too much time off sick) but you get the same amount of sick pay as anyone else. That's what everything I've read says anyway.

I think there is confusion here too. It does get recorded separately so you don't get penalised for being off but you are still only entitled to the same amount of leave/pay as everyone else:

Your employer must record any
pregnancy-related sickness absence
separately from other sick leave, so that
pregnancy-related sickness absence is not
used as a reason for disciplinary action,
dismissal or redundancy.

You are entitled to receive the same sick
pay as other employees. If you qualify, you
will be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
If your employer normally pays sick pay,
over and above SSP, you should be entitled
to that in the usual way. If your employer
refuses to pay sick pay during pregnancy,
you could have a claim for sex
discrimination. You are entitled to however
much sick pay is stated in your contract.
Once you have used that up, you should be
entitled to SSP. See the question below
about maternity pay and SSP

www.maternityaction.org.uk/advice-2/mums-dads-scenarios/pregnant/sickness-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

If you need it now, then take it now
Don't worry about later, you might not even take any sick leave later
Look after yourself now

Correct! As far as I am concerned the pay is exactly the same. Why should someone who is pregnant get more pay than someone who is say, disabled or suffering from a mental health problem? I think that is the logic behind it. I don't suspect that I will carry on receiving full pay simply because I'm up the duff!

Anyway. Thanks for all of your answers. My initial question was more how you deal with sickness at work. Especially when the toilet is down a very long corridor and multiple doors which I have to swipe through! Any tile would be hugely appreciated

Doh! Tips not tile!

@Latitia how often are you being sick? Are you keeping food and water down? If not then you might need to speak to your doctor about anti sickness tablets which I've had to do.
I still get nausea even on anti sickness tablets and Lemonade and a digestive biscuit are my vice. And sometimes salt and vinegar crisps.

I've been told those anti sickness bands might work, or your midwife might be able to give you the acupressure things on your wrists. There are YouTube videos on how you can find the point too and apparently putting pressure on it can relieve nausea.

@booandbumpp I spoke to my doctor a week ago and I was dismissed and told this is a normal symptom and good sign! No mention of medication... I would rather avoid it if I can however will have to go down that route if no improvement.

I'm sick about 4/5 times a day. I actually feel better after eating but it all comes back up again eventually. Sadly, ginger seems to make me worse!

Did your doctor test your urine? I ended up being admitted because I was dehydrated but I was being sick 20+ times a day.
I've found ice lollies help a bit but that might be a bit hard at work

@booandbumpp blimey. 20x a day you poor sod! Thanks for making me feel like an utter wimp haha!

Ice lollies would be fantastic but we sadly don't have a freezer... think I'm just going to have to stick it out and hope I don't vom on the carpet...

@booandbumpp and no, no urine test..

@Latitia god no don't feel like a wimp! Any sickness is horrible. You could try electrolyte tablets in your water (like what athletes use to rehydrate). I've found they help when I sip them down and help with any dizziness and some nausea.
Other people try hard sweets to suck on! You could try that?

If you're not keeping much food down I'd ask them to do a urine test to test your ketones. If they're high then they should give you an anti sickness as shows you're dehydrated etc.

OP try another doctor! I had HG in one of my pregnancies and I wouldn't have survived without medication! Thanks to the meds I made it through 37 weeks of sickness and vomiting while only taking 3 off work. The medication was safe, I was fine and so was my DC. Vomiting 4-5 times a day and retching every half hour is NOT a normal symptom!

Hi I suffered with sickness all through my pregnancy . Rest is key so taking time off is hard but necessary . Make sure it is recorded as pregnancy related on any forms.

Take a look at www.pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk for advice and tips.

Go and see another doctor.

While some nausea and sickness is totally normal, that degree is NOT.
I worked through HG with my first pregnancy and it took a HUGE toll on my health.
There are several levels of drugs you can take, you need to start at the least risky/most safe/most studied and work up.

Look up the HG treatment guideline (google RCOG HG treatment guidelines.)

If your doc persists you need to say something like ‘I understand that some nausea and sickness is normal in pregnancy. However I am experiencing vomiting x tomes a day, with x heaves per session. I am unable to keep down sufficient food or fluids to manage my everyday activities. I need treatment, I am aware of the treatment ladder (present sheet) and I would like to work out a treatment plan.’

If you get the usual ‘as long as you’re keeping down sips of water’ shit you reply ‘I am unable to function on ‘tiny sips of water’ and I do not think it is reasonable to expect that if anyone, mich less someone who is pregnant. Could you do your demanding job on only ‘tiny sips of water’ for weeks on end? No, right let’s try some medication..’

Some doctors are fabulous with Pregnancy sickness, others are awful.

IF you feel it's normal pregnancy sickness some coping tips are to rest as much as you can, to try to eat and drink anything that will stay down as often as you can. Bring a stash of sick bags with you everywhere.

I arranged to work from home when suffering bad sickness early in pregnancy. Could you do your job from home?