Covid and Pregnancy - Returning to work?!

[MumSara123]

Hi,

I'm pregnant with my first child and am very early on (7 weeks).

In an ideal world, I wanted to wait until at least 20 weeks to tell my employer I'm pregnant. News spreads fast in the company and I'm worried because I'm so early on and would hate to have to tell everyone if something went wrong.

Due to the current Covid situation, I'm working from home which is ideal because I can socially distance and be sensible.

I thought I'd be able to work from home until later on in the year, but my employer has informed me we're due to go back any day.

The government guideline is unclear and I feel like I'll have to tell my employer before going back into the office, so they can either make allowances for me to continue working from home or make preparations.

I was curious if anyone else in a similar predicament or is currently pregnant and back in the office and could share their thoughts.

Sorry for the long post, just a worried, hormonal woman!

I’m hopefully back on the 4th but I’m self employed so no boss to tell.
I feel ok working until 28 weeks, when I will have to reassess based on the guidelines at that time. I’m currently 17 weeks.

Unfortunately I can’t socially distance in my job but not working isn’t an option, so it’s a tricky situation.

If I were employed, I would tell my employer and see what they suggest. currently pregnant woman under 28 weeks are not deemed higher risk.

Also, they should respect your right to confidentiality, so I would make that clear when telling them.

Is there anyone you truly trust to tell your pregnant yet? Such a manger etc? If so you could tell them your worries and ask for it to be kept confidential. However they may say because government guidelines say its only a risk from 28 weeks that you will have to work in the office. But it's always worth a try. X

If you're over 28 weeks or have extra health issues then you're 'vulnerable' and your employer should be allowing you to WFH (where possible).

If not, then they can ask you to go back but they're supposed to do a proper risk assessment with you first (which they can only do if you tell them you're pregnant). In normal circumstances I wouldn't tell an employer at 7 weeks but I would in the current situation we are in as I'd want to know i was as safe as possible. I'd just make it very clear that I was telling them in confidence.

I'm in a similar position OP. I'm 5 weeks but on annual leave. I'll be 7 weeks when I'm due back at work. I'd rather wait a lot longer but I'm in a public facing role so I'll tell work then and allow them to conduct a risk assessment. Tommy's has some clear advice and confirms that Covid has no increased risk of miscarriage. The only increased risk is of early labour which only affects women in 3rd trimester.

Hi OP, I was going to do the exact same thing as you, but over time, and after discussing it with my husband, we decided to tell my employer a week or so after my 12 week scan.

Reason being is as if your employers don't know, and the worst happens, you would quite rightly want some time to grieve. If you do need to head back into the office, they need to know from a heath & safety perspective too (either to keep you home for longer, or adapt things for you).
Further to this, you aren't protected by pregnant employees rights, so currently can't get paid time off for antenatal appointments, nor are you protected if your company needs to start considering redundancies during this uncertain time.

I totally get the not wanting the news to spread just yet thing. I was EXACTLY the same in my dilemma. But it's medical information after all, so if you tell your manager or HR you would like this to remain confidential until you are ready to tell any more staff (which is exactly what I did) they must comply with this (and they were also totally understanding too).

I hope this helps a little.

I’m in a similar position to you, OP, 8+1 today & they’ve not informed me we are going back in yet but I know it’s only a matter of time & preparations are being made. Our office is tiny & no possibility for social distancing so I suspect as soon as the 2m rule is relaxed I’ll be told to go back in, maybe even before. The government guidelines for offices aren’t the clearest, but I read them as we shouldnt be working from an office unless we can’t WFH, at any gestation.

^“If clinically vulnerable (but not extremely clinically vulnerable) individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the option of the safest available on site roles, enabling them to stay 2m away from others. If they have to spend time within 2m of others, you should carefully assess whether this involves an acceptable level of risk. As for any workplace risk you must take into account specific duties to those with protected characteristics, including, for example, expectant mothers who are, as always, entitled to suspension on full pay if suitable roles cannot be found.”^

.Given that I can work from home just fine (maybe even better than in the office!) I just don’t see the point in going back in when there is any risk. Sounds like you are in a similar position to me.
Provided these guidelines dont change 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 I will be suggesting these to my employer / challenging them with them when I am asked to go back in.

Ladies, I found this website up to date and quite helpful in relation to all things pregnancy related.
There's info about working and what employers should be doing which might be useful to some of you

www.rcog.org.uk

Has anyone got the direct link to the government guidance about working while pregnant? The guidance from 30th March now says 'Withdrawn'.
My employer has asked me to send the link so they can assess it but I can't find it anywhere!

I would tell your manager in confidence as he/she won't be able to put appropriate measures in place. It was before lockdown, but I told my boss earlier than I would have liked to but told her that it was in confidence and she didn't tell anyone else.

This has honestly been so helpful! I was feeling so worried about having to break the news so early, but it’s put my mind at rest knowing that other people are in similar positions! Thank you so much for sharing guys!

@MumSara123 i was in a situation quite similar to yours... didn't want to say but also do not want to return to work and risk it... i told my boss and told him I was very uncomfortable sharing the news as yet ... they offered to say my household was now high risk which I found was a good middle ground... maybe you could suggest that? Obviously people are wondering/ chattering am sure but who cares! You should put yourself first

@EllaWt yeah it’s a really difficult situation but ultimately I have to put the safety of the baby and myself first like you did!

It’s an weird situation in my company too. Noooobody has kids and are very much in the young professional mindset and wouldn’t even consider a family until 30+. So I was quite apprehensive around how they’d react to the news anyway. So the added pressure of having to tell them early was stressing me out. But like you say, it’s about prioritising the health of the baby!

And yours @MumSara123 don't forget your health and wellbeing is a priority too! To hell with the rest I say

@EllaWt

And yours *@MumSara123* don't forget your health and wellbeing is a priority too! To hell with the rest I say

So true! Definitely need to keep that mentality. I won't be returning to the company after my leave anyway as their values around families and working Mums are non-existent. So whilst it may be an awkward few months, at least I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel!

Funny you should say that... my plan is to look for another job whilst I am on mat leave as I truly hate my current company... very daunting with everything that's happening and the economy looking like it's going to shit but best of luck to us both!!