All restrictions are going. I'm gutted 🥲

[Girlmama3]

Anyone terrified of catching covid more now then ever? I've had both jabs but am aware that's not full protection.

I thought this was the right year to have our last baby. If I'd known about the delta variant I would have waited 🥲

@MeowPurr

www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-news-blogs/large-uk-study-finds-covid-19-may-increase-risk-stillbirth-and

@confidentialitybreach it’s such a worry. @MeowPurr it
Was on Tommy’s site

If they can’t find you a suitable role you should be suspended on full pay until your mat leave starts?

Will people with confirmed exposure still have to isolate after 19 July? Until 16 August? That restriction still applies.

People with confirmed infection -- still have to isolate.

Lots of travel restrictions will still apply.

PPE still used widely in care homes.

CH staff must have jab.

Lots of covid rules to continue. Talk of covid passports to gather in public places. When do govt emergency powers expire?

@Kittyswhiskers

If they can’t find you a suitable role you should be suspended on full pay until your mat leave starts?

That was my understanding but the mention of using annual leave was thrown around

You’re within your rights to refuse annual leave and if they cannot find you suitable role anywhere else in the hospital - even doing the job of a clerical band 2/3 etc - they must have you at home. Is getting signed off sick an option?

@Kittyswhiskers

I am a few weeks off 28 weeks yet so I am expecting the guidance to change to be honest. I would definitely take sick leave if I felt pressured to stay as I just won’t put myself or my baby at risk.

I am happy to do something clerical however if the option is there. I have 4 weeks of leave to take pre mat leave which I will take but I don’t want to start mat leave at 32 weeks as that limits my time off after the baby is born.

@SmidgenofaPigeon I don’t think many people were expecting to be told to shield - but the work from home after 28 weeks guidance has been in force for a while, I think people hoped that would stay.

@TakeYourFinalPosition ah- to be honest as I’m not able to work from home and never have been, I never expected to, I thought that was just guidance, not legislation.

Can anyone help please? 😔 I’m 28 weeks with my first baby and I’ve chosen not to have the vaccine until I’ve given birth as I’m just too anxious. But I work in a shop and I’m terrified of going to work especially with the restrictions ending on Monday. Anyone any advice?

@Siobhanmc1 my only advice would be to get vaccinated, what is causing you anxiety around getting it?

@JackJack84 not enough research and no guarantee I won’t still catch it 😔

@Siobhanmc1 well the sensible, rational and logical solution would be to have the vaccine.

I am not pregnant but my advice to you or anyone is that you need to do what you feel will keep you the safest.

You dont need to go to crowded places if you dont want to. You can keep wearing a mask if you want to.

If you feel uncomfortable anywhere walk away.

Just because we can do things doesnt mean we want to or need to or have to.

Try and choose quiet times to do things if you can.

I find these comments about ‘choosing to get pregnant in a pandemic’ bizarre. For a start, you never actually know how much of a ‘choice’ someone really had. Secondly - and I can only speak for myself here - when I was lucky enough to conceive, the future looked really bright. The lockdowns were over, the vaccine programme was well underway and there was no indication the government would decide to return to ‘herd immunity’ as a strategy when that had been so roundly dismissed last year.

And thirdly, what do you think would happen to our maternity services if every couple who wanted a baby decided to wait until the end of the pandemic (whenever that is) then go for it?

@Siobhanmc1 I completely understand as I went through the same feelings and it's really stressful

I did end up getting the vaccine as the cases are rising so much. What I will say is every doctor and specialist I spoke to advised that I got it, especially in the context of the UK's rising cases. There's good safety data coming out of the USA right now, and there's no biological mechanism that any expert thinks would cause a problem for mums or babies.

That being said, I do still completely understand your hesitancy as being pregnant is so uniquely anxiety-causing!

Can you speak to your boss/manager about putting any mitigations in place? Have you seen the risk assessment your workplace has to have in place for pregnant women? There are legal protections for pregnant women in the workplace but unfortunately they're somewhat limited imo, and I'm not sure how the lifting of restrictions will interact with your workplace's duty of care to you. I'm (probably very clearly lol) not a lawyer so hopefully someone who knows what they're talking about may be able to advise you x

I give the vaccines. (Or did, earlier in the year)
In March 90,000 women in the USA had pfizer and no complications were reported
I used to work in clinical trials and I KNOW if there was even a whiff of hurting the pregnancy they would pause while they investigated it
The safest thing imo is to have the vaccine
It gives you some protection and reduces risk of severe illness
Have you looked up the rcog’s stance on it?

@MissChanandlerBong22

I find these comments about ‘choosing to get pregnant in a pandemic’ bizarre. For a start, you never actually know how much of a ‘choice’ someone really had. Secondly - and I can only speak for myself here - when I was lucky enough to conceive, the future looked really bright. The lockdowns were over, the vaccine programme was well underway and there was no indication the government would decide to return to ‘herd immunity’ as a strategy when that had been so roundly dismissed last year.

And thirdly, what do you think would happen to our maternity services if every couple who wanted a baby decided to wait until the end of the pandemic (whenever that is) then go for it?

👏👏👏

@RoseMartha I work in a hospital. Do you think I can just walk away? I wish I could

@Siobhanmc1

Your employer still has an obligation to keep you safe. You can ask for a further risk assessment in light of the restrictions easing and masks/social distancing being ditched.

[quote Siobhanmc1]@JackJack84 not enough research and no guarantee I won’t still catch it 😔[/quote]
Preliminary research data was released 3 months ago which did not show obvious safety concerns in pregnancy:
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2104983

If there was even the suggestion that the vaccine was unsafe in pregnancy then the rollout would be immediately halted.

And yes, the vaccine can't stop you catching COVID but it does reduce the risk of serious disease & hospitalisation. What we do know for certain is that catching COVID in the third trimester while unvaccinated has significant & serious consequences. I got my jab after reading too many stories about women who ended up in ITU then subsequently died after catching COVID in the third trimester.

@Siobhanmc1 I literally was in your position. I didn’t know what to do for the best. I really didn’t want a untested vaccine. However I could see they were going to open up.
I had Pfizer at 28 weeks and now hope to have it 2 weeks before the kids are back. Won’t stop me catching it but I hope it stops me getting it as bad. I felt pushed into it, and 2 days after I couldn’t stop crying through worry. There is no way we can shield and hide sadly