Feeling guilty for taking time off

[Sunshinebuttercup]

I'm 26 weeks pregnant and the last few weeks I've found that I feel like I'm barely making it through the day due to exhaustion. I still WFH with quite a mentally draining job and work have been great suggesting I take regular breaks and even napping in the afternoon, then making back the time later. As great as this is, it means I'm working super long days to ensure I've made back the time and I've found I'm feeling more and more exhausted. Today I woke up and just couldn't lift my head off the pillow and burst into tears. So GP has signed me off for a week to rest. But I feel so guilty like I should be in work and I'm letting my colleagues down. I know tiredness is only going to get worse when baby arrives and I wonder if I need to "woman up" and get on with it?!

In my experience, the tiredness of pregnancy is something completely different to any other tiredness! Sure you're tired with a newborn but your body is not totally responsible for growing another life as well, so I found it much easier to cope with.

Have you had your iron levels checked? I found I had very mildly low iron levels but I was very symptomatic of it and started iron, few weeks later I was feeling so much better.

Don't feel guilty OP, you are pregnant for a tiny proportion of your working life as a whole and are busy creating another human. It's a massive deal. It's tiring, in fact it's completely exhausting!
Rest up x

@Sunshinebuttercup I understand exactly how you feel and the guilt of taking time off can be terrible.
Youre a little ahead of me with your pregnancy but the exhaustion is immense! I have a busy, physically and mentally demanding job with different shift patterns, weekends etc and I am knackered after work. Some days I wish I could work from home but it isnt possible.
Im forever being told to take as many breaks as I can when Im tired but the guilt for the rest of the team just overrides everything.
A few weeks ago I was so exhausted but carried on working as we were short staffed and I was absolutely wiped out afterwards.
I felt unwell and spent the most of the weekend flaked out on the sofa.
I wish I had have thought about myself more and put myself first for one.
Ive learnt not to feel guilty.
Pregnancy lasts for 9 months. You need to take care of yourself during that time to grow the small human in a safe way.
Put yourself and baby first because as I did, youll feel rough if you dont and will regret your decision.
Rest up as much as poasible and enjoy your pregnancy.

I havee been signed off for 5 weeks, I have low iron in my pregnancy which makes me super tired. In all honest, I cannot find the energy to commit to work and do it properly. My GP had no issue signing me off for as long as I needed. If you feel you are too unwell to give your all to work, then get signed off for longer.