Pregnancy rights as a teacher with morning sickness

[TeacherofMFL]

Hello

I’m new here so forgive me if I’m not in the know with the acronyms.

I’m 9 weeks pregnant with my first and for the past 2 and a half weeks have been struggling with moderate morning sickness (vomiting at least twice throughout the morning and possibly once in the evening). It’s been manageable as it fell during the school holidays. The problem is I’m now back at school- well I went in yesterday. I had a very light day, only one lesson, I left as soon as I could after school but felt absolutely DREADFUL as a result of going in- terrible headache, couldn’t keep any food down, had to just lie down. My stomach hurt so much I couldn’t sleep and called in sick today.

I’m really worried about going back if this is what one easy day does to me! I’ve spoken to HR who just talked about leaving a class to vomit. Does anyone have experience of this or know what my rights are in relation to pregnancy sickness? I would love to work from home but given the nature of the job that’s not easy! I don’t want to go in and it continue to make me feel awful but I also don’t want to have to keep calling in sick. Anyone experienced similar or any advice?

You're entitled to go off sick if you're sick. It's that simple.
Furthermore, normally a pregnancy related sickness / illness does not count towards your sick days or any informal / formal action that may occur as a result of sickness. That is standard procedure to avoid discrimination. You're pregnant - they can't touch you.

If you're sick you go off sick.
There are hundreds of thousands of women of pregnancy age who work as teachers. Some will need sick leave, some won't.
Obviously working from home as a classroom teacher is probably not an option.
Hope your sickness passes soon. I remember the first couple of months being the worst.

If you’re sick then calling in sick is the right thing to do, and you are absolutely entitled to do that. I’d expect that WFH will not be an option at all, so I wouldn’t pin hopes on that. If you need time off sick though, you should take it.

Well throwing up twice in a morning is manageable. I've worked in schools where teachers have popped out to be sick with pregnancy. I worked in FE when pregnant and would spend my life sucking boiled sweets and throwing up every half hour or so.

Yes it's good to be reminded that if I'm sick I'm sick. I just feel so much pressure to be physically in, especially with so many other Covid absences at the moment.

I realise that being sick twice is 'manageable' but that's not the issue. The problem is how incredibly ill I feel as a result of going in and how little food I can keep down.

Take time off if you need to!
Don't make yourself ill for your job.
You'll feel better in a few weeks.

@TeacherofMFL please take time if if you feel you need it. Some people do not realising how physically and mentally exhausting pregnancy can be during the 1st few months

I work in a school (support staff) and I was signed of the whole half term due to extreme sickness and fatigue

I felt awful for not going in, but it was the right thing to do for my physical and mental health.

Take a few days of, see how you feel and if not speak to a doctor

hopefully in a few weeks you'll feel much better

Have you tried ondansetron? When I had kids I had a job that was pretty much impossible to leave to go and be sick wasn’t really possible to take time off without causing a bit of chaos. Ondansetron is your friend. I also had incredible fatigue with my first until half-way which I just had to plough through (although will admit may have grabbed a spare bed here and there for a power nap now and again), but oddly with subsequent pregnancies realised I just had to plough through when looking after toddlers/young kids at home on days off and that transferred over to work unlike my first.

You're ill, please take the time off. You need to rest and look after yourself. This is literally what sick leave is for x

@TeacherofMFL, you have my evey sympathy. I had two pregnancies like this, and it’s not just the bring sick, it’s the overwhelming fatigue, nausea and weakness associated with it. I had 8 weeks off in both, from a pretty full on job (construction project management).

The Maternity Act says you can not be penalised for taking pregnancy-related sick leave. So take sick leave, contact your GP fir some anti sickness meds and concentrate on resting abs staying hydrated.

Lots of excellent medical, legal and emotional support at Sickness Support.

Thanks everyone for the comments. It's important to remember that the world will not end if I don't go in- teaching somehow has a way of making you feel especially guilty!

@HoppingPavlova I tried cyclizine which did nothing but make me tired! I've been prescribed Prochloperazine but after reading the warnings I feel very uncomfortable about taking it. I know they say it's safe and I would never judge anyone for taking it but it's just a gut feeling I have. Reluctant to jump from med to med but may feel differently in a week's time!

I didn’t mention those. Specifically ondansetron. Have you looked into this? It’s not ‘jumping from med to med’, it’s pretty much the standard go to if it’s such that you are unable to work otherwise. I worked in A&E during my pregnancies and couldn’t just bunk off to the loo when I felt the need and on the other hand would not have taken anything to endanger my kids in order to be at work, it’s a gold standard.

@HoppingPavlova yes sorry the reason I mentioned those is because my GP said they were 1st and 2nd line before ondanstetron. She also said I could only take ondansatron for 5 days but if it worked so well for you maybe I will give it a go! In awe of you working in A&E whilst feeling like this.

Take time off. Get some ondansetron and rest. You can make yourself worse!

I am a teacher and I took 5 weeks off from the 9th week of pregnancy for sickness and exhaustion. I took another 5 weeks off at 7 months for other complications. Your health and your baby's health comes first. I suspect some of the posters on here aren't teachers, as, for me anyway, having continual nausea, exhaustion and headaches while controlling a large loud, boisterous bottom set with a range of challenging behaviours and learning needs last period four times a week...well, it was too much. I don't think anyone should force themselves through that. Nobody will thank you for it. They might make you feel guilty, but nobody really cares in the end.

Btw, working from home is possible. You can teach online while the cover teacher keeps control of the class.

Good luck, OP. The sickness should pass soon.

She also said I could only take ondansatron for 5 days but if it worked so well for you maybe I will give it a go!

Maybe instead of GP pay to see an ob who is an expert at managing pregnant women? I’m not being goady at all but often GPs don’t have as good a skill set and confidence in this area with pregnant women and medication. It should be worth the cost if you just see them to have a discussion re this aspect versus complete pregnancy management.

I know the teacher guilt sets in but you have to prioritise yourself! I am a primary teacher and I was off work for an entire half term due to hyperemesis. If you are physically unable to work, then pushing yourself to go in will make your physical symptoms much worse, as well as the mental stress! Take it from me - I ended up in A&E after trying to get through a day of school and vomiting 32 times in the space of 6 hours!! Take care and get prescribed something that works for you

You have my sympathies OP. I'm a teacher now, but worked in an office when I had my children. There is now way I would have coped with being a teacher whilst pregnant as I was sick for 5-6 months of each pregnancy. I didn't have many days off work, but ended up frequently coming in late or going home early for the first few months of sickness. It would have been impossible to be that flexible if I'd been a class teacher at the time.

You must take time off if you need to.

So grateful to all encouraging me against teacher guilt. My GP has signed me off for two weeks (to start with) and I started on prochlorperazine yesterday and have been able to eat again!! Was soo happy to be able to eat something tasty rather than bland for the first time in weeks. Cannot wait for week 12 (provided it stops by then!)

Pregnancy related illness which includes morning sickness can’t be used against you in terms of redundancy, selection for promotion, disciplinary.

I had awful sickness. Well done for getting medication sorted. After you’ve finished the two weeks, get your GP to write a fit note which includes some adjustments. Tiredness makes sickness much worse so think what might reduce that.

I work as a support assistant in a special needs school. I've been off since 2 days before Xmas. There is no way I can give my full attention to a pupil while feeling sick. I need a sick note from Tuesday, just hope the doctors will give me on.

I have promethazine teoclate from the doctor and atleast I don't feel dizzy constantly now. I'm coping by lieing down lots and eating at times I don't feel as queesy. I find it's also best to not get too hungry.

I am worried about how it will affect my sick record as I saw they are putting it down on HR as sickness/diarrhea.