18 weeks pg and fainting if I stand still - any advice??

[miranda2]

I keep nearly fainting! This happens when I stand still for more than a few minutes. As I am a vicar, this is proving to be a great problem... I passed out at the altar last Sunday whilst celebrating communion. I now have a high stool to sit on while celebrating, but still have to stand up for some bits of the service and had to go out and put my head between my knees during the sermon this morning. I can probably cope with services by just sitting down more, but then my colleague asked me to do a funeral this week and I am panicking! I can't possibly stand for the full 20-30 minutes it will take, so the only way I can do it is to sit throughout apart from the actual commital - but the family might think that is pretty odd.
What worries me is that basically there are large chunks of my job (actually only about 15% in terms of time taken, but all the public high profile bits, ie services) that I'm really unable to do as people expect as a result of this. I feel really pathetic and not a little quilty - I mean, I knew I'd take maternity leave and that's fine, but I really didn't expect my pregnancy to impact on my work much, certainly not this early. It didn't last time, but I seem to be coping physically much less well this time. Might just be being four years older I guess!
Anyway, all my worries aside, I wondered if anyone had any practical advice to help with the fainting issue? I know I can stand on my rights under employment law and have a risk assesment done etc, but the church is so far behind in understanding equal opportunities etc (the diocese only got a maternity leave policy a year ago!) that I dont' want to be seen as making a fuss more than I can help. I've had my iron checked and that's fine - the doc said it was probably low blood pressure and I just had to live with it. But at my last check up the midwife said my bp was 110/60, which doesn't sound low to me?
Help!

anyone??

sorry no advice here - have you mentioned it to the mw - could it be prehaps a lack of sugar?

sorry not much help

Aw! A pregnant vicar, how fabbie! I can't think of anything more lovely than having a pregnant vicar celebrating the Christmas services!

I get faint a lot from low blood pressure. I use this tip that I picked up from military practice (allegedly) to save soldiers who are standing 'to attention' for hours on end. If you rock on your feet slightly all the time, it keeps your circulation flowing more. In church I am constantly rocking - tip-toes, heels, tip-toes, heels. People rarely notice. It seems to work for me. Maybe you could try it?

Other than that, maybe warn the people who are serving with you and ask one of them to be a 'catcher' and stand behind you all the time, just in case? And maybe warn the congregation before the service, in a jokey way? I'm sure no one would mind. I was collapsing all the time when I was pregnant and people were always sympathetic.

Alternatively, are there wheelchair-user vicars anywhere near you? They might be able to loan you a portable altar and appropriate coverings - which is suitable for using while you are sitting in a normal chair?

Is there no one near you who could take the funeral - do you have any readers in your parish or in a nearby parish? I'm sure they'd be REALLY pleased to help - readers love that sort of thing!

Thanks morningpaper! I am celebrating on Christmas morning - it will be very cool!
I have tried the rocking thing, but not sure it helps...will keep doing it anyway. The 'bar stool' to sit on behind the altar seems to work OK - though one of the servers told me this morning that I looked like a cabaret singer! I think I will have to say that either i do the funeral sitting down or they find someone else - writing it all down made me realise it was a bit daft to worry about upsetting people, the health and safety stuff is definitely more important.

Ooh, Christmas will be so cool! Last year I was breastfeeding in the gallery of my church during the christmas service - an old couple noticed and kept looking at me and I thought they would complain - but afterwards they came to find me and told me how beautiful they thought it was to have a mother feeding her baby just like Mary did! I was chuffed to bits!!

Have you tried drinking a really sugary drink just before services? I found that keeping my blood sugar HIGH really helped during crucial moments (as Fairydust implied).

Otherwise, yes - your health and safety is the most important thing. If sitting down helps, then do that as much as possible. If you have to stop doing services, then do that. Ask your readers for help. My deanery has a wheelchair-using vicar and she has a portable altar that she brings down in front of the main altar when she takes services. Perhaps something like this might be worth looking into?

Good luck!

miranda - know how you feel. I had a similar problem in my 2nd pregnancy (was the same in 1st, only no public role to job involving standing in church!) I had similar blood pressure to you, and nearly kep fainting, giving vicar nightmares I was about to give birth! I got through by sitting down whenever possible - even during the creed. Nobody minds - in fact they found it quite exciting - when is the baby going to come etc. Also, keeping a large bottle of ice cold water, which got me through many a eucharist! I found it worst first thing in the morning - was generally ok by matins, don't know if it was the kick in the communion wine, but it did seem to help!

Your bp sounds nice and healthy miranda2 but when you stand still for a while in pregnancy it will drop because your heart is having to work twice as hard to pump blood round your body as it now has another little person to supply with blood!!! The best thing to do is make sure you eat a snack rich in carbs before a service as that contains slow release energy which will keep your blood sugar up and also drink plenty of fluids but not too much otherwise this will have an undesirable effect!!!also during my pregnancies I suffered a similar problem if I stood for a long time and what help was wiggling my toes as it contracts the calf muscles causing the blood to keep moving in the deep veins in your legs which will hopefully stop your bp from dropping , good luck!

miranda2, I am 17 weeks pg and my bp is around 110/60 (was 100/65 last week). I have been having scary dizzy/faint spells too and my GP said it was down to slightly low blood pressure and my body telling me that now that I'm pregnant, I must slow down and realise that I can't carry on as if I'm non-pg

I started a thread a week or so ago about exactly this, asking MNers for advice. You might want to read that? I got lots of good advice about eating little and often etc...do a search on my name and you should find it. Good luck!

thanks very much everyone. Will read your thread logic - thanks!
I think you've hit the nail on the head actually - I did rather expect to carry on as if i wasn't pregnant. I don't recall pregnancy being much of an issue last time, so I was all prepared for maternity leave, childcare issues etc, but in my head the impact of the second child started about March next year, not now!

Miranda2,I have the same problem & nearly fainted whilst out shopping because I had been standing in a queue too long.

I have always had low BP,so I assume it is this causing it.I find I am better if I stand up/sit down very slowly & keep hydrated.

I think having a pregnant vicar must be lovely!

during my recent pregnancy I took myself off to hospital after feeling faint at 23 weeks to be told my bp was 70/40 eekkk!!! spent the rest of my pregnancy making contact with the floor if I stood up too long, hence wiggling of toes, however had to give up work early as am a nurse and not much cop if I was fainting every minute!!!

miranda2 - congrats on the pregnancy!

Drinking lots of fluids is supposed to be important if you've got low blood pressure.

My danger times are when standing up, but also when standing for a while - fortunately I don't have to do that much. Amazingly have never had any problems when cycling 35 minutes to and from the station for work. Bp was 80 / 50 at last couple of counts, so still pretty low. My midwife keeps telling me - if you feel faint, you just have to sit down, even if it involves sitting down in the middle of the pavement!!

So I would say just explain to people that you need to sit down - most people will be only too delighted to accommodate you. I love the idea of the bar-stool at the altar!

Thanks everyone! I've spoken to the guy who runs the crematorium and he was very happy about me sitting down for funerals - apparently there are a couple of disabled vicars who do this and it works fine. So thats taken that load off my shoulders! I have just had to be very firm with my colleagues and insist that I am only going to sit for services - can preach etc from my bar stool!! (I'm not going to want to give it up when I go back to work...)
Saw the midwife the other day having read in a book that if fainting comes with backache it can mean a urine infection - I had said to dh only the day before that it seemed worse if my back was hurting. so thats now being tested for - i get the results on friday.