Can't stand work a moment longer - how do I get signed off sick???

[akamummy]

Everything is going horribly wrong at work.
I hate it. Roll on maternity leave. Am
17 weeks pregnant, exhausted, trying to look after my two-year-old and get up at 5am each day for work. Moan moan moan....

A sympathetic doctor might sign you off. Tell doctor you can't cope physically or mentally with the stress and strain of work. At work have you told them you are pregnant? You could ask them to do a risk assessment and put you on light duties - not sure what you do so that advice might not be relevant!

You might want to bear in mind that at some point in the pregnancy (I can't remember how many weeks) if you are off sick with a pregnancy related illness, your employer can force you to start maternity leave early.

Sounds like you're just having a rough week. Why not try to ride it out for now??

You have to self-certify for seven days first- is it possible to do this and then see if the break has rejuvenated you at all?

bubbles makes a good point about mat leave- I remember reading something like that too.

I'm pretty sure that legally your employer has to take your pregnancy into account and be flexible re working times/conditions if it is affecting your health. So maybe you could look at working different shifts/working from home etc?

With DS1 I was due to work up until a week before due date but he came a week early so was at workon the Friday and had him on the Sunday.

With DS2 I had a horrific time - carpal tunnel, sciatica, extreme fatigue due to iron deficiency... blah blah blah.... Again, for financial reasons, was due to work up to a week before.

Doc on the other hand (lovely bloke) was having none of it.
Signed me off for carpal tunnel as he gave me a note to say no typing/repetitive movements but boss kept giving me typing etc and more and more work. (blood pressure went up too)

Went back a few days after that month then he signed me off for sciatica, which by this point had eased off .

Lovely bloke.

In the end, I finished work at about 33 ish weeks with all the notes he kept giving me to send in.

'You will NOT be going bak to work this pregnancy Mrs.LOTF, it is no good for your health'

...... Your damn skippy Doc.

bubbles I believe that they can make your maternity leave kick in 4 weeks before your EDD

aka I feel for you, I'm in the same situation-ish as you. I'm thoroughly bored at work, there's just nothing for us to do, my boss (although a really nice guy) isn't that bothered as he's looking at leaving himself. I've had a few days off sick with back pain, and now I'm looking at going to the doctor to see if I can get signed off for longer - don't know if I'm just looking for an excuse to not be here, maybe if I adored my job I could cope with a bit of a sore back?

I would go to your doctor and explain you're not coping at work - I personally found female doctors to be more understanding than males... One male doctor asked me why I thought I was so exhausted... I gave him a look which I hope said "why do YOU think I'm so exhausted? Perhaps the fact that I'm growing a person inside of me?"

Best of luck, hope you have an enjoyable pregnancy

Fraggle

Did I mention he was a lovely bloke?!

As suggested, self cert. yourself for a week, then get a note from Doc if needed. There is not a lot your employer can do about it. They wouldn't want to descriminate against you for being pregnant now.