I need an excuse

[betterstayanonymous]

So I have four work trips in the next 3 weeks, all several hours away from Birmingham where I live. I'm not ready to tell my team at work that I'm pregnant (I'm 8 weeks) but need an excuse as to why I have to cancel these trips. I'm firmly gripped in morning sickness and exhaustion's clutches and I can't do anything apart from work gently from home and eat. Anyone got any good ideas for an illness that's not too serious but potentially infectious that I could tell people I have so I sound plausibly unable to travel for at least a couple of weeks? I've already (genuinely) had swine flu and scarlet fever. Thanks!

maybe hospital appointments would be a good excuse - make it sound gyneacolical and noone will ask too many questions?

Don't lie. Better to be vague, because you will have to twll them you're pregnant sooner or later, and then they will know you were lying.

Get your doctor to sign you off/reduce your hours due to something vague but true - something gastric? Or gynaeological? Doctors don't have to be specific if it's a sensitive matter.

I'm at the same stage of pregnancy and needing lots of naps and finding the nausea hard to cope with. Social events seem much harder to avoid than work at the moment, though (I used to like a drink). I've been vaguely saying 'I'm not very well' as am hopeless at lying. Can't wait until I can reveal all!

I was in a similar situation with my first pregnancy and just said that I had a persistent infection so was on vicious antibiotics for qa couple of weeks that made me feel lousy and unable to concentrate, no one queried it and it got me out of 2 trips away, incidently strong antibiotics do make me feel like that so quite plausable!

Does your work count sick-leave towards a total? Or will this count against you job-wise? If so, you really need to tell your boss at least, because the protection against pregnancy discrimination only kicks in after you've told your boss.

I would tell your line manager, in confidence, so that at least someone knows and can support you and back you up. Then perhaps the general 'word on the street' could be that you've been advised by your doctor to take it easy given your recent illnesses and that you don't feel quite 100% yet.

Thanks very much to eveyone for the advice! I'm going to tell my boss next week and definitley avoid the trips!