Pregnant

[tigertummy]

Hi all,

I've just found out I'm pregnant. What's the most up to date guidance on pregnancy and teaching at the moment?

I teach in primary and I have almost my whole class in so I'm a little anxious.

Thanks

hiya, congratulations! I am pregnant too - I'm 20 weeks. The guidance says that from 28 weeks if you can not social distance at work you should either be put in a different role or allowed to work from home or suspended on full pay. I am yet to have this discussion with school - I have a feeling they will say I can social distance, but teaching year 1 I obviously cant!

Hey @Clairelucyr

Congratulations to you too!! Yeh I teach reception so I know exactly what you mean about social distancing not being a thing.

Is there any guidance on the 1st trimester?

No there isn't any guidance for 1st and 2nd trimester, just the usual risk assessment

Thanks @Clairelucyr

Good luck talking to your school!

Hi OP, I’m 36 weeks and also teach reception. For the first and second trimester you will just be in school with a risk assessment. That’s what I did and then didn’t go back into school after Christmas as I was 28 weeks at the end of Dec. I was scared at first but honestly it was ok. We even had a couple of cases in my class during that time and I didn’t catch it despite one of the positive children hugging me (unexpectedly!!) four days before they were then confirmed positive.

My midwife explained it to me as there is no increased risk to you from catching covid during pregnancy so although it feels scary, even if you caught it, the likelihood is that you and your baby will be fine during the first and second trimester. If you needed treatment at this stage it would also likely be ok for you and your baby.

The reason they specify 28 weeks is that from the third trimester onwards, the treatment you would require if you became seriously ill would take a greater toll on you and your baby (eg: being on a ventilator). So even though there’s no increased likelihood of getting it in the third trimester and there’s no increased likelihood of becoming very ill with it, it could just be harder to care for you if you did become very ill and could mean the baby would need to be delivered early, although that isn’t a given. That’s why the advice starts from 28 weeks, according to my midwife. I can’t find any reasoning online anywhere as to why it’s 28 weeks so no idea if she’s right but can’t see why she’d lie!

Hi, I am 28 weeks pregnant and have had my request to continue to work from home after lockdown rejected. I am really worried because nobody knows how these new varients are going to behave when all the kids behave and if we will actually be safe (I never thought we were anyway)

Has anyone else had their request to work from home rejected?

Thanks @Leodot that's really put my mind at ease!!

@teachercat. Are different arrangements being made for you in school so that you can distance? Have you got a risk assessment?

@tigertummy You’re welcome! Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy ❤️.

@Teacherkat What is their justification for denying it? My understanding is that they have to show on the risk assessment how they will ensure you are keeping to social distancing guidelines and if they can’t (eg: you will be in close contact with young children) then you should be at home. My school were great about it so I didn’t have a fight but I think the onus should be on your school to prove in their risk assessment that they can do that. Can you speak to your midwife?

They have said that I should keep two meters in the classroom and that students will wear masks. I teach 13-16 year old that aren't good at following rules. They don't social distance and before lockdown I spent most of my time telling the off for not wearing their masks properly, so I really don't see how it will be different this time.

I don't feel that wearing a mask will stop it spreading if you are a classroom for 2 hours with a group of nearly adults.

The head also said that it is a plus that I have already had the virus, even though my husband, who does socially distance in his office and wears a mask if moving around the office, has now had it twice!

Am I just being dramatic?

The said they they are following government guidelines. Good idea about the midwife, I will speak to her. Thank you! My mind doesn't always work logically when I'm stressed. 🤪

@Teacherkat I don't think you're being dramatic at all!! I would feel exactly the same! Are you with a union?

@teacherkat I am 28 weeks and having the same discussion with my SLT. I emailed to say I presume I can continue to work from home teaching my classes and school reopens (this was weeks ago that I emailed) and all I have been told so far is SLT are thinking discussing it. I teach secondary so 11-18 and while it is a nice school with nice kids, social distancing and masks and following the rules were dire before Christmas and I can only imagine they will be worse this time round with the promise of freedom coming up. With only a week to go until schools are open I am getting stressed about it.
I have been teaching a full timetable at home since January with no issues so I don’t see why I cannot continue with this.
I am seeing my midwife this week so will ask her too what the guidance is.

@shittingthreeeyedraven you've hit the nail on the head there. They can have the best risk assessments in place, but if teenagers don't follow them, they are useless.

Please let me know how you get on with the midwife

@Teacherkat I’ve been very lucky and my school have agreed for me to continue to wfh until Easter, and then i presume the guidance may we’ll change.
I didn’t have to get my midwife to write or anything.
I am now having slight regrets about not going back as all my friends will be there (I have a very close staff room) but it is for the best and I am very relieved.
How are you getting on?

After a fighting, my head has agreed to let me carry out some of my role from home but will still be expected in to teach two days a week, which reduces me to having contact with 60 students +staff instead of who knows how many.

We were in yesterday and Wednesday for training and trying to do what is on the risk assessment just isn't working. I open the windows, other staff come in and close them. I try to keep 2 meters and staff, some without even wearing their masks properly, get close to me. Its so frustrating and that's with just adults in the school!

On top of all of this, I have since found out that there are 5 positive cases amongst staff and that is just with the vulnerable learners in and twice weekly testing, which isn't convincing me that I'll be safe.

Occupational health in our local authority have now said that only frontline workers in their third trimester should work from home. Teaching is not considered frontline. The only pregnant women in the teaching profession who should be working from home are those who are classed as CEV and haven’t been able to have the vaccination. This is based on the most up to date guidance.

Well according to the government website it still says:

“Your employer should ensure you are able to adhere to any active national guidance on social distancing and/or advice for pregnant women considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable (this group may previously have been advised to shield).

For many workers, this may require working flexibly from home in a different capacity.”

And since I can’t socially distance at all times, what does that mean?

My head had a change of heart and is letting me work from home as one of our colleagues dies of covid at the weekend

Oh goodness. How terrible.

That's awful TeacherKat, hope you're ok, one of my colleagues lost her husband to Covid last year and it really hit all of us at school hard.

I'm 22 weeks currently and my headteacher seems to think that either the guidance will change at the next announcement on the 12th April so I'll be ok to continue in school until I want to start maternity or that I'll be working from home until 21st June when everything 'goes back to normal' so I'll be able to be back in school from then to when I want to start maternity.