Ever heard stories about women who worked till the last day of their pregnancy? Then highly likely you have heard of women who couldn’t even manage to get out of bed most days, leave alone, get ready and work through the day.
Most women, who do not suffer from sickness and nausea can and do work through their pregnancy. If you plan on working through your pregnancy, we have a list that will help you along the way!
Inform your employer
Most Indian women intend to stop working briefly once the baby arrives. You may be taking a short break, but if it extends beyond your maternity leave, you need to inform your employer about that in addition to the pregnancy news. This way you will be able to finish up important assignments and your employer will know that you will stick to your word.
When to inform
Most women struggle to come to a decision about when to inform the employer about the pregnancy. The best time to reveal about your good news to colleagues and employer is just after they start suspecting and before they are sure. Don’t reveal it too early and don’t wait for too long either. Waiting too long will show you are concealing the pregnancy for your own good and mark you as untrustworthy.
Make allowances for yourself
Being pregnant means big changes to your body in a very short period of time. Give yourself leeway for that. You may not be able to function at the same level every day. You will have good days and bad days. It is better to foresee this and ask for reduced number of work hours, flexibility of working from home or even a part time position. The key is to evaluate your options in advance and work out an arrangement with your employer.
Working out the right maternity break
Indian laws allow for 3 months of fully paid maternity break. It is up to you to decide when you intend to take this break. You can break it up by availing yourself some time before the baby arrives and the rest afterwards. If your company is too small and doesn’t have a maternity policy, you will have to make the employer aware of the laws and stand for your rights.
Threading waters with Nausea
The biggest deterrent to pregnant women is the nausea and sickness associated with it. Unfortunately, this stage is strongest in the 1st trimester, when chances are that you haven’t disclosed your pregnancy to your employer. The only way to alleviate the sickness is to recognize the triggers that set off nausea for you and to avoid them. Research shows that once nausea sets in, it is difficult to control it and will take its own time to lessen. So it is best to avoid the triggers that set it off. Sometimes you may not be in a position to recognize the triggers or do anything about them. If these instances increase, maybe you should inform your employer about your pregnancy earlier than you planned. This will allow you to rest on days when the nausea incapacitates you.
Finally, no pregnancy is the same. To make working during pregnancy easier for you, plan ahead. Pregnancy itself may feel like a full-time job and if you feel it is too much, allow some time off for yourself although it goes against every plan you made for yourself before being pregnant.