Pregnancy is a time of excitement, but for many it is also a time of uncertainty and worry.

If you work, you may be worried about telling your boss you’re pregnant. You may even have concerns about certain job duties that may put you or your baby at risk (especially with COVID-19).

Here’s what you need to know about safely working through your pregnancy, your rights, and some tips on when and how to tell your employer you’re pregnant.

1. Take Regular Breaks-

Working during pregnancy can be very exhausting especially during the first trimester.

It is important to make sure you take regular breaks to stretch your legs and reduce the risk of DVT (deep vein thrombosis).

We take for granted simple things like having a toilet break. During pregnancy your fluid intake should increase therefore so will the demand to visit the restroom.

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 you are entitled to at least 20 minutes uninterrupted rest break if you are working more than 6 hours.

2. Antenatal Appointments: What are your rights?

By law, you have the right to reasonable time off with full pay for pregnancy-related (‘antenatal’) appointments and care before you have your baby.

You have this right:

from your first day of employment if you’re an employee
whether you work full time or part time

The antenatal appointments need to be on the advice of a doctor, nurse or midwife and can include:

scans
pregnancy health checks
relaxation classes, for example pregnancy yoga
parent craft classes

‘Reasonable’ time off for an antenatal appointment includes:

the length of the appointment or class
travel to and from it

If you have an appointment in the middle of a working day or shift, it’s a good idea to talk with your employer about how long it’ll take.

They might agree to flexible working, for example they might allow you to:

work from home for the rest of the day if it’ll take too long to get back to work
change your start and finish times

Your employer cannot make you change an antenatal appointment to a different time if you do not want to.

3. Hydration-

When you do not drink enough fluid (water), you can become dehydrated. This is where your body loses more fluid than it is taking in. If you are being sick or sweating a lot, which can happen during pregnancy, you can become dehydrated very quickly.

Drinking enough can be the difference between feeling well or unwell during pregnancy. It will also help with some common pregnancy problems, such as constipation.

You should drink enough during the day so your pee is a pale, clear colour.

4. Snacks-

You will probably find that you are more hungry than usual, but you do not need to “eat for 2” – even if you are expecting twins or triplets.

Try to have a healthy breakfast every day, because this can help you to avoid snacking on foods that are high in fat and sugar.

Eating healthily often means changing the amounts of different foods you eat, so that your diet is varied, rather than cutting out all your favourites. You can use the Eatwell Guide to get the balance of your diet right. It shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.

You do not need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get the balance right over a week.

Taking fruit pots to work are a great for healthy snacking.

5. Risk Assessment-

When the employee tells their employer they’re pregnant, the employer should assess the risks to the employee and their baby.

Risks could be caused by:

heavy lifting or carrying.
standing or sitting for long periods without adequate breaks.
exposure to toxic substances.
face to face working (for example in healthcare settings where looking after or coming into contact with COVID patients is possible).
long working hours.

Where there are risks, the employer should take reasonable steps to remove them. For example, offering the employee different work or changing their hours.

The employer should suspend the employee on full pay if they cannot remove any risks. For example, offering suitable alternative work. Pregnant employees who think they’re at risk but their employer disagrees should talk to their health and safety or trade union representative. If your employer still refuses to do anything, talk to your doctor or contact the Health and Safety Executive. Many organisation have HR departments which may be worth talking to if you feel your manager is not helping.

For full details about the regulations see the Health and Safety Executive website.

6. Fetal Movements-

Most women are first aware of their baby moving when they are 18–20 weeks pregnant. However, if this is your first pregnancy, you may not become aware of movements until you are more than 20 weeks pregnant. If you have been pregnant before, you may feel movements as early as 16 weeks. Pregnant women feel their baby’s movements as a kick, flutter, swish or roll.

As your baby grows, both the number and type of movements will change with your baby’s activity pattern. Usually, afternoon and evening periods are times of peak activity for your baby. During both day and night, your baby has sleep periods that mostly last between 20 and 40 minutes, and are rarely longer than 90 minutes.
Your baby will usually not move during these sleep periods.

There is no specific number of movements that is considered normal. During your pregnancy, you need to be aware of your baby’s individual pattern of movements. A reduction or a change in your baby’s movements is what is important (RCOG)

I hope this has helped prepare you for keeping safe at work whilst pregnant. Just remember: You’ve got this mama!

Tips On Staying Safe At Work During Pregnancy