Women have been known to be resilient to the changes of society and economy. It is no wonder that more and more career-oriented women, who have been an essential part of the workforce, have not let the condition of their pregnancy get in the way of keeping their jobs. The key here is to strike a balance in managing the resulting effects in the changes in her body with the necessity to manage her time at the work place. Moreover, most companies now recognize the need to provide support in terms of maternal benefits to these working moms.

The main concern of these working mothers is to keep their health in check and to stay fit for work. These are some tips to ensure that common ailments can be minimized, if not avoided.

It is prevalent among pregnant women to experience morning sickness or nausea. What can a working mom do to not let this interfere with their work? In the morning, getting up from bed immediately can cause the dreaded morning sickness. To avoid this, spend a few minutes lying on the side of the bed before starting the day on your feet. Movement can only aggravate nausea so it is better to move with care. Being pregnant gives a woman a valid excuse to eat more than three times a day. Aside from eating for two (three or more if twins, etc.), nausea can be minimized by eating smaller portioned meals in a day (say five or six) because the objective here is to avoid having an empty stomach. In addition, drinking lots of fluids everyday and breathing fresh air from the outdoors can help alleviate this type of illness.

Another major issue with pregnant women is getting swollen feet and having varicose veins on the legs. To improve blood circulation, it is recommended that one should perform light to moderate exercise for around 30 minutes. The key here is to move a around and to walk around once an hour or so. Aside from preventing weight gain, it also builds on the endurance needed for the much anticipated event of childbirth. Overall, exercise can also promote an overall feeling of improved physical and emotional faculties. Studies have revealed that exercise among pregnant women can place gestational diabetes in check. There are claims that wearing maternity tights or support hoses can significantly reduce the occurrence of unsightly varicose veins.

The next main concern of an expecting mom is to spend some time in doing research on the maternity benefits provided by the company. Information on this will be very helpful in planning the allocation of resources as a result of the expected childbirth. Try to check how much the company will support financially for the actual operation. Some companies are known to fully subsidize this. Nothing beats being prepared by also checking the maternity leave policy to know the allowed leaves, both paid and unpaid.

For moms-to-be, there is a need to correctly identify the perils and risks in the workplace that they are used to. Working around toxic substances for an expecting mother should bring her to seriously consider work reassignment. Teratogens may be a scientific term unknown to many but it is important for pregnant women to know that there are certain reproductive hazards to be cautious of. The reason behind this is that this type of hazard can bring about complications that could lead to unfortunate miscarriages, premature delivery, birth defects and abnormal fetal and infant development. Working with substances like lead, mercury, organic solvents, and also radiation should be avoided at all costs. There may not be dangerous substances at the workplace but jobs that are physically strenuous should be equally considered a risk to expecting moms. Jobs that require long periods of standing and lifting of heavy weights can take a toll on delivering babies prematurely resulting in lower-than-normal birth weight.

Women should also be aware of common risk factors during pregnancy. Mothers-to-be who are pregnant with twins or higher multiples are threatened by premature labor. Women who suffer from hypertension are in danger of preeclampsia, a condition which usually occurs during the latter part of pregnancy. Other risk factors are having cervical incompetence and if the baby is suffering from stunted growth. These may cause expecting mothers to stop working or lessening the hours of work at some point of pregnancy.

Career women who are also home-makers need not worry about working and being pregnant. This write up contains the basic needs of an expecting working mother. However, it should not limit our mothers-to-be from reading other resources so as not to overlook other precautionary approach to ensure healthy conception.

Author:
Elysiana Canlas

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