Pregnancy anxiety and work stress

Isolt

I posted here before about the same thing. In my last post I had just found out I was pregnant again 7 weeks after losing my first baby. I am now in my 18th week of pregnancy with this little one, have had 4 perfect scans and heard the heartbeat on the gp's doppler two weeks ago.

I have been very positive throughout for the most part but have bouts of anxiety every now and again about losing this pregnancy too. I have talked with my gp about this and with my consultant so I do not want any sort of medical advice!

These past two weeks I've been feeling very anxious, I'm under a lot of stress at work that's requiring me to work extra hours and days and sometimes miss breaks because the workload is so huge. I've been there 7 years but was recently promoted and the day I told them I was pregnant was the day they put me on extended probation which is due to end in 5 weeks and a decision will be made then on my current position.

I also have to travel to Cork and Sligo every 3 weeks for a week. It might sound like nothing and it is nothing in the grand scheme of thing but even the travelling away from my partner causes huge anxiety. I'm not usually clingy at all but I am afraid of being alone for 5 days in a hotel room over thinking. I freak out that I've only felt the baby flutter a few times even though I know that's totally normal at this stage. I suffer with IBS and my tummy and back aches makes me scared that it's something wrong with the baby. I am in constant fear and can't shake it.

I am receiving excellent care from my GP in terms of scans and monitoring the baby. I have a three week wait now until my next scan, the anomaly scan which might be why I'm anxious. I am willing the baby to give me a great big reassuring kick right now to keep me calm in the meantime.

Has anybody else been in this scenario? I thought my anxiety would ease once I reached the 12 week mark, but nope. I seem to have a lot of it these past few weeks. Any personal experiences would be really helpful.
Thanks

Merkin

I really think you need to talk to your GP Isolt. I know you say you're getting excellent care from your GP and consultant who have been reassuring and that the scans have been positive etc but it's well known that pregnancy related depression and/or anxiety can manifest itself at any time during or after gestation. If your anxiety levels are as serious as you describe then I think it would be worth having an honest conversation with your midwife and/or GP about exactly how you are feeling as you don't want this to get any worse and not address it. Go and talk to someone xx

Neyite

Would you consider bringing a doppler with you when you travel. I always used to relax fully and sleel easier and forget any silly worries about the pregnancy once I heard the heartbeat.

If they extended your probation when you told them you were pregnant, did they give a non-pregnancy reason for it? Have you had a risk assessment done at work? You must take your breaks though.

Isolt

Thanks ladies. I have talked to the midwife about it and she recommended a week of rest away from work. She thinks that the hours are unreasonable & some of the physical sides of the job cause me discomfort, although I must stress it is not dangerous.

I haven't had a risk assessment done yet, I've had a few meetings arranged with my manager but either he's cancelled it or I've been called away to Sligo! Hopefully it'll be this week, that should help!

Just to say aswell, I may sound very anxious in the post above but generally I've been fine so far. The doppler idea is great, I don't have one yet but will order one. Thanks

Merkin

I have one that I bought on Amazon and it is wonderful. It's a great way of hearing bubba's heartbeat so I second the above, it is a great little thing to have. You're also at a lovely stage because foetal movement is going to become a lot stronger and more frequent over the coming weeks, I thought my little guy was doing full on rugby kicks today! And he's just given me a couple of elbows as I type this for good measure!

I think you should take the week off as well and use it for some chill out time and rest, it will give you some much needed down time and allow you to enjoy your pregnancy again. You'll be fine xx

fro9etb8j5qsl2

+1 on the doppler, it really helped to ease my mind during my pregnancy

Flippyfloppy

Listen there's no shame in being anxious. I lost a baby during my first pregnancy too. And I was an absolute nervous wreck for the whole of my following pregnancy. It just didn't go away! I was in and out of hospital with every twinge etc, I often joke that my baby is the most scanned baby in Ireland! I had a healthy pregnancy and now I'm pregnant again, and while I was stressed at the beginning I'm ok now.

I think the Doppler is a good idea, I didn't get one and I probably should have.

During my second pregnancy I had the misfortune of having a battle axe as a boss, she managed to make every little situation so stressful, like tried to put me in no-no situations while pregnant and I just felt like everything was a battle! I really should have stood my ground but I really was a mess after previous loss & anxiety & work stress!!

I don't have much advice to give other than get on top of work stresses from the get go! Also, did they extend their probationary period that day after you said you were pregnant? When was your original probationary period due to end?