According to a March 2017 article by the U.S. Department of Labor, there are 74.6 million women in the United States that are eligible to work. Almost 47 percent of U.S. workers are women.  And 70 percent of mothers with children under 18 years old are working. With more than 75 percent of working moms, working full-time.

How Many Women Are Working  While Pregnant?

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that we have one birth every 8 seconds. Yes, a baby is born every eight seconds in the U.S.

This data from the DOL and the Census Bureau shows us that we have a lot of women who are Working While Pregnant – outside of the home.
I Worked While Pregnant with both my daughters as well.

Working While Pregnant brings its own set of stress and insecurities especially for first-time mothers.
In addition to the Physical, Hormonal, Emotional, Mental, Financial… and all the (als), we stress about our Professional Career as well.
We wonder and hope that our “pregnancy” will not be used, or affect our job security and how our abilities are perceived.

Working While Pregnant

A colleague, referred to my pregnancy as a “condition” as if I had a virus or illness. I was taken aback. And responded “Condition?”!
I was fortunate that other than morning sickness, I had healthy pregnancies.
Being pregnant with both my girls was one of the happiest times in my life. I enjoyed my pregnancies to the fullest!

When I look back, I wonder If my outlook was because I was so grateful for the opportunity to have the experience.
Not just once, but twice! After been told it was impossible. You can learn about my fertility journey here.

Having a baby is a beautiful experience. It is amazing how our bodies transform to grow a little person!
With so many babies been born ( one every eight seconds) and the fact that, this is how we all came into being,
You would think that “Being Pregnant” would be normal and celebrated more – in particular in the workplace. 

My first daughter will be seven years old in a few weeks. I have tried to enjoy my motherhood journey from the first day I found out she was in my tummy and heard her heartbeat. Even in the worst moments of my Extreme Morning Sickness with my second daughter, when I literally felt like I was dying, My light at the end of the tunnel was my baby.

These are a few words of encouragement that I feel would have helped cheered me on Working While Pregnant.
And helped me enjoy my pregnancies even more.
I hope they can help encourage you – Working While Pregnant.

Words of Encouragement for Moms, Working While Pregnant

• Do You! You have one Life to Live. Nine months seems long, however, it goes by very fast.
• Enjoy Your Pregnancy. Do what works for YOU and YOUR baby.
• Enjoy the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. They will all be Memories soon.
• Enjoy having that baby secured in your tummy.
  This is the time you can feed him/her all the nourishing food you know is going to help them grow strong and healthy,
  with little or no resistance.
• Enjoy Your Pregnancy! Whether you are working or not!

Practical Tips Gained From My Two Pregnancies.
To Help You ROCK, Working While Pregnant:

1. MAKE A PLAN!
   I strongly believe that Planning is the key to help you handle the demands of working while pregnant.
   ♦ Think about what you want. What type of experience do you want to
   have? If you don’t have anything you are working towards, then you are
   opening yourself and your baby to every and anything.
   ♦ Do you need support from your work family?
   ♦ Do you want to keep your “business” private or do you want to be open
   and share?
   ♦ And, think about what you do not want. What is not acceptable.You know
   you have nine months or less. More than likely, you have an idea of what the
   next nine months of your work demands, schedule and projects are.
   Now, look at your work schedule and calendar and make your plan.

2. SHARE YOUR NEWS WITH YOUR MANAGERS, TEAM, AND COLLEAGUES WHEN IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU.
   I talk in more detail about telling my boss I’m pregnant here.
   Telling my work family that I was pregnant was thankfully a good experience for me.
   ♦My colleagues were supportive. I have been truly blessed to have had awesome work families
   who supported me even when I was not pregnant.
   ♦They were understanding if I had to decline a project or make an odd request.
   ♦I had a colleague that knew how important it was to me to be healthy and
   get in as much exercise as possible. She walked with me twice a
   week. We would use our lunch break to walk to the farmers market where we would buy
   fresh organic food.
   ♦The encouragement and advice received from other working moms and
   dads were invaluable. One male colleague told me about a wrist band his
   wife had used for her extreme morning sickness. It was one of my lifesavers
   in coping with my all-day morning sickness.
3. PACK YOUR FOOD AND BEFRIEND YOUR LOCAL DELI’S.
   This goes along with planning. I was very cognizant of what I ate while pregnant. I tried to eat food that would help with the baby’s development and keep me strong and healthy.The days when you only have snacks or can only find the strength to get dressed and get to work.
   Have a few trusted delis/restaurants that will take care of your “odd” food requests. I was so sick during the first few months of my second pregnancy. At times, even the thought of food would make me gag. But, I had to try and eat to not get more nauseous.
   I had two trusted delis that knew I was expecting and helped me a lot.

4. TAKE YOUR WATER BOTTLE WITH YOU EVERYWHERE.
   Drinking enough water was my nemesis while I was pregnant.
   I brought my water bottle and used lemon, lime, mint or whatever fruit I felt like using to flavor my water.

5. ALWAYS HAVE FLATS OR COMFORTABLE SHOES.
    I will be sharing more about dressing your bump professionally.

6. GET A COMFORTABLE CHAIR WITH A BACKREST.
   I asked my Facilities Manager if he had a more comfortable chair I could use, and he was able to get me one.
   A colleague lent me a backrest during my second pregnancy. It came in handy during the last few weeks.

7. ELEVATE YOUR FEET.
   If you are sitting for long periods of time or you’re having swollen feet, put them up.
   I used boxes and trash cans. You can even take in a step stool.
8. TRY AND SIT CLOSE TO THE BATHROOM.
   Take bathroom breaks often. If you are drinking a lot of water, you will have the need to “go” often.
   I was not able to move my office, however, I found a faster route to the restroom.

9. DRESS FOR SUCCESS.
   See my post on Dressing Your Bump For Work – Without Breaking The Bank
   ♦ Even when you feel like crap – Dress-Up, and Show-Up as much as you can!
   ♦ Style your hair and get your nails done.
   ♦ Ask for help if you can’t do it yourself or afford to get it done.
   ♦ Brush your teeth and use mouth wash. Get travel sizes to take with you to work.
   These will come in handy with combating morning sickness – or cleaning up after…
   ♦ Do your make-up. Make it simple.
   Create your 5 to 10-minute process. Highlight that baby glow – or make it!
   ♦ Wear clothes that are Professional and Comfortable.
   ♦ If you find yourself thinking too long and asking if it’s appropriate, then don’t wear it!

   Looking Good Will Help You Feel Good. Enjoy Dressing Your Bump.

10. SCHEDULE AND BLOCK OUT YOUR PRENATAL DOCTORS’ VISITS ON YOUR CALENDAR.
    Schedule all your upcoming prenatal doctors’ visits as far out as you can.
    Most women have prenatal visits every four weeks for the first and second trimesters.
    Then every two weeks and then every week depending in the third trimester…
    ♦  Have your planner, work calendar or whichever planning and scheduling tools you are using for your personal and professional life.
    ♦  Ask your doctor’s team scheduling his/her appointments to schedule all your upcoming appointments.
    Right up until delivery. You can always update as needed.
    ♦  I scheduled all my appointments at the same times and days for my
    doctors’ appointments as much as I could. Some of us get “pregnancy brain”
    and need all the help we can get to keep our personal and professional lives
    together.

    This will help give you some grace. You will be able to say,
    “I have my prenatal doctor’s appointment every month on this day and time”.

    ♦  You can easily coordinate with your spouse or other support systems that will
    accompany you to your appointments.
    ♦  Physically Block out the times for your doctor’s visits on your work calendar.
    You can make these public or private, depending on what works best for you.
    This will help you and your team to not schedule meetings when you are not available.
    ♦  Synchronize All Your Calendars!

Having a baby is a blessing.  Having a career that you love is also a blessing, especially when you enjoy working.

When you are fortunate to be Working While Pregnant at a job you love, it should be pure joy and happiness!
I hope these tips will help you ROCK, Working While Pregnant.
Not saying, being pregnant under any other circumstance it not…

Remember to use these tips as guidelines and Always Do You! Do what’s best for your situation, You and Your Baby.
Take the tips/tools that best resonate with you and apply them to help YOU!

Begin With Your End in Mind. Think about the experience you want to have during your pregnancy. Now make a plan that will help you achieve that experience.

Now walk with pride, smile and Enjoy Your Pregnancy, even if you Wobble!
Moms, who worked while you were pregnant, please share your tips and words of encouragement.
Let’s Share, Support and Learn From Each Other!

With warm sentiments,

Yamiek, aka, Tallawah Human