If you’re one of the many women who worked throughout your pregnancy with morning sickness then you know it’s not just about surviving work but surviving each day. During my first trimester, I spent almost every hour curled up on the couch, except for the times my husband had the unfortunate luck of seeing me throw up in the sink because I couldn’t make it to the bathroom. (I never said this would be pretty. Honest, yes. But not pretty.)
As you may know, most women wait to publicly announce that they are expecting until after 12 weeks when the chance of miscarriage dramatically decreases. And according to the Mayo Clinic, between 10 and 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. So, I can understand why it would be heartbreaking and difficult to tell everyone you were pregnant, only to have to tell them the sad news if you happen to miscarry before 12 weeks.
But, here’s the other thing. Most of the extreme symptoms happen before those 12 weeks, such as morning sickness. In my case, this entailed throwing up occasionally and also feeling nauseous 24/7. I had hormone-induced headaches and my mouth constantly tasted like blood mixed with metal – not the best combination when you’re already sick to your stomach.
And I’m not even talking about Hyperemesis Gravidarum, which Duchess Kate has, and can cause some women to vomit up to 100 times a day. Most have to be hospitalized at least once and monitored closely for dehydration.
No, I’m just talking about regular morning sickness, which isn’t as life-threatening as Hyperemesis Graviarium but can still be debilitating.
For instance, trying to hide the fact that you are pregnant at work, despite feeling like you have a bad case of the flu that won’t go away. Unfortunately, there are times when it is just awkward, like when I would eat crackers and ginger ale for lunch – again. Or the smell of a co-workers lunch almost made me lose mine.
It’s a silent, lonely struggle.
Plus, there is the added pressure of what everyone will think once they find out. Is she going to leave as soon as she has the baby? Is she going to leave before then? How will her doctor appointments affect her work? etc etc
So, after having survived the first trimester at work myself I feel I have come out at least slightly wiser in how to handle it. If you are in the midst of it or will be in the near future, I hope these tips help you. Because while ginger ale is great, you’re going to need a heck lot more than that to survive work, and quite frankly, each day.
7 Ways to Survive Morning Sickness At Work
1.) Tell Someone In Your Office
As soon as your symptoms become a problem it is best to tell someone in your office. In the very least, it can bring you comfort that someone in your office knows what’s really going on and not that you are a hypochondriac, or have some odd flu that you are going to spread to everyone.
If you tell your boss or a manager you might be able to ask for a few “work from home” days. There are some days you could probably still get your work done, but from your couch (and close to a bathroom) would be so much more comfortable – for everyone.
If you can’t tell someone higher up for fear of your job, then perhaps friend a work friend that you can trust not to spill the beans to everyone else.
Lastly, if you work in an environment that is potentially dangerous to you or your baby you need to tell your work immediately.
2.) Manage Your Symptoms
You can google “morning sickness relief” until the world ends but what works for one person may not work for you, and vice versa. I’ve had so many people tell me that they would just snack on saltine crackers and were fine. That did not work for me. Neither really did ginger ale, ginger chews, coke, green apples, pretzels, lemons, any number of the natural remedies out there.
What helped me was milk.
The secret is to keep trying different drinks and food until you find out what works for you. And be ready for whatever works to change on a daily basis. That’s why at work I have a drawer of pretzels, sour candy, saltine crackers, nuts, ginger tea, and others on hand in time of need because while my food choices might have changed, just continually eating seemed to be key.
3.) Take a B6 Supplement
While asking advice from friends who had recently had babies, one told me about combining B6 vitamins with half a Unisom tablet for nausea and vomiting. Quite frankly, I would have eaten my toe if someone told me it would help. Thankfully, this combination has been such a gift! I try not to take it every day – and it will make you sleepy – but being sleepy at work is far better than being sick.
Before you try this though please talk with your doctor. I confirmed with my OB that is was a safe effective remedy but you should check, too.
4.) Sit Near a Door During Meetings
This is kind of an amusing one, but you will be glad you did if nausea strikes you hard and you need to run out of a room, which has happened to me. It is better to be safe than sorry.
5.) Create a Work “Emergency Kit”
Besides your drawer of snacks, create a kit to get you out of not-so-pleasant situations at work. You might want to include paper towels, a toothbrush, Tylenol, gum, pregnancy pops, and any medication your doctor has prescribed for morning sickness. Keep it at work and cross your fingers that you don’t have to use them, but be thankful they are there if you do.
6.) Ask for Help
Whether you’ve told people in your office or not, give yourself some grace for not “having it all together” some weeks and ask for help. Maybe there is someone you can delegate tasks to, or just get a second pair of eyes to look over something. We often want to be superwomen but the fact is we are growing a human inside us. We can still have a successful career, just knowing that we also shouldn’t run ourselves into the ground during this very important time. When needed – ask for help.
7.) Be Considerate when Scheduling Doctor’s Appointments
If you do have to be out of the office for an appointment, have a back-up plan of someone who can cover for you, and let your boss know that is in place. Show them you have thought about it and that you will not leave any holes uncovered.
If you haven’t made the big announcement yet then all they need to know is that you have a doctor’s appointment – trust me no one will ask a woman what it is – but that you still have things under control, or are able to be reached by phone if necessary.
By planning back-ups it will not only give your office peace of mind that you are still in control of your work, but also give yourself that same peace of mind. While you might need to be out for more appointments, just make sure that you keep up with your emails and show that you have things under control.
For the 50-80% of women who suffer from morning sickness, there is no “cure” except time. But on my worst days I liked to remind myself of the amazing miracle that was happening in my body and if that meant being sick, so be it.
Oh, and having a purse of snacks never hurts either.
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With my second pregnancy my morning sickness was soooo bad. I had to call into work so much. Unfortunately I had a miscarriage so most of my coworkers just thought I had a really bad case of the flu.
Oh, I am so sorry you went through that Rosaura.
Good tips! I always found no matter where I was it helped if I sat near a door, exit or end of row *just in case*.
haha same – even when I’m not pregnant. 😉
Oh man, yes – this was such a difficult stage of pregnancy! Feeling awful/nauseous and not really being able to explain why was so difficult at times. These are great tips!
Thanks, Jordan!
Awesome tips! This is something that’s been on my mind a ton as I try to get pregnant – particularly balancing the fear of telling people too early (and having to share awful news later) with the stress of trying to hide the symptoms. I like your compromise of telling at least one person – I know that’s made a world of difference for me to be able to talk about the stress of trying to get pregnant and plan for a baby.
Yes! It’s amazing how having at least one person know can provide a lot of relief.
Morning sickness is awful awful stuff- and I feel for anyone who has had to experience this! I actually had hyperemesis gravidarum (diagnosed) with both pregnancies (that’s another story) and had to quit my job with my second. I think its important to tell someone at work what you’re experiencing- sometimes having just one buddy makes things so much better. It’s not easy at all especially during a time when it’s not common to share the news but support is essential! Thank you for sharing and I hope this helps a lot of mamas out there!
Thanks for sharing your story, too! I am sorry you dealt with HG and telling someone can definitely help!
Great tips! I remember those days. I was grateful that no matter how bad the morning sickness was, once I actually got to work I was fine. Now when I got in the car to go home, that was another story.
well at least when you got to work it was good! and haha…oh man car rides were tough for me.
Great tips and advice. Not having been pregnant I have no understanding of morning sickness.
Lee
And hopefully will never get morning sickness!
Great tips, I’m not planning a pregnancy anytime soon but I feel like let to know someone how your feeling is really helpful in a more cases
Sometimes working with the morning sickness is miserable! I had to leave the OR multiple times during my pregnancy to puke…. and it takes 5 minutes for the charge nurse to strip you down. Horrible! And… then have to scrub in again. Oh boy… brings back bad memories. lol. Ginger ale was my go to. I drank it on the way to work in the morning!
Wow and you were working in the medical field too! Ginger ale definitely helped.
Ugh! I had the worst morning sickness with my first. The thing that helped was frequent small snacks and sour jolly ranchers to suck on.
Those are definitely two good tips.
Ahh I’m happy I work from home! This seems like a lot to juggle. I had no idea b6 could possibly help! definitely something to keep in mind when the day comes!
Yes – it’s wonderful! And you can take it with unisom to sleep.
So many great tips!! I was so fortunate to not have had much morning sickness at all during my pregnancy. Plus I’m self employed and work from home, so I guess that would have made it easier anyways haha but I couldn’t imagine having to go to a full time job while feeling so crumby!
Ohh man so lucky!
morning sickness at work was terrible. I didn’t have it with my first child so when I had it with my second child, I had to tell my doctor and she prescribed me medicine.
Yah i hear the prescriptions can help, too
Wait…vomit up to 100 TIMES A DAY?!?!?! WHAT. Holy moly. That is INSANE. I had no idea it was that much!!!!
I’m not planning to get pregnant anytime soon, but this might be useful for future reference. And the emergency kit sounds like something that I need to prepare in advance as it seems to be useful despite the morning sickness. Thank you for sharing!
Yes – absolutely! I wish I had been prepared before hand.
I remember with my first two sons it was really hard to function at work during that first trimester. That age old recommendation of eating saltine crackers to quell nausea really helped me.
Definitely a struggle! And thank goodness for those crackers 🙂
Good tips! My second pregnancy was so bad I had to be medicated, unfortunately, I had back to back patients all day every day I had to just suck it up and deal, no running to the bathroom unless I REALLY had to or I may lose my job. But! I got through it, it lasted the entire pregnancy. Wish I had this list a year and a half ago.
Oh goodness – so sorry you had such a difficult time! ANd yes, I wish I had had this list before hand, too 🙂
Really great post and super helpful for a new mother. I am not a mother but sister has had two pregnancy and they were bad.
Being upfront is so important about what is happening! While you might not be totally ready to share the news, its good to have at least someone know why you aren’t feeling well.
yes yes and yes
I’ll keep your tips in mind when I’m pregnant! It must be super hard to go to work and suffer from morning sickness at the same time!
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. …