If you’re pregnant, the moment when to stop working is an important decision. You certainly need the extra money, but your health and your baby’s health have to come first. There are lots of facts to consider when deciding when to stop working: the type of activity, your general state of health, if you had any kind of problems with the pregnancy or not.

If you work in an environment with any kind of risks: toxic substances, heavy noises, too hot or extremely cold, you should ask your employer to offer you another position from the moment you find out you are pregnant. Make sure you explain to your physician everything about the environment form your work place, if you think it could affect you or the pregnancy. Only the physician is able to tell you if you can go to work normally, as you did before becoming pregnant, if you need to reduce the hours or you have to stop working all together.

If your job requires you to stand on your feet for hours, you should also ask your employer to change your responsibilities. Standing for hours is not something that a pregnant woman can live with.

When you work under normal conditions, you can go to work as long as it’s comfortable for you and you don’t feel too tired. A lot of women work during almost the entire pregnancy without any kind of problems. You can do that too, if you take just a few basic precautions. First of all, at any sign of problems you need to call your physician and make an appointment. Don’t use your job as an excuse to ignore the signs your body is sending you. Eating well and getting enough rest is very important while you are pregnant. If you go to sleep early in the evenings and you make sure you eat a health breakfast and lunch every day, you should be able to work until the last trimester of your pregnancy.

However, you shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Even if you have a sitting down job, pregnancy is a time where your body is going through a lot of changes. Being at work for 8 hours (or more) daily might be stressful to you. This is why you should talk to your employer and, if possible, reduce your hours gradually as your pregnancy advances.

The final weeks of the pregnancy are the hardest: moving around or sitting down on a chair is uncomfortable, you are exhausted all the time and you need to lay down during the day. Unless you are extremely lucky and you don’t experience those symptoms, it’s the moment to stop working. If you are pushing yourself too hard, you might end up with serious health problems, like high blood pressure or you could even gave birth sooner than you were supposed to.  After 28 weeks of pregnancy, even women with jobs in comfortable environments, like offices, should consider stop working. The most important thing is to always listen to your physician: stop working the minute your doctor tells you to do so.

Jamie Highland writes about topics like pregnancy and babies. To check some great baby shower ideas, like the modern mom baby shower theme or to check out some other baby shower themes, visit My Baby Shower Favors.

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