Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with physicalactivity

Am I putting my fetus at risk?

sunshinesky — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:54:48 -0800

Early pregnancy and physical labour on the job... This is my first pregnancy (yay!), and so far, I'm about 6 weeks along. I found out in the middle of my vacation, and go back to work tomorrow. I have one shift before my first prenatal appointment.

Just wanted to get a sense of how careful I should be during that shift based on the high level of physical labour. The details:

I'm 5'4" and about 105lbs, 24 and healthy.

I work in an artisan bakery, and my job includes:

-A lot of heavy lifting (50+ pounds)
-Going up and down stairs, with anything from 5-25lbs (possibly more) of awkward stuff
-Often standing my entire shift (8-10h)
-Pushing and pulling heavy loads (50+ pounds)

Now obviously, I'm fairly physically fit already, but I'd like to know what limits I should make with my boss from the get-go. I'm not opposed to informing him tomorrow, despite how early it is, as I'll be leaving my job in Sept/Oct to move to another city.

Am I putting my fetus at risk by going about my regular routine at work? Should I ask to do work that doesn't require such strain? Should I perhaps request switching to an entirely different department that requires much less bending, lifting, pushing, pulling, standing and running up and down?

I know that legally my employer has to make allowances for my pregnancy, but I feel like being this early on might be kind of a 'grey area'. Especially considering there isn't always less physical work to be done within my department.

Suggestions? Anecdotes?

I will say again that my first prenatal appointment is in a matter of days, I just wanted to get some feedback about my concerns for the meantime. I intend to bring a nice list of questions for my doctor, so not to worry, all you NotDoctors.

I will probably err on the side of caution anyway, for my own comfort, but it would help to have a little info to back up my request when I talk to my boss.

Thanks!

Please save my picnic!

chickletworks — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:53:52 -0800

My plans for a Park and Ride Party (picnic and cycling in Central Park) tomorrow have been rained out. Please save my get-together by suggesting some active, indoor activities in New York! We want to do something more active than museuming or shopping. Ice skating and rock climbing are already under consideration, though if you know of particularly awesome places to do either, please let me know!

itchy stinging legs during physical activity.

breeze01 — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 18:40:29 -0800

I get itchy and stinging legs (no hives) when I jog for 15 minutes (indoor or outdoor, hot or cold weather) and when I hike in cold weathers. When I stop walking or jogging, while I am still outside, it disappears after a while. Any contact to my skin during this period, triggers the itching and stinging. I tried to wear different fabrics, from cotton to microfibres, and applied mosturizing lotions, nothing worked. I had allergy test that is clean. I don’t know if any relation to this but most of the times my legs are cooler than my rest of body, even in indoor. Any body has an idea what is this?