Pregnancy and manual labor

June 19, 2015 10:56 PM

I'm six weeks pregnant and I do manual labor outside. I'd like advice on how to do this well.

I live in a place that has hot humid summers. I regularly lift more than 60lbs. I do lots of bending over, walking up and down stairs, moving things around. I'm also known for being an idiot and doing more than I should and hurting myself so I'd love it if there were some good guidelines for this sort of thing so I won't end up being an idiot and hurting myself or the kiddo-to-be.

I work in a male-dominated workplace where my immediate boss is good to work with but the rest of the employees are going to either be jerks or super-paternalistic. I'd love advice on dealing with this as well.

So far the morning sickness thing is just light nausea and wooziness in the mornings.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Don't let yourself get dehydrated. You will need to drink more and pee more during pregnancy. Your body is used to outside labor so you aren't risking as much as a pregnant woman not used to outside labor. At this stage, baby is tucked safely inside of you. Once baby gets bigger, you will need to protect it more by bending and lifting less. Try not to push yourself. Your body is growing a human being, which takes a lot of energy. If you wear yourself out on the job then your body will have less energy for the baby.

You work with jerks. Once the hormones kick in, it is perfectly acceptable to burst into tears whenever any of them say anything rude. It will also keep them from repeating the error. And if they want to be condescending and do your work for you, let them. You are growing an actual person, in your body, you are doing enough already. They can't do that. Let them help you if they want to.
posted by myselfasme at 11:32 PM on June 19, 2015 [5 favorites]

I'll preface this by saying you should really talk to your doctor about this but I'd be surprised if they're ok with the heavy lifting. I was advised early on not to and shortly after had to lift some very heavy chairs, at around 7 or 8 weeks. I remember thinking, hey, I'm barely pregnant, how bad can it be? Well, I put my back out badly and couldn't move for a week. Literally in bed for a week. When I asked my doctor, I was told it was because hormones are already rampant through your body and the relax all of your muscles making it very easy to put things out, yes, even that early on. So probably not a great idea. But don't take my word for it, check.
posted by Jubey at 12:17 AM on June 20, 2015 [9 favorites]

If you're interested in some dense reading, here is Occupational guidance for physical and shift work of pregnant women in the United States courtesy of Department of Health and Human Services. I would also definitely touch base with whomever is handling your pregnancy (obstetrician, primary care physician, nurse-midwife) at this point with questions; they'll know you, your body, your local climate and culture best.
posted by whitewall at 12:23 AM on June 20, 2015 [2 favorites]

Something that a lot of pregnant women experience but isn't mentioned as often as the other stuff is a decrease in blood pressure. For me, low blood pressure in the summer made me unable to do much of anything. Staying hydrated will help,but pay attention to dizziness (especially in heat/ when bending over) so you don't end up falling and hurting yourself.
posted by metasarah at 4:21 AM on June 20, 2015

I felt great, then carried something really heavy and felt a sharp twinge and wound up on bedrest with an early delivery due to a tear. I can remember the exact moment, thinking what a weird pain it was, high and to the back. There's a big difference between stamina - stairs are fine, so's working long hours - and actually stretching major muscles and carrying very heavy things, because you've got all this extra blood pumping round, your ligaments are loosening in preparation and you need to be able to stop when your body goes ow, so doing manual labour where you have to finish a task is different from a sport where you can stop mid-stretch.

Talk to your doctor. Are there other women who have been pregnant in your industry you can talk to for advice? Are there other jobs/tasks you can be temporarily assigned to? What would your boss do if your male colleague sprained an arm and couldn't carry heavy things but was otherwise capable? Plan and push for ways to be productive around your temporary physical limitations and maybe see it as a chance to learn some detail work or something that normally you wouldn't specialise in.

I wish I'd been kinder to myself. It wasn't worth being physically capable over being injured while pregnant.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 4:47 AM on June 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Definitely talk to your doctor about what you currently do and how I modify it when you're further along but for now as long as you stay hydrated you're probably fine. I have a two week old and did crossfit during my pregnancy. My doctor told me staying at my current activity level was fine for the first two trimesters but to dial it back in the third since your ligaments loosen up in preparation for childbirth.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 7:01 AM on June 20, 2015

While researching pregnancy for myself, I've found the guidelines regarding exercise generally say if you're already used to a certain level of exercise prior to pregnancy, then you're probably ok with continuing it, provided you pay attention to how you're feeling and don't push yourself too hard. Talking to your doctor or obstetrician about your work and doing your own research into things will be important - for your own info and to back you up for later conversations at work. You may need a doctor's note for work at some point, regarding what you're able to do and not do.

Honestly, because this is such a physical job, you may need to bring the fact you're pregnant up with your boss earlier than later, if you're finding things are getting harder. Until you tell them, if you need to reduce your effort levels, play up that you're not feeling well, feign back issues, and otherwise find ways to dodge the work you know you shouldn't do.

The jerky guys who have never known anyone pregnant will likely be a lot more patronizing and make comments about your ability to do the job... well this is where snappy comebacks or simple agreement that it is getting harder is going to have to be the way to go. You can't continue trying to keep up with them at the same pace. Anyone who's had a pregnant wife or family member will probably be nice. The more paternalistic guys will probably be more considerate and protective of you, which is to your advantage. They may also be allies against the jerks. Everyone'll also probably take away harder work from you. Right that they should, by the way. Take easier work if it's offered. Of all the times to let go of your pride and take the menial easy jobs when available, this will be it. Take advantage of the opportunities to rest and sit down that you can. And use your research and doctor's advice to your advantage, as cards to play when ignorant comments are made, when you need an excuse to rest, or when you think the work may be a bit much for you.

And you will get clumsier as the pregnancy continues... so as you recognize that happening, definitely going to have to avoid the work where that's a problem. Be prepared for people to start talking about when you're leaving already. You will get hot much quicker, so do your best to handle that with clothing choices and resting in the shade or in air conditioning whenever possible... overheating is a serious risk to your baby.

I also figured out why pregnant ladies apparently love pickles so much - the brine, aka electrolytes. Makes it a heck of a lot easier to drink water and stay hydrated. I craved gatorade a lot in the first trimester instead of pickles.
posted by lizbunny at 7:32 PM on June 21, 2015