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all I can say from experience is ask for what you need and take it. Get doctors notes if needed. Do not try to push though, put baby first. Do what you have to do. Hope you have a supportive manager and team! Good luck, rest. Hydrate. Sleep. You will be exhausted.
Parts were stressful but I found accommodations to work from home more often during pregnancy. I also did weekly prenatal yoga and prenatal pilates classes to help destress and stay active throughout.
Find some semblance of routine and take on a a lighter workload if possible…don’t be afraid to say no to projects with crazy timelines. Give yourself grace and ask for advice from any women in leadership at your agency that have kids.
Good luck!!
Also talk to other producers make your situation know and ask for help, don’t expect people to know what you need.
Are you a FTE?
If you require bedrest or any other medical treatment prescribed by your doctor, your company’s support doesn’t matter. You’re protected by the law, although hopefully, they’re supportive! As a full-time employee, many of these benefits are covered by short-term disability if you need to completely stop working. If you can still work remotely or from home, that could make things much easier.
As a producer, I’m sure a significant part of your job involves travel. Therefore, if you’re restricted from traveling or on bedrest, that could be challenging for those types of needs. if it does come down to that, you could work with your company/manager to find alternative responsibilities that can be done remotely.
By the way, what state are you in? I just came off mat leave (CA) and by way of the confusing benefits and lack of HR / disability company support I totally missed out on a month prior to birth that I could have taken off that would have really benefited my health during my last month of pregnancy! There are a ton of state by state groups of mommas / apps like Peanut that can help navigate the system.
My high-risk pregnancy was in 2015, before work from home broadly existed. I had HG (Hyperemesis gravidarum) but was expected to be at work. I kept 3 trash cans in my office to vomit into, as I was throwing up 10-15 times a day for the last 3 months. Leadership told me to “work through it” (our lead account was in review). I crawled on hands and knees to a conference room to present. This trauma storytelling is all to say - take care of you! Get notes in writing from your MD/OB if you are at high risk, and set those boundaries. The work will *always* be there, but your health, and your baby’s health comes first! Happy ending: my son was born, a few weeks early, and I got an extra 8 weeks of mat leave due to the ravages on my esophagus. You can and should negotiate extra leave if you need it! Just be sure to get the documentation, and insist upon it. My very best to you and your little one to-be!!
Congrats! I had my first baby 10 months ago. (In my late 30s so high-risk, though pregnancy went smoothly).
Having a supportive boss and team helped. Coincidentally my creatives and account team were all male and they were so nice and supportive. I even did an international shoot at 28w pregnant lol.
Pace yourself, know when to sign off and ask for WFH when the time is right (I got the ok to max out at 40 hours around 32w, and fulltime remote work, via note from OB). Also did prenatal Pilates till 36w and that kept me strong.
First trimester I needed naps for sure. I didn’t tell anyone, on remote days I just blocked my calendar and took them.
Every pregnancy is different.
Also if you’re in NYC don’t forget to take your 20 hours of prenatal leave
I was 38 and a freelance Group Creative Director when I was pregnant with my 2nd. I worked right up until I had my daughter at 41 weeks. I used to sit on chucks pads in the last weeks in case my water broke at work lol.
I was high-risk (had anti-phospholipid syndrome and was considered a geriatric pregnancy lol) but I just took short walks around lunchtime and I stayed hydrated. It was fine. Got Braxton Hicks but my pregnancy generally didn’t affect my job (beyond more doc appts but I scheduled them earlier in the morning so it didn’t affect work too much). I brought healthy snacks in to work and ate them throughout the day.
Since I was a freelancer, I didn’t have paid time off, so I had to go back to work 5 weeks postpartum. Def not enough time but I needed the $$. Do not recommend. But my daughter is 15 now and fine lol. Best of luck to you!
Oh and I did a shoot in LA (I’m NYC-based) at 38 weeks. It went fine. Rachel Zoe was the stylist on my shoot with Kate Hudson and I walked into the trailer the first day and Rachel yells out “Who let you on a plane!?!” lolol. I had a doctor’s clearance and knew what hospital was close if she came early. She didn’t! Just always be prepared, that’s all. 😊