Hi,
I looked for other posts on this topic but couldn't find any.
I am pregnant (still in the first trimester) and am wondering when to tell my manager. I don't really want to tell him before week 12 is over, also I am a bit concerned about the manager's reaction. But on the other hand, I work in a mental health team and am also an AMHP - so I probably should tell the manager? What sort of risks will management take into consideration, and what protection plan can I expect to be put in place? I work with some clients that can be physically aggressive - is it reasonable to expect that I don't have to do work with those potientally risky clients while pregnant? Also, what about the stress?
Thanks.
what you do has to be a personal choice but i'm concerned that you are concerned about your managers reaction, are they not supportive ? If you have high risk service users you should already be taking precautions, but there needs to be a risk assessment carried out your employers have a duty of care.
We had a pregnant team member who continued to work normaly but we our team is pretty good on lone working and on community MHA assessments we never work alone which helps.
It is a quandry but i think it comes down to risk assessments and what you feel comfortable with.
Hope you have a supportive team and manager
Thank you. I know there will be risk assessments (or should be). I was wondering if people in similar situations, for example working as AMHPs, have experiences to share.
Just to clarify, when I mentioned physically aggressive clients - they are on my caseload so the risks are more predictable than for example in AMHP work.
Thanks
Where I work ( with challenging children) ladies tell management as soon as the second line appears on tnhe test. How else can management ensure staff are safe from violent or aggressive behaviour unless they know ladies are pg? IMHO tell asap.
It's up to you when you want to tell, and you can ask your manager to keep it confidential until you're ready to tell everyone (congratulations by the way!) but you can't expect adjustments to be made if your manager doesn't know. Your union will be able to advise on your entitlements to adjustments while you're at work, and I think UNISON has a maternity info pack for pregnant members.