Recommendations vary about whether or not mothers should keep working as close to their due date as possible or whether to rest and get ready for baby's arrival.
When I was expecting for the first time 20 years ago, I had a demanding full-time job and I had every intention of working as close to my due date as possible.
My pregnancy decided to do things differently, however. At around 36 weeks, I was diagnosed with PIH, pregnancy-induced hypertension. My doctor strongly recommended that I cut my hours back to part-time so that I could reduce my physical activity. I remember telling him that I could not do my job in 20 hours a week and he responded that if I didn't do that, he would advise I leave my job altogether.
His message to me was clear. My pregnancy needed to come first.
I was also not in control of when my labor would start or how inconvenient it could be. It turned out that my daughter arrived two weeks earlier than my due date right before any of us had time to transition my job responsibilities over to someone else.
My point is that time and time again, we think we know what is best. As women, we sometimes feel the need to prove to everyone and ourselves that we can do it all - pregnancy, work and raise our family.
The reality is that pregnancy is a great time to start to begin new priorities. A job is just a job. It's never who you are. Relationships and family are as close to the top on our priority list as we can get. Along those lines, I believe that expectant mothers need to take a few weeks to prepare for their new families. Perhaps having a few weeks before your due date to rest, prepare meals for the freezer and put the last touches on the baby nursery is a better choice than trying to be a "super pregnant woman."
Brenda
