QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
I am 7 weeks pregnant and I work at a place where we test jewelry with jewelry testing acid. I wear gloves and use a mask, but I am still worried this may be harmful to the baby.

Can you please tell me if it is ok for me to work with this? Thanks

Worried Mom to be

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
I am a nurse and I work on a very busy med-surg unit. Are there any special precautions that I need to take now that I am pregnant?

I am tired of being home with absolutely nothing to do. My boss has called me twice so far to see if I'll consider coming back to teach preschool, and I am so tempted. But I think that combination of fevers, germs, diarrhea that was so common for me when I worked there is just not going to be good during pregnancy.

When we were adopting, I felt this huge need to buy things for the baby as soon as we were done with the paperwork. But with this baby, I feel no such urge. In fact, I am perfectly content to wait to buy things until we absolutely have to. He asked me why.

The FMLA stipulates that companies which have over 50 employees must offer up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. I intensely look forward to the day when paternity leave will be considered a normal benefit of employment. One day, perhaps, society will be organized in a way that recognizes the tremendous, far-reaching value of knitting fathers, mothers, and babies together.

Thinking about getting pregnant, or already pregnant? It's never too early think about what you will do when baby gets here. When planning your maternity leave, the more you can plan or arrange ahead of time the less stress you will feel.

QUESTION

Dear Fitness Expert,

Years ago, women were expected to resign from their jobs the moment the pregnancy test came back positive, but today, pregnant working women are as much a part of the modern office as the computer and the fax machine. While most women are able to work through their entire pregnancy, There are some situations in which you may want to consider leaving work early or requesting some modifications to your working environment.