Many women imagine pregnancy as one of the most beautiful periods of their life. However, morning sickness can often spoil this pretty picture. In fact, about 70-80% of pregnant women experience nausea or vomiting, and sometimes it doesn’t go away until the very end of the term.
This woman suffered from extreme morning sickness and vomited several times a day. Recently, she shared how her colleagues forced her to attend an unnecessary meeting during this time. Naturally, she felt nauseous during the meeting and the nasty colleagues were treated to a spectacle of Hyperemesis graviradum.
Bored panda I contacted the person who posted this story and she kindly agreed to tell us more about Karens at work and her family’s current situation. Read our conversation below!
A young teacher became pregnant unexpectedly and experienced severe nausea throughout her pregnancy.
Image credits: Gustavo Fring / Pexels (not the actual photo)
When toxic coworkers asked her to attend a meeting, they witnessed why she had to take so many days off.
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Alin Luna / Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Probablyjustbi**hin
Image credits: Maksim Goncharenok / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The author says that the Karens were always cold, but they intensified their nastiness during her pregnancy.
Having such a difficult pregnancy isn’t easy in itself, but work stress added even more to the Redditor’s struggles. The woman mentioned in her post how the other teachers were “mean, calcified and bigoted.”
“The department was a little cold,” the Redditor told Bored Panda in a post. “The Karens were very cliquey and tended to exclude any young women who joined the school. They made a lot of snide comments about my youth and inexperience, but that was nothing compared to the hate I received during my pregnancy.
There was, however, one colleague who did not have as much ill will towards the author. “Pete, like I said, was an absolute sweetheart,” the woman reiterates. “He didn’t know what to do with the Karens, but he kept a bowl of peppermints on his desk and offered me one every time I looked pale.”
When we asked the author how she was able to work during such a difficult pregnancy, she gave a curt answer: “I had no choice not to.” Hyperemesis gravidarum It was one of the worst things I have ever experienced,” she adds.
Today, the Redditor and her husband are happy to have two grandchildren. “My husband has a wonderful job as an electrician and my daughter is almost five and thriving,” says the author.
“I also have a 2-year-old son,” she adds. “My pregnancy with him went just as badly, but because I wasn’t working during that time, it was much more manageable. There’s something about throwing up in the privacy of your own toilet rather than running out of class every ten minutes to throw in a trash can,” jokes the author.
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Women cannot be discriminated against in the workplace because of pregnancy or pregnancy-related illnesses.
People like to pretend that pregnancy isn’t an illness, but that’s only true to a certain extent. Some women, like OP, have severe symptoms and may find it extremely difficult to continue working.
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is not a very common condition and doctors do not have an accurate average because some cases may go unreported. However, experts estimate that around 1 to 3 in 100 women suffer from it. According to the NHS, this is not typical morning sickness and often requires hospitalization due to the risk of dehydration.
Australian charity Hyperemesis Australia, which supports people with pregnancy-related illnesses, their families and healthcare professionals, says there is “a huge lack of awareness” about the condition.
Many employers and colleagues are unaware of how serious the symptoms are and how debilitating HG can be.. They recommend that patients try to educate their colleagues about what life with HG is like and direct them to resources so they can do their own research.
As HG can be considered a chronic illness, pregnant women in Australia can ask their doctor for a medical certificate proving they are unfit for work. They are also entitled to special maternity leave until the end of the pregnancy or illness.
The charity also stresses that people with HG cannot be discriminated against, even if they are unfit for work for long periods. “You cannot be fired, demoted, or otherwise treated unfairly while you are pregnant,” they write.
“What great comedic timing,” people applauded in the comments
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