By: Corina Sanchez – CC BY 2.0 I am a female mechanic, and I’m pregnant. Although my doctor has told me my body will let me know when I need to cut back on the heavy lifting, I’d like a better idea of when to expect that.
At 5 months, being down on my back is getting interesting, but I don’t know if I’m overdoing it just because I’m stubborn, or if everything really is fine.
My supervisor has said that he’ll scale back my work load when it becomes necessary… I’m just not sure when to tell him that will be. At what point during your pregnancy did you need to cut back on strenuous physical activities? — Amanda
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Comments on When do you need to cut back on physically demanding tasks during pregnancy?
Amanda! I was a female mechanic while pregnant too! Around 4.5 months I stopped doing tires, rotations, etc due to the fact that most of them weighed 50+ pounds, and my back couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t do everything as fast as I used to, and ended up moving and switching to a desk job after my 6 month, but all the way until a few weeks prior to delivery I could still lift up to 50 lbs, as long as I was careful about it. If you’ve been lifting heavy things for ages and your body is used to it, you can continue to do so for quite some time during pregnancy, most issues come from women trying to lift things when their body isn’t used to doing so every day, and they strain themselves. I wish you the best of luck, and am so happy for you that your boss seems to be understanding about the work load decrease (mine wasn’t as happy to accommodate). I would love to hear about how it was for you going back to work if you’re taking maternity leave, I’ve been thinking about getting back into the business but am pretty weary since I’d have to really work up to being as muscular as I used to be. Best of luck!!! 🙂
Quick question…….. I work in construction…….. VERY labour intensive….. Lifting like 100lbs all day……… Not feeling so hot, and I’m only about six to eight weeks along……. :$ Would a light duties request be in order?!?!?
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Amanda! I was a female mechanic while pregnant too! Around 4.5 months I stopped doing tires, rotations, etc due to the fact that most of them weighed 50+ pounds, and my back couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t do everything as fast as I used to, and ended up moving and switching to a desk job after my 6 month, but all the way until a few weeks prior to delivery I could still lift up to 50 lbs, as long as I was careful about it. If you’ve been lifting heavy things for ages and your body is used to it, you can continue to do so for quite some time during pregnancy, most issues come from women trying to lift things when their body isn’t used to doing so every day, and they strain themselves. I wish you the best of luck, and am so happy for you that your boss seems to be understanding about the work load decrease (mine wasn’t as happy to accommodate). I would love to hear about how it was for you going back to work if you’re taking maternity leave, I’ve been thinking about getting back into the business but am pretty weary since I’d have to really work up to being as muscular as I used to be. Best of luck!!! 🙂
Quick question…….. I work in construction…….. VERY labour intensive….. Lifting like 100lbs all day……… Not feeling so hot, and I’m only about six to eight weeks along……. :$ Would a light duties request be in order?!?!?
Cece, we’re not in the place to answer this question — I suggest you call your doctor or midwife! 🙂