The important thing is not to try to be a superwoman and to achieve the world. Allow yourself time to adjust to the different stages of pregnancy and remember that you are already busy with the most important job in the world: giving life.

Don't fall into the trap of working until the last minute. Countless new mothers complain that they planned to take the last week or two off so that they could have a little time to themselves before their babies came. The problem is that most babies don't arrive on the due date and the women found themselves having to go straight from work to motherhood.

Once your baby has arrived, your work will probably not be the same again. Gone are the days of travelling away from home and working long hours. You will be bound to childcare arrangements and will have to return home at a fixed time every day.
Don’t bank on taking work home with you. It’s impossible to predict the challenges that await you. You may have a child who is demanding, colic or suffering from ill health. You also need time after hours to catch up on sleep!

If you plan to continue breastfeeding, you will have to invest in a good breast pump to express milk. Make sure that your office has a place where you could express and store breast milk.

Working from home has the advantage that you will have more contact with your baby during the day, but consider the following:
•    Get childcare even if you are at home. It is hard to work and take care of a baby.
•    Set your office up in a secluded, quiet area where you will not be distracted by every sound your baby makes. If you work where your baby can see you, he or she will demand that you spend time with him or her and will be less likely to settle down with the childminder.

SOURCE: www.health 24.com
This story is brought to you by Agenda – turning up the volume on gender equity. For more information call us on (031) 3047001/2/3.