Pregnant and Dental Nursing - Advice needed!!

Hi im new to this forum and would appreciate some adivise. I am currently 9 weeks pregnant and working in a dental surgery, I am really worried about working around amalgam as I work in a very old with no ventilation system. I have read all kinds of horror stories about dentist/dental nurses who had worked with amalgam threw out there pregnancy and there babys where born with severe abnormalities. I always where my full PPE but im worried that that isnt enough. My employer doesnt seem to care and I feel like walking out of the job!

Hi, wow you must be getting rather tired of it - I have a friend who is due on the 5th November and id HUGE!! It's rather put the frighteners on me!

I'm going to be 22 weeks tomorrow, though at times I look a lot bigger thanks to bloating. I think my manager suggested I could wear my own clothes from a point of comfort as much as budget - stretchy things for the win!!

As for missing work, I can empathise...maybe it's the 'normalness' of work and the routine as opposed to 'the event' and then a new routine (eventually)....

I'm glad I could help a bit How far into your pregnancy are you now? That's great that your manager has been co-operative and is letting you work on reception from January Haha, that is quite cheeky that they expect you to wear your own clothes, that's their way of getting out of spend money on your uniform yet you still have to spend money on special work maternity stuff....I'd be having words about that!
I now have 10 days left, though could potential be anywhere up to 24 days.... I'm growing more and more impatient now the closer we get!! I'm so very bored at the moment that I'm very sadly ever so slightly missing work....EVER SO SLIGHTLY lol!! I must be going gaga

3 of you at the same time! Oh your poor manager, Lol!!

Thank you for your reply, it's really helpful to know that I'm not the only person concerned about dropping things (I make an embarrassing 'oof' noise when I try to pick them up...), and to know that it's not unreasonable to ask for a little help.

I guess I am really lucky that I'm doing both, and that we're a 2-chair practice all on one level, so the only stairs-climbing that I need to do is when arriving and leaving.
At the moment with both dentists, whether I stand or sit depends on what we're doing. Now that I am getting a bit bigger (albeit still with a relatively petite bump), the bend/twist we sometimes need to do gets a bit hard, and any chance I get to lean back and puff is such a relief.

My manager has suggested that from January I just do reception, probably in my own clothes (to avoid buying a new uniform....cheeky) but that will be a relief - and I can still jump in to cover a simple/short appointment if someone has to go to the loo.

Just mostly having a problem with headaches - triggered by VDU *and* by the bright surgery lights!

I hope everything is going well for you too - you must be counting the days!!

I'm now 36 weeks pregnant with my first baby. There are 3 of us expecting at the practice I work at, me being due 3rd Nov, my friend due 4th Nov and another nurse due in January! I am the only one currently now not working....At 31 weeks I was diagnosed with SPD and was really struggling a lot, even just working 2 days in surgery and 3 days on reception. I was signed off until my maternity started! There is no way I'd be able to work with the amount of pain I'm in on a daily basis - all the more reason for me being impatient for the arrival hehe! I wanted to work right up until the due date originally but things change!
My friend is still going strong though, has good and bad days. When I was still working we shared a surgery and that helped. We had each other to ask for help as we both understood how each of us were feeling but you should be able to ask anyone from your team to perhaps run upstairs to develop an x-ray for you, or bring some stock down that you need when they next go that way.
I always made the dentist aware if I was having a bad or slow day so he was aware. As the dentists sit all day long and we run around like headless chickens, they don't seem to understand how energetic our job is and carrying around the extra baby weight can make running around much more difficult.
Do you sit or stand while chair side? I had to stand as there was no room for my seat but the natural of my dentist meant I was sat down a lot typing notes etc so standing chair side wasn't too bad, so long as it wasn't a hugely long treatment.
Make sure you get plenty of time to have a drink too and where you can grab a snack to keep you going.
Don't be afraid to ask your dentist to pick something up off the floor should he/she or you drop something. Bending down is HARD haha! I was always too frightened to ask as the dentist I worked with was the sort of dentist to make me aware and expect me to pick it up (even with a big bump!!) but if I'd have still been at work there is no way I'd be able to bend down all day long picking things up so I would have had to find the courage to ask
I hope this advise helps and all goes well with working during your pregnancy and the pregnancy itself

I'm now 16 weeks pregnant , and am happy with infection control, amalgam, x-ray procedures, etc. My manager has been great.

BUT my query is this: How can I stay comfortable in surgery?

Having already shoved the dentist with my tummy (on a very bloated day), it brought home how moving about/bending/reaching may be a bit tricky when I get bigger. (''I'm sorry sir, is my baby kicking you in the head?'' )
Luckily I do reception too, and during some recent sick leave my manger (also a trainee nurse) were splitting the days...I would nurse the morning and do reception in the afternoon, which on hot days was a blessing - but I did have to work at drinking enough and combating dizziness.

I just need tips from other nurse-mums on how to have a healthy pregnancy whilst nursing.