Working during pregnancy can mean adjusting an ordinary day around nausea, tiredness, appointments or a changing body. What helps depends on your health and your actual duties, whether you work at a desk, on your feet, on shifts or from home.
Start with the tasks that are becoming difficult and discuss them with your midwife or doctor and your workplace. You do not need to wait until you are struggling to ask for a safer or more manageable arrangement.
Make everyday comfort easier
- Keep water accessible and make time for small, regular meals or snacks if these help with nausea.
- Wear comfortable clothing and footwear suited to your workplace.
- Discuss regular breaks and access to somewhere you can sit. If you work at a desk, change position and move regularly rather than remaining seated for long periods.
- Ask whether a different start time, a video meeting or less travel between locations could make the day easier.
- At home, accept practical help with meals or chores so there is room for rest.
Symptoms do not follow a timetable. Tell your care team if nausea, exhaustion or pain is interfering with eating, drinking or daily activities. A work adjustment can help, but persistent symptoms may also need assessment and treatment.
Review the work itself, not just how comfortable it feels
Ask your manager or health and safety representative to review tasks and exposures that may need changes. Examples include lifting or moving people, awkward or repetitive movements, hazardous chemicals, infection exposure, radiation, fatigue from shifts, and the risk of slips or violence. These need a task-specific assessment; a job title alone cannot establish whether the work is suitable.
Bring your care team a description of your duties and, where relevant, chemical safety data sheets. Ask the workplace about removing a hazard, changing a task, using lifting equipment or arranging assistance. Protective equipment is one part of controlling risk, not a substitute for reviewing the job. Check that agreed changes are actually working and revisit them when duties or symptoms change.
There is no single lifting limit or stopping-work date in this guide. Ask your clinician for advice that reflects your pregnancy and tasks. For a workplace safety concern, contact your state or territory work health and safety regulator.
Know which workplace options to ask about
For employees covered by the national workplace relations system, Fair Work explains protections during pregnancy. A pregnant employee who is fit for work but whose usual role is unsafe because of pregnancy-related risks or workplace hazards can be entitled to a safe job. This includes casual employees and is not limited to people eligible for unpaid parental leave. Evidence, such as a medical certificate, may be required.
If no appropriate safe job is available, no safe job leave may apply. Whether it is paid depends on eligibility for unpaid parental leave and meeting the relevant notice and evidence requirements. Being too unwell to work is a different situation and may involve other leave options. Ask Fair Work, your union or an employment adviser how the rules apply to you.
You can discuss flexibility with your employer. The formal right to request flexible working arrangements has eligibility and process requirements, including service requirements and additional conditions for casual employees. It is a right to request and have the request considered under the rules, not a guarantee of your preferred hours or working from home. Check the current Fair Work guidance.
Plan appointments and leave without assuming an entitlement
Ask early how to arrange time for antenatal care and what notice or evidence is needed. Routine appointments do not automatically qualify for paid sick leave. Fair Work says pre-arranged medical appointments are covered by sick leave when the employee cannot work because of a personal illness or injury; the circumstances matter. Your award, enterprise agreement, contract or workplace policy may provide additional arrangements.
Keep a written record of agreed changes, upcoming appointments and handover priorities. A short handover list can include current tasks, deadlines and who can cover them. Leave plans may need to change with your health. Check your own leave eligibility and notice requirements before committing to dates.
When to stop and get medical help
Contact your maternity team or doctor immediately for vaginal bleeding, leaking fluid, severe or persistent abdominal pain, fever, vomiting that prevents you keeping fluids down, a persistent severe headache or changes in vision. Contact them immediately after a fall or blow to your abdomen. If your baby is moving less than usual or their usual movement pattern changes, contact your maternity service immediately; do not wait until your shift ends.
Call 000 for collapse, severe breathing difficulty, or heavy bleeding with faintness or severe pain. Ask someone to help you get care rather than driving yourself if you feel faint or seriously unwell.
Sources and further reading
- Raising Children Network: working while pregnant
- Australian Government: physical activity during pregnancy
- Safe Work Australia: assessing and managing workplace risks
- Fair Work Ombudsman: entitlements while pregnant
- Fair Work Ombudsman: appointments, notice and medical certificates
- Healthdirect: warning signs during pregnancy