Time off work after missed miscarriage

[Rainbow1234]

Hi everyone, just wondering how long is normal to take off work after a miscarriage? I've been off a week and a half now from starting bleeding to getting the scan which confirmed my MMC then the week from then to my d&c which was yesterday. I used a self cert for the first 5 days and went to the docs today as my work wanted a sick line from the 19th feb. I planned to go back to work Monday but my doctor felt this is too soon and strongly suggested I take next week to get my head around the stressful and emotional last few weeks. He gave me a sick line to cover from 19th and all next week. In total this will be nearly 3 weeks off. I told my work and they've said to take the doctors advice but I really don't want to feel like I'm taking the mick. I'm not used to being off sick and it feels strange to be off even though I'm physically ok now. Any advice is appreciated xx

 

[Lou1103]

It's up to you hun? Maybe see how you feel in a day or 2. Sometimes work is good to help distract you from things xxx

 

[kanga86]

I was off work for 3 weeks with my mmc, it was nice to get back to work after that though even though it was very hard. You are certainly not taking the mick being off work on doctors orders. So sorry to hear of your loss xx

 

[stacesl3]

It really is up to you, if you feel like you need more time then take it - your work seem pretty cool about it. For me personally i had my erpc on a Friday and was back at work on the Tuesday but that was mainly because no one knew at work, plus i just wanted to get back to normal. Thats just me though. You need to do whatever will suit you, all the best hun xx

 

[Selina13]

Everyone is different Hun, also it depends what kind of work you do. After my MMC and D&C I had 2 weeks off (1wewl waiting to confirm baby had stopped developing and 1 week after op). I was still passing clots and flooding through my jeans on way home (1hour journey). I worked in social care with kids so it was extra hard and I actually ended up leaving 3 months later. I felt I may have stayed had I took more time to get over it and deal with how devastated I was.

It's totally up to you though and I'm sure any decision you make will be the right one.

Take care of yourself Hun and I'm sorry for your loss. xx

 

[nicejuicypear]

I took 3.5 weeks off with my first, went back for a bit then couldn't cope and had to take longer off. The first stint was classed as pregnancy related illness, so couldn't be used as a trigger for any absence procedures but the second wasn't, something to do with it not being directly triggered by the effects of pregnancy.

My work wasn't understanding and I had to make some fuss to get my absence recorded as pregnancy-related, I don't think all employers realise that miscarriage counts (though how it could not, seeing as you can't have a miscarriage without a pregnancy).

Take as much time as you need. You might find you need more time off to recover or that you want to go back as a distraction. Also if you're worried about going back, consider a phased return, you can get that via your GP and the doctor's note, so you're still covered for sick leave for the parts of the phased return when you're not in work.

It's a really difficult time and sometimes it just hits you, you feel like you're coping okay and then something throws you. Sorry that you are going through this.