Information For Her Australia

Ok, so Centrelink know that I am pregnant, they should also know how hard it is for pregnant women to find a new job.

Yes, I left my job in QLD to look for work in NSW, with intentions of going back if I failed to find suitable work. That was before I found out about my pregnancy. I did have confidence that with 19 months bar work experience, my RSA and RCG that I was sure to get something.

I decided not to go back to QLD as there are better facilities here in Newcastle and a much better range of friends that are helping me through this.

Not long after notifying Centrelink of my pregnancy, they handed me a job diary to record 10 jobs per fortnight for 6 fortnights. I am now up to fortnight 5 and I have had no luck. Only a couple of times I have been called back in to see the employer but still nothing.

I really don’t think it is fair that most employers won’t employ pregnant women. I do understand however that you are restricted during pregnancy of what you can do and with only four to five months work in you, are you reliable? How many sick days and hospital trips will you be making?

I didn’t fall pregnant for the money; or to stay out of the workforce, it was accidental but why should any of that matter. I am sure that if a woman falls pregnant and has worked a while before that and can still work at that particular place then why can’t we find jobs just as easy.

I understand why pregnancy has made it hard for me to find work but until I am 7 ½ months Centrelink have no idea and I don’t think they really care.

Terrie

We have heard of the baby blues or postnatal / postpartum depression but not many people discuss prenatal depression. Depression in pregnancy is possible and the awareness is growing.

It makes you wonder sometimes why prenatal discussion is not discussed as openly as postpartum depression and from experience, I believe it is because we are or were told that it is just our hormones playing up while we are pregnant.

In the past 6 months I have now heard of two young women who are suffering from prenatal depression and if caught early, it can be treated and help is there. Ladies, girls, if you feel you are suffering from prenatal depression, if you cry at the drop of a hat or for no reason or you are feeling down, then please talk to someone.

Talk to your midwife or your doctor and let them know how you are feeling. Prenatal depression is a silent form of depression that may affect and have an impact on women and their developing baby / fetus.

Some of the symptoms include, feeling emotional, sluggishness, foggy thinking, irritability and in some women, food cravings. Many women will blame the emotional changes on pregnancy hormones as I mentioned before.

I’ve given birth to 6 live babies and lost a baby through miscarriage and for each pregnancy, the emotions were certainly there. My youngest was born almost 20 years ago and no one ever mentioned prenatal depression during that time. Instead I had to live with those emotions and the feelings of depression.

If you feel you need help, please speak to your support person through your pregnancy. Speak to your doctor, obstetrician or midwife. Help is available for you.

BeyondBlue.org is another place to seek the help you need.

Toni Livesey

Various factors help make the decision to work from home a whole lot easier for mums.

Some of those factors are:

- Many mums can’t find a job once they decide to go back to work.

- A lot of mums find it hard leaving their babies and children with others when they go back into the workforce.

- The hours don’t suit and they prefer to work only while their children are at school, allowing them to spend quality time with them.

- Some mums found a niche service that they can offer others and can provide that service online and from home and at the same time they are keeping overheads down.

- Some businesses will set new mums up at home so they are based as a work at home mum.

- Working their own hours to fit in with their family lifestyle is beneficial for a lot of mums.
There are many types of work that women or work from home mums perform and they can include – accountancy, online services for mums and children, selling items on eBay, marketing and sales, graphic design and bookkeeping.

Some women take their hobbies and build them into a business and sell their goods at the markets on a weekend or they may even set up a blog and display their hobbies online. If you need a site built, either a blog or a small basic website or one that will allow you to use an online shopping cart with PayPal, Copy Text Online can help you. With no overheads our fees are affordable for home users, hobbyists and small businesses.

Over the next few weeks, I will provide some information to cover the basics of setting up your own business from home.

Toni