Testimonial: High-risk pregnancy and return to work... not ideal!

Unemployment is a great period for IVF, but a risky pregnancy, for a return to work, is not ideal...

I work for an agricultural company, which means: no conditions, no benefits, and our employment is to be discussed every year, nothing is taken for granted. The season generally starts in May and ends in October.

I met my employer at the beginning of March, before my 3rd birthday^E FIV, to confirm that I was interested in coming back to work for him. He also told me that he wanted to hire me back.

After my viability ultrasound, at the beginning of May, I contacted my employer to tell him that I must still want to work part of the season, despite my pregnancy. However, I omit to specify that I am expecting twins. My pregnancy follow-up has not really started yet, but I very much suspect that this particular pregnancy requires adjustments in my job from my employer, which I would do without.

In vegetable production, the tasks are very varied: we lift heavy loads, we are often on our knees to work the soil manually; in greenhouses, we climb to a height to stake the vegetables and we are exposed to extreme heat.

Following my first appointment with the high-risk pregnancy clinic (twins automatically lead to this type of follow-up), the doctor asked the CSST for an evaluation of my work.

For you to fully understand (because I didn't understand anything about this process), the CSST evaluates job-related tasks and will make requests for accommodation from the employer if certain tasks are considered to be at risk for pregnant women. It is only in case of bacteriological or chemical risks that the pregnant woman is removed from her job (if no reassignment on the part of the employer can be made). In my case, I understood that CF should not be a reason for withdrawal for the CSST, because according to their definition, the worker must be able to work, otherwise it is the employment insurance health coverage that covers us (and not at the same advantageous rate).

Innocently, I believed that a twin pregnancy would have an impact on the assessment of my case. I had seen photos of women pregnant with twins, and the belly is actually getting bigger twice as fast! But in this respect, the CSST does not care. In the recommendations made to my employer, nothing significantly limiting was named before 24 weeks of pregnancy. Let me give you examples: up to 24 weeks, I could lift up to 225kg per day at a rate of 15kg/lift, I could work on my knees all day without any problem.

I wanted this pregnancy for so long. In my mind, it was out of the question for me to work under these conditions until August 28, which is my 24th birthday.^E week of pregnancy, and where the CSST considered that my tasks should be adapted to a greater extent.

After my first pregnancy follow-up, I announced to my employer that I was expecting twins and that I did not intend to put my pregnancy at risk. I think he felt helpless in the face of this news (not having planned a replacement), but after talking, he made sure to tell the CSST that he could not accommodate me according to their recommendations (however small they were). So I was removed from my job in mid-June to be able to focus on my pregnancy, what a relief!

To give you an idea, here is what my belly looked like at my 15th week of pregnancy (that's barely 3 months pregnant)

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