Having a baby....

[Nikk]

... not just yet, but when me and my guy marry, we plan to have a baby fairly soon.

I'm just wondering if any of my sister officers had your children while working...
Did you go on light duty right away?
How long did you work before taking maternity leave?
Was it hard to go back?
Were you treated differently at the time, or upon return?

...and whatever else you can tell me!

I used the search function... and found some interesting threads! But I'm looking for more of a first hand account, if possible.

Thanks!

[Smurfette_76]

Never had to confront that, actually. Can't say that I'm sorry, either. I also never worked with a road officer that took off for having a baby EXCEPT the men and they (at my agency) take 3 months off.

Our SOP says she has to come off the road at the second trimester. Personally, I think that's a bit dangerous. When I had mine, you could already tell I was pregnant by 8 or 9 weeks in. I think its foolish to put a mother and child in jeopardy until 12 weeks.

[Nikk]

I haven't worked with anyone who has had a baby in this job either, we have very few female officers. So I don't really have anyone to ask about it!

[Smurfette_76]

I had to think about it when you posted the question. Actually, one of the Detectives was preggers when I started at my current agency, but she was the forensics detective and while she did go out on crime scenes, it was a controlled environment.

I was thinking of the other moms on patrol. There's only one female road officer that has 'younger' kids (hers are 18, 6 and 4) and she took three years off FT to have the youngest two. All the rest of us have teenagers and older.

[Protect-N-Serve]

In custody, we have had one pregnant Deputy. She stayed at the main control desk all the time.

[ConanCT]

I'm also really interested in any first-hand information on this...I'm in the patrol diviseion right now and it's really wierd you posted this right now due to the very exciting/nervewracking situation I have found myself in . I guess I'll have a good answer for you sometime in the next two weeks, when I plan on telling work...

[Sr. Sgt.]

I was a newly promoted sergeant when I was pregnant 5 years ago. I stayed in uniform until I began to show (aka: I couldn’t comfortably fit in my uniform and gear). It was completely up to me when I wanted to go on light duty. It has so far been the same for the other females who are patrol officers and/or detectives. I didn’t really start showing until I was about 7 months. I decided at 6 months it was time. One other female who is still on maternity leave went on light duty right at 3 months. Our department is really great about that.

I worked until my off-days just prior to my due date, which is when he decided to be born. I had the option to take off sooner, but I had a very easy pregnancy and truly thought I’d go into labor while at work. If I wanted to take more time off prior to giving birth, that would be time I would have to come back sooner after he was born. We are allowed to take off for 3 months, but we have to use our benefit time or go unpaid if it’s all used up. Luckily I had lots of comp time and vacation time saved, so I used very little of my sick time.

It was not hard for me to go back to work. After several weeks of very little adult interaction and even less sleep, going back to work (I work over nights on 12 hr shifts) meant that I got to have some uninterrupted sleep on the day after working.

I was never treated any differently while pregnant or after I came back. I take that back, the guys were very protective of me while I was pregnant. I got my @$$ chewed by everyone from my LT down to the rookie when I caught a poo-bag after a couple block foot chase. I was barely 3 months along. Then I realized I probably shouldn’t do that sort of stuff. Then there was the night I was about 7½ months along and the only supervisor on and we had a homicide that, according to policy, a supervisor has to go out on. I waited until they thought the scene was secure and donned a big-boy exterior vest, but the boys on the squad could not wait to get me back into the watch office.

I have heard females at other agencies have had issues with getting light-duty status and being prejudiced against, so know your rights if your agency appears to be jerking you around.

[just joe]

We don't have light duty. You are either working or you are not. So, a pregnant officer would tend to take off fairly early in the pregnancy and be gone for a long time. I will be honest, some officers do resent the lengthly absence and the accural of seniority rights when the female is off for six or eight months. It probably is not as much of an issue at a larger dept.

[ConanCT]

Sgt., that is interesting that you were able to stay on patrol so long. I am 8 weeks along, and excited about the idea of having a kid. I work midnights in a large city enviornment. My uniform is a little tight now due to bloating, but I love my job and dread the idea of going on light duty.

Last night an officer in the zone next to me was fighting with someone and this guy was trying to grab his gun. I was the second or third officer on scene. At the time I was thinking of nothing else but coming to the aide of my fellow officer, and I jumped in the fight without hesitation-and this guy did not want to give up and ended up getting split. Afterwords, I stepped back, looked at the blood on my hands and thought...woah. What if I had taken some hits to the abdomen? What if I had cuts on my hand and the suspects blood had gotten in them? How responsible would I feel if something happened to my baby? I know the "baby" is about the size of a pea right now, but I already feel a connection to it. I realized I should probably grow up, be a little less selfish and take care of the child I am responsible for bringing into this world.

I am the only one of two female patrol officer on my shift. The guys are great and already are way protective of me. But, if they knew I was pregnant, I feel like their protectiveness of me may cause them to lose focus and put themselves in danger. I won't do that to them.

I have hesitation, because I have heard comments male officers at my department have made about "women who work the system" and "women who come here, get pregnant, and get their gold badge" (meaning they make detective after getting pregnant, implying they got promoted because of special treatment). I don't want to be known as "that girl". Believe me, if I could pass on the bloating, the nausea, the constant peeing and the inability to sleep to my husband, I would gladly keep working and I would surely pamper him. I plan to make my promotions on my own merits when the time comes. It was not in my plan to get pregnant so soon, not that it's anyone's business.

So, I plan to get through this weekend safely, and then after my first doctor's appointment on Monday, tell work. I am assuming that at my department, they will put me on light duty right away. I guess a woman (and now I guess a Mom, wierd) has gotta do what she's gotta do. Wish me luck!

[willowdared]

Never had to confront that, actually. Can't say that I'm sorry, either. I also never worked with a road officer that took off for having a baby EXCEPT the men and they (at my agency) take 3 months off.

Our SOP says she has to come off the road at the second trimester. Personally, I think that's a bit dangerous. When I had mine, you could already tell I was pregnant by 8 or 9 weeks in. I think its foolish to put a mother and child in jeopardy until 12 weeks.

That could be challenged under discrimination laws.

Our department says that as long as your gunbelt fits and you can buckle your seatbelt you are good to go.

Any kind of "light duty" restrictions should be because of a doctors note.

[willowdared]

We don't have light duty. You are either working or you are not. So, a pregnant officer would tend to take off fairly early in the pregnancy and be gone for a long time. I will be honest, some officers do resent the lengthly absence and the accural of seniority rights when the female is off for six or eight months. It probably is not as much of an issue at a larger dept.

Our light duty assignments are usually doing counter reports at the station.

We've had a couple deputies (male and female) who were on long term light-duty come up to the comm center and get trained on phones. We also have some that handle reports by phone, and do follow-ups on the e-reports filed online.

[just joe]

We don't have desk officers, and one of the reasons we don't is that the chief doesn't want anyone--male or female--milking light duty, so you're either taking calls or you're at home.

[ConanCT]

Joe - So if you are at home, do you get paid? Say you break your hand on the job...when you are at home (because you are not taking calls), do you get paid?

It seems counter productive to send someone home who could be taking simple property damage or car break reports by phone...better to pay them to be at work doing minimal work rather then at home doing nothing. But hey, I would be thrilled to be paid to stay at home! I could get so much more done around the house!

Light duty at my department could be front desk, change of assignment to the academy, paperwork upstairs in the bureau, private job office, fleet, ect...

[kcpd2528]

It's complete BS for officers to feel like others think they are milking the system or getting special treatment for going on light duty. If I were a female on patrol, I'd go on light duty the minute I found out I was pregnant. Wouldn't toss my kid in the backseat of my patrol car or take her on calls with me, so why does anyone expect a female officer to treat her child differently? And anyone who has been there knows, desk work is no fun and most people that get stuck on light duty are ready to scratch their eyeballs out after the first hour. Ooooo! Special treatment, indeed!

[NORCOCOP]

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