# Day 96: The risk assessment

> Once work knows, you can ask for your job to be looked at. Today you write the one-paragraph request and the three things you need changed.

- Series: Your third month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-3), day 96 of 280, 13 weeks + 5 days
- Your baby this week: about the size of a peach; around 7.4 cm from head to bottom
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-3/day-96
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 96: The risk assessment." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-3/day-96

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Thirteen weeks and five days. If your manager knows, today you put the ask in writing. If they don't yet, you write it anyway, so it's ready the day they do.

## Your baby

Around now your baby is around 7.4cm long, about the size of a peach ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/)). The movements are becoming more deliberate, though you probably won't feel them until around week 17 ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/)).

## Your body

In the UK, once you've told your employer you have maternity rights, can attend antenatal appointments during paid work time, and can ask for a workplace risk assessment ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/)). The US rules are different and yours to look up, but MedlinePlus describes the same physical asks: most women are advised to lift only objects under 20 pounds (9 kilograms); if you stand for long stretches, ask for 15 minutes of sitting for every hour of standing; routine bathroom breaks may lower the risk of a urinary infection, and compression stockings may reduce leg swelling ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)).

Some jobs carry exposures to name: MedlinePlus lists giving hair treatments (the hands absorb the chemicals), lead in smelting, battery and glass making, printing, ceramics, pottery glazing, toll booths and busy roads, and flying time for flight crews ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)). Most pregnant women can keep working, some until delivery ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)); the assessment is how it stays that way.

## Try today

### The risk-assessment request

- **Time:** 15 minutes

1. Write one paragraph: that you're pregnant, roughly when you're due, and that you'd like your role reviewed for anything that needs changing. Asking for a workplace risk assessment is on the NHS's list for this week ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/)).
2. Under it, the three things you need changed. Pick from MedlinePlus's list: no lifting over 20 pounds, sitting breaks when you stand, bathroom breaks when you need them ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)).
3. Add any exposure that applies to you: hair chemicals, lead, flying ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)).
4. Add that you'll need time for antenatal appointments, with the dates you already have ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/)).
5. Send it in writing, and keep a copy.

**Make it work:** If you haven't told work yet, the NHS says you don't have to for several more weeks ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/)). Write it today anyway and save it as a draft.

## Watch for

- **Normal:** swollen hands and feet by the end of a shift; they're on this week's NHS list ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/)). **Call your provider** about leg swelling that comes with headaches or high blood pressure, which can signal preeclampsia ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).
- **Normal:** tingling hands at the keyboard; carpal tunnel symptoms are often from extra fluid and usually improve after birth ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)). **Call your provider** to check any persistent numbness, tingling, or weakness in an arm or leg ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm)).
- **Normal:** a backache from standing. **Call your provider** for severe belly pain that doesn't go away ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).

## For you

If the answer is slow, send it again with the date of the first one at the top. You're not asking for a favour; you're asking for a review, and a reasonable employer would rather have it in writing.

Work stress is on the list too. MedlinePlus's advice: talk with a partner or friend, keep your prenatal care, eat well, stay active, sleep enough, and raise persistent stress with your provider ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)). One thing never to reach for at work: Motrin, Advil, Aleve and other NSAIDs, which MedlinePlus says not to take while pregnant ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm)).

If you're the partner: read the paragraph before she sends it, and offer to be the one who chases the reply.

## Sources

- NHS. "Week 13." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-13/
- MedlinePlus. "Pregnancy and work." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000609.htm
- NHS. "Week 17." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-17/
- MedlinePlus. "Common symptoms during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Aches and pains during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html