A Guide To Swine Flu Planning For Working Mums

There has been so much coverage in the media over the past several months about the impact of swine flu. As working mothers, we are likely to be particularly concerned if we have young children and we try to do all that we can to prevent our children from catching any sort of illness, but particularly flu.

This is obviously easier said than done! As if there wasn't enough to worry about as a working mother without adding a flu pandemic to the mix!

One of the drawbacks of being a working mum is the fact that ordinarily our schedule does not allow for much disruption. We have to balance a lot of things to ensure that we can fulfil our work or business obligations and ensure our children are happy and healthy at the same time. When we hear the (often much exaggerated) horror stories about swine flu, this only serves to add another thing to worry about on an often already long list of worries.

Seek out professional or online life coaching if you find yourself in a cycle of worry and overwhelm.

Swine flu, or H1N1, has been called a global pandemic due to the expected number of human to human transmission cases. It is impossible for us to know how it may affect us individually, collectively or how it may effect the systems, processes, and networks or transportation methods that we need to rely on. As such, a working mum needs to focus on what she can do to plan for the worst within these fluid parameters.

It goes without saying that the first thing to do is look at how you can make sure that each member of the family is as healthy as possible. This means keeping up with physical activity, working out, trying to manage stress, eating well, remaining hydrated and getting an optimum amount of sleep. This goes for all members of the family - which includes you! Schedules should be adjusted and habits modified. No longer is it okay to let any of these slide as we need to be as healthy as possible to stave off infection.

If swine flu mutates, we will proably have to practise some social distancing. This generally means good hygiene, washing your hands often, using a good hand sanitizers and as difficult as it may seem, try to get yourself and your family out of any habits such as touching your face.

Schools are of course particularly vulnerable and the swine flu is likely to spread quickly in places where children are present. Should schools be closed, you will need to be prepared for the eventuality. This will mean looking into emergency day-care, help from family or friends.

You will need to take a good look at your work situation and see if it would be possible for you to do some of it from home if needed. If your children need nursing then you cannot realistically expect a sitter to be able to this and you should be there anyway to pay close attention to their recovery.

Don't get into seige mentality, but DO stock up on your frozen food, tins and dried food. For example, keep a stock of ready meals in your freezer if you have one. If you are in the UK, I recommend "Cook" foods, which you can order online. Their ready meals are pretty good with no rubbish - only ingredients that you'd use at home. They're not cheap, but I can vouch for them being delicious and it's handy to have a selection in. Imagine feeling really poorly but still having to cook meals for you and your family...not conducive to you getting better! You will be thankful for having something healthy to eat that you can chuck in the oven without any preparation!

As a working mum, check to see what your company's policies and procedures are regarding a potential major outbreak of swine flu.

Hopefully your company will be flexible and sympathetic. If you feel that they are not, or want more information about how to deal with an employer in your situation, you could check out coaching for women and help online.

If you, your partner or one of your children gets the swine flu, check out the latest advice online or from your family doctor. Whilst the majority of cases are likely to be mild, be aware of what you should be on the lookout for and have a plan in place to deal with everything appropriately.