I actually have no idea how women who are pregnant or have kids can work full time at all. If I didn't have the flexibility that I do (being self employed as a physician) I would never have had the number of kids that I did, and would probably have left the workforce. As it is though, when I don't work , I don't get paid, so I feel less guilt about keeping my workload manageable. Also, we have a small call group and the time I take off for kids is balanced by others taking extended time off (weeks or months) for international travel. Our call is thankfully not onerous as well.
Part of it may be that my partner has a much more hectic schedule than I do and is the main breadwinner, so I am the MRP (most responsible parent).
I would advise any young lady of child bearing age that if you have a choice about whether to work or not, choose a career that has the needed flexibility to allow you to work part time while pregnant or parenting small kids.
Otherwise, everyone is at risk of getting shortchanged: most of all your kids.
And, lyn*, anyone who gets pregnant on purpose to get out of call is also out of their mind,

I don't want to offend any working moms out there - I am not saying no one can do it....I just know my limits and am fortunate that I can work within them.

This is such a tricky issue because there are no easy answers. There are obviously legal issues and requirements, but I think there is also an important human element that too often gets lost in the shuffle.

I've been on both sides of this issue, and I've come to the conclusion that reducing ill-feeling boils down to my accepting personal responsibility for how the changes I require are affecting my colleagues. While I fully understand that, legally, I don't have to provide them with any explanation, I still think it makes for a much better work environment if the people who are affected by the changes don't have to operate in a vacuum. Showing appreciation and providing some explanation goes a long way towards lessening the resentment, while acting with a sense of entitlement and ignoring the effect of the changes on those who have to pick up the extra workload just pits colleagues against one another. A good boss, or supervisor, ought to understand this, but so should the person who is temporarily requiring the accommodation.

None of us know when our personal needs might affect how we can perform our jobs, but we can acknowledge and appreciate the efforts that others make to help us through these periods.

You have my total sympathy. I have never been pregnant, or had a child - but I have experienced the same frustration at having a ridiculously increased workload, while the person with the baby-on-the-way or 'health issues' props their feet up, and takes more liberties than I could ever imagine was reasonable. And don't get me started on the co-workers with kids who thought that, because I don't have kids, I should obviously take all the holiday shifts.

All of this being said - the ladies on this forum are right - there is a very real human issue, and I have never liked to rock the boat, because I feel there is very real discrimination against women in the workplace, because they have babies, or the ability to have babies - and I think that underlying discrimination keeps many deserving women out of higher-paid positions.

Since you already tried talking to your supervisor, and really are getting nowhere, I would sit down and re-think all of this. If you complain further, are you going to be branded a troublemaker? (Sad fact, but true). Can you vent here, and feel a little more at peace with the situation, which, in the end, isn't a forever-thing? If you are still really bothered by this, I would I would request an appointment with someone in your human resources office, and talk to them about the situation.

At the very least, if your co-worker is going to get to sit down and have a meal on the company clock, everyone in your office should be afforded the same privilege.

That sucks that you are picking up someone else's slack, for whatever the reason. My work situation is so different from yours that I almost didn't comment on your post. I'm an engineer and work at a computer so I'm rarely on my feet and eating at my desk is no big deal - I can eat a banana and read email or check plans at the same time. My pregnancies have all been relatively easy and I've worked up until the day the baby was born. I basically try to never mention my pregnancy at work unless asked about it. I figure nobody else really cares and I only pull the pregnancy card on my husband (who absolutely deserves it - he's a stay at home dad and it is maddening to come home from work to a sink full of dirty dishes).

I hope they are able to work out the staffing situation so you aren't so overworked.

I think the issue I'm most bothered about is the fact that you're not just picking up the slack for this woman, but that you're having to pick up the slack for the entire team due to accommodations made for medical conditions/pregnancy, or now for a possible move that might prevent your colleague from being available for on-call shifts, and it sounds like you are pretty much being expected to cover for everyone. That, to me, is what is unfair.

I like Kari's way of thinking about it - the unfairness is not that she's getting accommodations, but their way of picking up the slack (ie making you do it all). That puts the blame where it belongs.

Agree with cinnamon fern and Kari - its not pregnancy - its the way your workplace is handling the "picking up the slack" bit. It does seem unfair to me, and I'm impressed with Kari and cinnamon fern for figuring out that the unfairness isn't with your co-worker's pregnancy or whether it's "that bad" or not - but rather, how your employer handles these situations.

It shouldn't be all on one person to pick up the slack all the time.

Anna, yeah, I think you guys need to bring on the temp already. You seem to really be taking a beating. I mean, you're asking how hard can it be to have a foot in your kidneys all day long and a bowling ball hung off your internal organs. You are tired girl.

...Not that I've ever been pregnant. On the other hand (TMI alert), menstrual cramps have caused me to black out. My general feeling is, the system is not what you'd call smooth...