The Relationship between Maternal Employment Status and Pregnancy Outcomes

Women comprise a large percentage of the workforce in industrial countries. In Europe and many other places in the world, women of reproductive age comprise a significant proportion of the workforce at the workplaces, and the rules and regulations require employers to evaluate and minimize health risks to pregnant women. In U.K, 70%, and in the United States 59% of women are employed. In Iran, 13% of women are employed, which comes down to less than 5% at Sistan& Baluchestan Province. Various studies have reported contradictory results about the effects of maternal employment tasks such as standing, repetitive bending, climbing stairs, and lifting heavy objects during pregnancy on fetal growth, preterm birth and other obstetric complications. Given the growing number of working women, and potential complications for mothers, the present study has conducted to investigate the relationship between maternal employment status and pregnancy outcomes in Zahedan city, Iran.

This cross-sectional study was based on survey conducted on 227 women (121 housewives, and 106 employed women) attending health centers in 2014. Using purposive convenient sampling method, eligible pregnant mothers (with no chronic diseases, singleton pregnancy, gravida 1-3, and no addiction) were selected as study subjects. Data were collected and recorded through a researcher-made questionnaire and also from mothers' medical records, including personal details, prenatal and labor complications, and infant's details. Collected data were fed into the SPSS version 21(IBM Corp, USA).

Frequency of placental abruption was greater among housewives (P=0.02), and a significant relationship was found between employment status and lifting heavy objects, which was more frequent among housewives (P=0.01). Lifting heavy objects during pregnancy was only significantly related to reduced amniotic fluid (P=0.001) and low birth weight (P=0.01). Frequency of preterm labor was higher among housewives compared to employed women, but not significantly. Type of delivery was significantly related to employment, and employed mothers had more cesarean deliveries (P=0.0001).

The results suggest more frequent lifting of heavy objects by housewives than by employed mothers, leading to increased complications such as reduced amniotic fluid, placental abruption, and low birth weight. Perhaps due to higher education levels, frequency of cesarean section and preterm labor was higher among employed mothers. However, employment alone does not predict pregnancy outcomes.