Long working hours and obstetric complications: A cross-sectional study among female doctors

To investigate the effects of long working hours on pregnancy complications and obstetric outcomes among female doctors working in tertiary care hospitals of Karachi.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 149 female MBBS graduates (mean age: 33.5 ± 7.3 years) who had conceived at least once, currently working in two tertiary-care hospitals of Karachi. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire containing questions regarding demography and course of 1st pregnancy of the participants including working hours, antenatal and natal complications. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables with frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. The association between long working hours and different antenatal and natal complications was investigated using Chi-square test and T-test.

Out of 149 participants included in final analysis, 85.9 % doctors gave birth to alive babies while 12.8 % had miscarriages and 1.3 % had stillbirth. Mean working hours during the three trimesters were found to be 53.76, 53.66 and 48.7, respectively. 43 % doctors experienced at least one antenatal complication during their pregnancy. Women who worked more than or equal to 55 h per week during 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester of their pregnancy experienced more antenatal complications than women who worked less than 55 h (p-value=0.042, 0.021 and 0.018 respectively). 61.7 % females experienced at least one natal complication, most common of which was induction of Labour (39.1 %). Natal complications were significantly associated with increased workload during 2nd trimester (mean 58 vs 46 h, p-value 0.040). Doctors belonging to surgical specialty had 2.7 times higher risk of developing at least one natal complication than doctors of medical specialty (95 % Cl: 1.235-5.870).

Long working hours during pregnancy are associated with antenatal complications among female doctors. Natal complications were only significantly related to long working hours during 2nd trimester of pregnancy, however, female surgeons are more prone to develop natal complications than doctors belonging to medical specialties.