[Employment during pregnancy and birth weight]

The average weight of the newborn was found significantly lower (almost 170 g) among 521 women with gainful employment during pregnancy compared to 475 other singleborn babies of residents of the Aarau region (Switzerland), who did not indicate such an occupation. Multivariate analysis, however, revealed that the observed difference was accounted for by the higher proportion of primiparae and of smokers among the working women, a direct influence of the occupation on birth weight could not be confirmed.