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The effect on birth weight of employment during pregnancy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Jaime Gofin
Jaime Gofin
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine, Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
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Summary

A study of employment during pregnancy and its effects was carried out among pregnant women who were under the care of the Community Health Center, Hadassah Medical School, in a neighbourhood of West Jerusalem. Of the women, 46−2% worked during pregnancy, and 78−6% of them were in occupations which demanded light physical activity. Most of the women worked throughout the whole pregnancy. Educational level as well as parity emerged as the main factors in determining whether a pregnant woman worked or not. No significant effects of employment were found in pregnancy complications or length of gestation, but significant differences did emerge in the number of delivery abnormalities. This finding is interpreted as the result of the interaction of several social conditions rather than of work itself. The findings support the hypothesis that work by itself does not affect either pregnancy or its outcome (as measured by birth weight).

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , July 1979 , pp. 259 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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