Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T21:21:11.222Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Central Bureau of Statistics (1972) Statistical Abstract of Israel, No. 23. CBS, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Danforth, D.N. (Ed.) (1971) Textbook of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2nd edn.Harper & Row, New York.Google Scholar
Douglas, J.W.B. (1950) Some factors associated to prematurity. J. Obstet. Gynaec. Br.Emp. 57,143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drillien, C.M. (1957) The social and economic factors affecting the incidence of premature birth. J.Obstet.Gynaec.Br.Emp. 64,161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gofin, J. (1974) Smoking and Work in Pregnant Women-Kiryat Yovel, 1970–1972. MPH thesis. Hebrew University, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Goodman, L.A. (1972) A modified multiple regression approach to the analysis of dichotomous variables. Am.Sociol.Rev. 37,28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hellman, L.M. & Pritchard, J.A. (1971) Williams Obstetrics, 14th edn.Appleton Century-Crofts, New York.Google Scholar
Illsley, R., Billewicz, W.Z. & Thomson, A.A. (1953) Prematurity and paid work during prenancy. Br.J.Prev.Soc.Med.8,153.Google Scholar
International Labour Office (1972) Occupational Health and Safety. ILO, Geneva.Google Scholar
Kark, S.L. (1974) Epidemiology and Community Medicine. Appleton Century-Crofts, New York.Google Scholar
Kark, S.L., Peritz, E., Shiloh, A. & Slome, C. (1964) Epidemiological analysis of the hemoglobin picture in parturient women of Jerusalem. Am.J. publ. Hlth, 54, 947.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Padan-Einsenstark, D.A. (1973) Are Israeli women really equal? Trends and patterns of Israeli women' labor force participation: a comparative analysis. J.Marr. & Fam. 35,358.Google Scholar
Piazza, T. (1975) A Working Guide to ECTA (Everyman's Contingency Table Analizer). Survey Research Center, University of California, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Rulin, M. (1973). Office gynecology and obstetrics. In: Family Practice. Edited by Conn, H. F.Saunders, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Rush, D., Davis, H. & Susser, M.W. (1972) Antecedents of low birth weight in Harlem, New York City.Int.J.Epidemiol.1,375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, A. (1955) A note on the obstetric effects of work during pregnancy. Br.J.prev.soc.Med. 9,159.Google ScholarPubMed
Terris, M. & Gold, E. (1969) An epidemiological study of prematurity. Am. J. Obstet.Gynec. 103,359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar