Relation between Employment Workload and Pregnancy Outcome A Prospective Clinical Study

Abstract Background: Pregnancy should not be viewed as a disease or a job restriction. But a pregnant woman who works might be exposed to specific risks that could have a negative impact on her or the fetus's pregnancy. It has been reported that physical activity during pregnancy is linked to unfavorable pregnancy outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, preterm labor, low birth weight, and congenital malformations. Aim of Study: Study the relation between workload and some adverse pregnancy outcomes among a representative sample of women living in Tawilla village in Dakhlia gover-norate in Egypt. Patients and Methods: The current study included 300 preg-nant females who were classified into two equal groups; group A (working females) and group B (non-working females). The participants were subjected to obtaining full history and assess-ment of the working conditions. The following questionnaires were obtained from the included participants, physical activity questionnaire, The Perceived Stress Scale Questionnaire and Workplace Stress Survey. The participants were followed-up to document the outcomes including incidence of preterm, small for gestational age and still birth. Results: The incidence of preterm infants, small for gesta-tional age and still birth were statistically significantly higher in the working females group as compared to the non-work-ing group. The incidence of preterm and small for gestational age were statistically significantly higher in the active females, high stress females as compared to inactive/moderately active females and average stress/poor stress respectively. Conclusion: The work of females during pregnancy is as-sociated adverse pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, the inci-dence of adverse pregnancy outcomes is associated with the in-creased physical activity, workload and stress during working.