To Compare the Effects of Maternal Occupational Activities on Birth Weight: A Cross Sectional Study

Work related factors have been suggested to adversely impact outcomes of pregnancy. The aims of this study were to compare neonatal birth weight in employed and non-employed women and to investigate the relation of 5 common occupational factors including working hours, shift work, standing, bending forward, and physical workload intensity to neonatal birth weight.
This cross sectional study was carried out on 370 pregnant women, 185 employed and 185 non-employed. Information were collected about working conditions including working hours, shift work, standing, walking, bending, squatting, physical workload intensity, socio - demographic characteristic, as well as obstetric history of each patient by interview. Association between maternal occupational activity and neonatal birth weight was adjusted for medical and obstetric, occupational details were studied using logistic regression analysis.
The mean birth weight in employed and non-employed women were 3052 ± 359.3, 3236.3 ± 377.2, respectively, which had a meaningful difference (P = 0.001). The mean of birth weight in employed women had a significant correlation with shift work (P = 0.0001), working hours per week (P = 0.001), and heavy a work load (P = 0.0001). After using linear multivariate regression, this study showed that employment and preterm delivery had the most significant effects on low birth weight.
Neonatal birth weight in employed women is less than non-employed women. Therefore, careful prenatal visits to monitor growth of fetus and adjustment of working hours will be suggested.