Full-time work not a direct risk to pregnant women: study

Minneapolis – Working full time while pregnant does not directly cause babies to be born early or at a low birth weight, concludes a study from the University of Minnesota.

Researchers compared survey responses from women who worked full time while pregnant and pregnant women who did not, and found no connection between employment status and low birth weight or preterm birth, according to the study abstract.

Based on the findings, researchers said focus should be on job characteristics rather than whether a woman is employed when determining potential health risks to the child.

The study appeared online March 15 in the journal Women’s Health Issues.

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