Work stress is a frequent form of stress, especially in today's society. It can affect any worker and in any sector.
In recent years, several studies have focused on studying their effects on pregnancy.
Women workers who are pregnant or have just given birth may be particularly affected, as a result of hormonal, physiological and psychological changes induced by their status. These changes will affect more women with a history of stress, anxiety or depression.
That said, if during pregnancy we are more vulnerable to suffer the consequences of stress at work, why not know them?
What working conditions favor stress?
As we saw in previous posts, stress in general can have harmful effects on the pregnant woman and her child. But Is the same with work stress?
Remember that an event in itself does not generate stress, but depends on how the person perceives it. Well, in the case of work it happens the same. While there are working conditions or jobs that can enhance stress, developing it or not will ultimately depend on how we live it.
Since studies indicate that continuing with the work routine during pregnancy it usually turns out beneficial For women, it may be useful to know the characteristics of the jobs that have been most associated with work stress, as well as their repercussions on pregnancy.
In this way we will have more possibilities to identify them and make the necessary changes to protect ourselves.
Let's briefly see some of them.
- Extensive work days: some studies have indicated a moderate relationship between large working hours (more than 42 hours per week) and premature birth or low birth weight. For example, in an investigation carried out by the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University, New York, 575 working women were evaluated and positive correlations were found between weekly workdays exceeding 40 hours and low birth weight. An association was also found between premature labor and work weeks of more than 42 hours in the 2004 study by the EUROPOP center, a European program that assesses occupational risks in pregnancy.
- Job Satisfaction: It is considered a factor of protection against stress. In the study carried out by EUROCOP, it was also found that the women who showed the most stress were those with the lowest scores on the job satisfaction scales. An association between higher incidence of preterm births and low job satisfaction has also been described.
- Job Characteristics: the most stressful jobs are those in which the worker perceives that he has little control and autonomy (little room for maneuver to develop their skills) in a position with high psychological demands (a lot of work and little time to do it, continuous interruptions, change of shifts, lack of work ...). In a study that was carried out in Denmark with pregnant women who carried out commercial and office activities, there was an increased risk of having a newborn with low birth weight when their jobs were distinguished by high demands and under control over work. The same effect was observed in another study conducted in 1999 in Thailand, where associations were found between low labor control and low birth weight.
- Jobs that involve high effort and low reward They also promote stress. In an investigation carried out in 2005 with pregnant workers in the health sector of Havana, it was seen that those considered their work as high extrinsic effort and low reward, also scored more in work stress, with the possible consequences on their pregnancy.
- Social support: social relations at work characterized by little cooperation and distrust can generate stress. Some authors suggest that social support would work as a shock absorber at work, hence the importance of developing social support programs in the occupational center. In 1992, 2693 Mexican pregnant workers were evaluated and it was found that the lack of social support, among other characteristics of work, was associated with low birth weight.
- Work until the end of pregnancy. A recent investigation by the University of Essex, in the United Kingdom, has shown that the babies of women who continued working after eight months had, on average, less weight than those who stopped working between 6 and 8 months of age. pregnancy. According to the study authors, this could be due to fatigue and stress. They also indicated that work in the last month of pregnancy affected women differently depending on other variables, such as their age or educational level.
- Physical environment: noise, vibrations, lighting, temperature ... all of them are factors that have been seen to favor the appearance of stress. In the case of noise, the ear of the pregnant woman and the fetus is very sensitive to noise. Some research has suggested that prenatal exposure to noise can cause low birth weight. Refering to temperatureIt has been seen that pregnant women have a lower tolerance for heat and are more vulnerable to stress for this reason.
Ultimately, work stress can pose a risk to the health of the pregnant woman and her child, so we have to be alert to the conditions of our work so that it does not pose a problem.
What other risks should we avoid during pregnancy and lactation?
Like stress, there are other dangers that women must face in their position that should be known. As we can imagine, the risks they are many and not always obvious, so it is good for us not only to know them, but also to know how to prevent them.
In the past we dedicated a post to comment on them. I recommend you take a look to remember them.
There are also guides developed specifically to help pregnant and lactating workers, as well as companies, to get to know them. Among them, the Trade Union Guide for the prevention of risks during pregnancy and lactation, edited by the Labor, Environment and Health Trade Union Institute (ISTAS) or the one developed by the Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (SEGO), to which You can access to download it in pdf in the following link: Guidelines for assessing occupational risk and temporary disability during pregnancy.
On the other hand, there are guides for specific professions, such as Clinical Labor Guide for the prevention of risks during pregnancy, recent delivery and breastfeeding in the health field, created by the Spanish Association of Specialists in Occupational Medicine.
Photos |, teresawer, Daquella way, on Flickr.
In Babies and more | The mother's work stress predisposes to low birth weight, How to combat stress during pregnancy ?, Labor rights of pregnant women.
