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Falls in workers during pregnancy: Risk factors, job hazards, and high risk occupations
Author(s) -
Dunning Kari,
LeMasters Grace,
Levin Linda,
Bhattacharya Amit,
Alterman Toni,
Lordo Kathy
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.10318
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , odds ratio , confidence interval , cohort study , obstetrics , cohort , occupational safety and health , demography , genetics , pathology , sociology , biology
Background Although falls are a major source of trauma during pregnancy and 70% of pregnant women are employed, information on falls among pregnant workers is lacking. Study objectives were to estimate fall prevalence and risk factors among pregnant workers. Methods This retrospective cohort study used birth certificates to identify recently pregnant women. Data were collected via phone, internet, and mail surveys. The primary outcome investigated was a fall at work during pregnancy. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results Of the 2,847 employed women, 26.6% (757) fell during their pregnancy and 6.3% (179) fell at work. Walking on slippery floors, hurrying, or carrying an object occurred in 66.3% of work falls. Conclusion The service and teaching industry should be evaluated for risk reduction. Future research should determine if counseling during pregnancy will reduce falls in the workplace. Am. J. Ind. Med. 44:664–672, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.