OHS REPS @ WORK

1. From the ILO:
   • A guide urging employers, unions, OHS managers and inspectors to ensure workplaces are as free as possible from reproductive health hazards for both men and women. The guidance sets out practical steps on how to protect the female worker and her child, if she is working during pregnancy, has recently given birth, is returning to work after pregnancy, or is breastfeeding on her return to work. Healthy beginnings: guidance on safe maternity at work. (121 page pdf)
   • a maternity protection database containing information on the principal legislative measures adopted in member states to protect the health and welfare of working women during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding and to ensure that their employment is protected and that they are not subject to discrimination.
   • a resource guide on gender equality in the world of work. This guide provides gender equality information via links to ILO and other publications, statistics and ILO Conventions and Recommendations, as well as other resources around the world. The ILO, through the Bureau for Gender Equality, widely disseminates knowledge and practical information on gender equality through publications and other resources.
     ILO resource guide - Gender equality in the world of work
     
     
2. Hazards - Women and Work Hazards website
   
   
3. UK's retail union Usdaw has published a pregnancy risks assessment checklist to provide advice on some of the more common factors that may cause a risk to pregnant women. Usdaw pregnancy risk assessment checklist [pdf]
   
   
4. TUC Pregnant women and risk assessment  - an online guide providing a detailed and practical workers' resource on pregnancy and risk assessments. The guide includes a summary of relevant (UK) law and a six-step safety reps' action guide. This covers: Risk assessments and common hazards; action to prevent exposure to risks; provision of information by employers; action when any risk remains; provision of suitable alternative work where risks cannot be avoided; and suspension on full pay if no suitable alternative work is available. The Equal Opportunities Commission recently found the majority of employers failed to undertake the legally required risk assessments to protect new or expectant mothers.  TUC pregnancy and risk assessment briefing .
   
   
5. The UK's HSE webpage on Health and safety for new and expectant mothers which has information, FAQs and case studies
   
   
6. From NIOSH in the US, CDC Topic: Women's Safety and Health Issues at Work
   
   
7. European Agency for Safety and Health - Women and health at work webpages
   

Working nights while pregnant increases the risk of giving birth prematurely by up to 50 per cent, according to a new study. University of North Carolina researchers looked at the working conditions of 1,900 pregnant women. Their findings, published in the December 2005 issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found standing for long periods and lifting heavy weights did not increase the risk of premature labour. But working nightshifts in the first three months was linked to a doubling in a woman's risk of early labour. The women, who were all interviewed in the seventh month of their pregnancy, were asked to report details about their jobs, such as how many hours per day they spent standing, and how many times per day they lifted an object that weighed 25 pounds (approx 11kg) or more. The 9.2 per cent of women (166) who worked nights were found to be at a 50 per cent increased risk of giving birth early. However, the researchers say the reason for the link is unclear, and they stress that relatively few women in the study actually worked nights, particularly as their pregnancy progressed. Dr Lisa Pompeii, who led the research, said: 'The findings from our study are based on a small sample size and need to be interpreted with caution... further studies need to be done to explore whether or how shift work influences uterine activity during pregnancy.'

Exposure to range of workplace risks in pregnancy can increase the likelihood of having an under-sized infant, according to a new report in the American Journal of Public Health. Irregular or shiftwork schedules are key problems. The researchers say eliminating these factors before the 24th week of pregnancy can bring the odds down to those of unexposed women. 'Small-for-gestational' (SGA) infants are at increased risk for a number of problems, including low levels of oxygen and blood sugar at birth. Dr Agathe Croteau, from Université Laval, Québec, Canada, and colleagues assessed the impact of occupational conditions on the risk of having an SGA infant by analysing data from 1,536 mothers with SGA babies and 4,441 mothers with normal babies. Factors that had a cumulative effect on risk included working night hours, irregular or shiftwork schedule, standing, lifting loads, noise, and high psychological demand coupled with low social support. Compared with the complete absence of these conditions, the risk of having an SGA infant ranged from 8 to 129 per cent when one to all six of these conditions was present. Preventive measures before the 24th week such as reassignment to a safer job or withdrawal from work largely eliminated the increased risk.