|
|
|
 |
WORKING LONGER HOURS INCREASES MISCARRIAGE RISK,
STUDY SHOWS
by: , in conjunction with
RAISIN,
Lots of women
professionals, when they become pregnant, try to
work extra hours in an effort to make sure
everything's in order when they go on maternity
leave - and that could be a serious mistake,
according to a new study. |
|
|
Researchers at the
University of California at Davis School of Medicine
say that women lawyers who work more than 45 hours a
week have a threefold high risk of miscarriage than
those women who work 35 hours a week. The survey of
584 women who graduated from the university's law
school shows that 48% report feeling stress - a high
predictor of miscarriage - much, most or all of the
time, with 63% of the women who work 45 hours or
more a week expressing that feeling.
"Women traditionally have
had to juggle the responsibilities of both work and home,
putting in extra hours to meet the |
|
 |
demands," says Marc
Schenker, the chairman of the university's Department of
Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. "While women have managed
to raise families and to make tremendous progress in nearly all
fields of work, our study shows that there are negative health
effects of working long hours on the job rather than at home."
One of the problems seen by the research team is the fact that,
for a career such as the law, the most important developmental
period is also the peak time for delivering a child. "So many
women are postponing childbirth until their late 30s and early
40s because the current male model of professional training and
career development does not accommodate women's role as
childbearers," says Martha West, a professor at the UC-Davis
law school.
The research, which was supported by a grant from the
March of Dimes, appears in the June issue of the
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
