Does work as a nurse increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes?

Abstract

We conducted a population-based study to assess whether work as a nurse during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight, preterm delivery, and small-for-gestational-age. The study population was selected from The Finnish Prenatal Environment and Health Study of 2568 newborns (response 94%) and included 128 (5.0%) newborns of nurses and 559 newborns of office workers (21.8%) as a reference group. The risk of low birth weight (adjusted odds ratio = 1.02; 95% confidence interval = 0.32-3.22) and preterm delivery (0.81; 0.32-2.05) did not differ between newborns of nurses and office workers, but the risk of small-for-gestational-age was substantially higher among newborns of nurses (1.99; 1.10-3.59). This corresponds to a population attributable fraction of 2.5%. The results indicate that working as a nurse during pregnancy could reduce fetal growth.