Accidental electric shock in pregnancy: a prospective cohort study.

Abstract

Our purpose was to quantify fetal risk after accidental electric shock in pregnancy. All pregnant women who were counseled by the Motherisk Program in Toronto and by the Vermont Pregnancy Risk Information Service in Burlington after having an electric shock during pregnancy were enrolled in a prospective, controlled, observational study. Thirty-one women were followed up after delivery: 26 had been exposed to 110 V, 2 to 220 V, 2 to high voltage, and 1 to 12 V. Twenty-eight women gave birth to healthy normal infants, one had a child with a ventricular septal defect, and two had spontaneous abortions. In the control group there were 30 healthy babies; one woman had a spontaneous abortion. There were no differences between the groups in pregnancy outcome, birth weight, gestational age, type of delivery, or rates of neonatal distress. In most cases accidental electric shock occurring during day-to-day life during pregnancy does not pose a major fetal risk.