How your job can increase your risk of miscarriage revealed – are you at greater risk?
A MISCARRIAGE is the loss of a pregnancy during the first 23 weeks.
There are many reasons as to why it might happen, and most of the time it’s thought they are caused by abnormal chromosomes in the baby, the NHS states.
But now researchers have found that the job you do could make a difference.
Writing in the Journal of Occupational Health, medics in South Korea looked at the risks for three adverse outcomes of pregnancy.
This included miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and molar pregnancy (when there is a problem with the fertilised egg).
They also looked at ‘no record of live birth’, which included stillbirths.
Overall, the risk of miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancies was higher in non-employed women than in employed women, while no live births were more frequent in employed women.
When it comes to the sort of jobs these women were employed in, the experts found that those in the health and social work industry had the highest risk of stillbirths.
The risk was also higher in those who worked in the manufacturing, wholesale/retail trade, education, and public/social/personal service occupations.
Manufacturing jobs and health/social work were associated with higher risks of early abortive outcomes such as miscarriage, compared with those who worked in financial and insurance jobs.
Around 500 babies a day were miscarried in 2020 in the UK, data from baby loss support charity Tommy’s states.
Miscarriages are more common than most people think and among people who know they are pregnant, around one in eight pregnancies end in miscarriage.
A study published in February 2022 found that black women are at a 40 per cent higher risk of miscarriage than white women.
Experts say when it comes to why this is the case – there are many possibilities.
The symptoms of a miscarriage you need to know
The NHS states that the main signs of a miscarriage is vaginal bleeding.
This could be followed by cramping and pain in your lower abdomen.
If you experience vaginal bleeding when pregnant then you should contact your GP or midwife.
However, light vaginal bleeding is common during the first trimester of pregnancy and doesn’t always mean you’re having a miscarriage.
This includes that black and Asian women have higher rates of gestational diabetes and therefore could have higher blood sugar levels in early pregnancy.
It could also be down to the balance of bacteria in the vagina – which can vary between different ethnicities.
Many more happen before a woman realises they are pregnant, the NHS states.
The NHS states that in most cases, a miscarriage is a one-off event and most people go on to have a successful pregnancy in the future.
The majority cannot be prevented and there are some things you can do to reduce the risk.
This includes avoiding smoking, drinking alcohol and using drugs while pregnant.
Guidance also states that being a healthy weight before getting pregnant, eating a healthy diet and reducing your risk of infection can also help.