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Health and safety at work during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Pregnancy policy at the Faculty of Science

Purpose:

  • to protect the pregnant employee and the fetus
  • to ensure that prospective parents perceive the Faculty of Science as a safe workplace
  • to enable the pregnant employee to remain at the workplace for as long as possible
  • to outline the options for the pregnant employee to organize work with the greatest consideration for the pregnancy
  • to ensure consistent treatment of pregnant employees
  • to ensure a clear pregnancy policy
  • To ensure a safe workplace, the pregnant employee, colleagues, and management must collaborate to comply with the rules for the work of pregnant employees. The work must be organized so that any risk factors are eliminated – either by substitution with other substances, physical aids, personal protection, or exemption from certain risky work processes.

If it is not possible to ensure a safe working environment for the pregnant employee through reorganization of work processes and changed procedures, the pregnant employee must be transferred to other work.

The immediate manager, i.e. research leader, head of department, etc., in collaboration with the local health and safety representative, is responsible for ensuring that the pregnant employee’s work is planned and carried out without risk of exposure that may pose a danger to the pregnant employee/fetus. They can seek help and guidance from the health and saftety committee, SDU’s occupational health consultant, advisors, the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic at Odense University Hospital, etc.

As soon as the immediate manager is aware that an employee is pregnant or breastfeeding, an individual written workplace assessment must be prepared, and tasks that involve risk factors must not be performed until they have been assessed and found safe.

If the immediate manager isn't the one who supervises the pregnant employee in the laboratory, the laboratory supervisor should participate in the clarification, but the  manager still holds the formal responsibility.

Pregnant employees are also obliged to create safe working conditions in collaboration with colleagues and to comply with the rules for the work of pregnant employees. For the sake of work planning, pregnant employees are encouraged to notify their immediate manager as early as possible in the pregnancy – especially if working in a laboratory.

It should be aimed that the working environment is so safe that special measures for pregnant and breastfeeding employees are unnecessary. In all areas, a general workplace assessment must be prepared at least every three years. In this context, the work leader, in collaboration with the relevant health and safety group/committee, assesses whether the workplace is also safe for pregnant and breastfeeding employees. If problems for pregnant and breastfeeding employees are identified, these problems must be addressed.

To ensure a smooth and trouble-free reintegration into the job and workplace, information meetings must be held for all employees returning from maternity leave with the immediate manager and colleagues. Here, the employee should be briefed on what has happened in their department during the leave, where the department stands now, and what the work tasks are, etc. For some employees, it will also be important to maintain close contact with the workplace during the maternity leave itself.

According to the Danish Working Environment Authority’s guidelines on the working environment for pregnant and breastfeeding employees, when an employer becomes aware that an employee is pregnant or breastfeeding, they must ensure that is is assessed whether there is a risk of exposure that could pose a danger to the pregnancy or breastfeeding. 

Fundamentally, the employer must always conduct a risk assessment that considers both the danger and the intensity and duration of the exposure. Therefore, the employer’s decision on whether a pregnant or breastfeeding employee can perform a specific task must be made in the context of her specific working conditions.

If the employer assesses that a risk will negatively impact the pregnancy or breastfeeding, they must take the following prioritized actions for the pregnant or breastfeeding employee:

  • ensure technical measures or changes to the workplace layout or, if this is not sufficient or possible,
  • change the planning and organization of the work or, if this is not sufficient or possible,
  • transfer the pregnant or breastfeeding employee to other tasks or, if this is not sufficient or possible,
  • decide that the pregnant or breastfeeding employee must not engage in the specific work.

At the Faculty of Science, an individual written pregnancy workplace assessment is prepared.

Form for pregnancy workplace assessment

The individual workplace assessment for the pregnant/breastfeeding employee must be prepared by the employer herself in collaboration with the local health and safety group.

However, a risk assessment related to pregnancy/breastfeeding can be complex. If the employer cannot conduct the necessary risk assessment alone or in collaboration with an occupational health advisor, the pregnant/breastfeeding employee’s own doctor or health and safety representative can refer her to the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic, which can assist in these cases.

The occupational medical examination is a medical consultation lasting 30-60 minutes. During the consultation, the doctor’s task is to conduct a detailed review of the pregnant/breastfeeding employee’s daily work and working environment to identify any potential risks to the fetus or pregnancy/breastfeeding.

The risk factors that the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinic examines include physical factors (lifting, pulling, pushing, prolonged walking or standing, extreme temperatures, radiation, etc.), chemical, and infectious exposures.

After the medical consultation, it may be necessary for the doctor to gather additional information, which is often the case when the pregnant/breastfeeding employee is exposed to chemical influences.

The doctor assesses the risk factors and determines whether the pregnant/breastfeeding employee can continue with her current work or not.

Physical impacts

Pregnant employees should:

  • avoid climbing ladders
  • alternate between sitting and walking/standing work from around week 13 of the pregnancy
  • avoid lifting loads heavier than 10-12 kg from around week 13 of the pregnancy
  • minimize the strain during pulling and pushing from week 20 of the pregnancy
  • avoid lifting loads heavier than 5-6 kg from week 25 of the pregnancy.

Psychological impacts

You must be aware of your own well-being. Pregnancy often requires you to slow down your work pace. As a pregnant woman, you may find that your body can no longer handle what it could before pregnancy.

As a pregnant woman, you should be particularly aware of:

  • Braxton Hicks contractions increasing in frequency and duration
  • persistent back and pelvic pain, often caused by not listening to your body and not resting when needed
  • discomfort and headaches, possibly due to poor sleep and tension throughout the body
  • sleep difficulties
  • morning fatigue
  • difficulty managing daily tasks.

There is a difference between having a busy day and being stressed over a long period of time. However, the boundary can be hard to find and varies from person to person.

If you are in doubt and concerned about increasing Braxton Hicks contractions, talk to a midwife about it. If your next appointment is far off, call and ask for an extra appointment or contact your own doctor.

Sound and ultrasound

Sound in the audible range, i.e. 20-18,000 Hz, does not pose a particular risk to the fetus.

You should avoid direct contact with ultrasound, i.e., frequencies above 18,000 Hz. Ultrasound is considered a potential risk to pregnancy, as high levels can cause cell damage in biological tissue upon direct contact, for example through propagation in liquids or solid objects, but not through air.

Therefore, the fetus is not exposed to harm when using an ultrasound device if you avoid placing yourself directly next to objects that conduct ultrasound. This means, however, that you often cannot perform sonication yourself.

Heat

You should avoid extreme heat (temperatures above 35 ̊ C).

Since the first trimester of pregnancy is the most vulnerable period, the employer should be informed as early as possible. The employer must, of course, be aware of the pregnancy before it is practically possible to fulfill the responsibility of “protecting pregnant and breastfeeding employees from dangers that are particularly serious for them.”

Use the  Kemibrug database (external link) to review the substances, mixtures, and materials that the pregnant/breastfeeding employee works with, and assess whether her work routines with these substances and materials need to be changed. 

Also, assess whether there are substances, mixtures, or materials that the pregnant/breastfeeding employee should not work with. In this context, special attention should be paid to working with substances labeled with the following H-statements.

Each health and safety group can generate a list from Kemibrug of substances that require special risk assessment in relation to pregnancy/breastfeeding. Ask the local health and safety representative.

The employer must assess the risk when pregnant/breastfeeding employees work with or are exposed to substances and materials with the following risk statements on the label:

  • H340: May cause genetic defects 
  • H341: Suspected of causing genetic defects 
  • H350: May cause cancer 
  • H350i: May cause cancer by inhalation 
  • H351: Suspected of causing cancer 
  • H360: May damage fertility or the unborn child 
  • H361: Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child
  • H362: May cause harm to breast-fed children 
  • H370: Causes damage to organs 
  • H371: May cause damage to organs

Substances, mixtures, or materials that are known to cause dangerous absorption through the skin should also be given special attention in the working environment of the pregnant/breastfeeding employee. This applies to the following H-statements:

  • H310: Fatal in contact with skin 
  • H311: Toxic in contact with skin  
  • H312: Harmful in contact with skin  
  • H370: Causes damage to organs through skin contact
  • H371: May cause damage to organs through skin contact 
  • H372: Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure through skin contact 
  • H373: May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure through skin contact

Work with powdered forms of the above substances and work with volatile substances should be avoided.

Substances and materials labeled with other H-statements can also have effects that fetal cells may be sensitive to. Therefore, a specific assessment must also be made when the pregnant employee works with or is exposed to the following substances and materials:

Always read the workplace instructions for the individual substances being worked with!

General safety rules must be followed, and the quantities and concentrations of the substance being worked with and the duration of the work must be taken into account.

Hazardous substances should always be substituted with other, less hazardous ones whenever possible. The risk can be significantly reduced by encapsulating the substance or process, using local exhaust ventilation, fume hoods, or personal protective equipment. Pre-weighed amounts, ready-made solutions, kits, or granules can be purchased instead of powders, etc.

All employees must receive thorough training before starting work with open radioactive sources, and written procedures must be provided for review. Women of childbearing age must be instructed by their immediate manager about the special rules that apply during pregnancy.

The pregnant employee must be informed about the regulations on ionizing radiation and radiation protection (external link).

Pregnant employees must notify their immediate manager of their pregnancy as early as possible. After notification, the responsible daily supervisor, in collaboration with the pregnant employee, must assess the dose to the unborn child during pregnancy. In case of doubt, the resulting written workplace assessment can be submitted to the Danish Health Authority for final evaluation.

Work for pregnant employees must be organized so that there is no risk of the dose to the unborn child exceeding 1 mSv during pregnancy. This includes considering the risk of radiation doses due to unintended incidents/accidents.

  • If the dose is confidently assessed to be less than 1 mSv: The pregnant employee can continue with her current tasks without special measures to reduce radiation exposure and its monitoring.
  • If the dose is assumed to be less than 1 mSv: The pregnant employee can continue with her current tasks, possibly supplemented with special measures to reduce the possibility of radiation exposure, and the monitoring period must not exceed 1 month.
  • If the dose is assumed to be greater than 1 mSv: The pregnant employee must be transferred to other tasks with less likelihood of exposure to radiation, if necessary supplemented with a monitoring period not exceeding 1 month, or she must be transferred to other work that does not involve exposure to ionizing radiation.

Pregnant employees must not perform iodination with I-125.

Pregnant employees often must not directly handle radioactive stock solutions.

Personal dosimeter

If the pregnant employee continues performing tasks where, according to chapter 9, § 68, paragraph 2 of the regulations, a personal dosimeter must be worn, the measurement period for these must be 1 month.

Breastfeeding

If a woman is breastfeeding while working with radioactive substances, this must be taken into account.

However, if working with activity amounts less than the limits in an S1 permit, there is usually no reason for the woman to be transferred to other work.

The applicable rules for laboratory classification must always be followed, and thorough instruction must be given by the person responsible for instruction (supervisor/daily leader) before work begins.

Avoid working with certain experimental animals

Experimental animals can pose a risk to the fetus.

Experimental animals can carry a protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause toxoplasmosis in humans. It is recommended that you have a blood test with your doctor to determine antibodies against toxoplasmosis. The animals can also be tested. If antibodies are present, work can continue as usual; otherwise, you should be transferred to other work.

All experimental animals used at the Biomedical Laboratory come from certified producers and are Specific Pathogen Free (SPF). Besides a range of specified pathogens, all animals are free from toxoplasma, so there is no risk of toxoplasmosis when working with experimental animals at the Biomedical Laboratory.

A risk assessment should be conducted in each case if you work with injections in experimental animals with hazardous substances (cancer cell lines, radioactive substances, toxins, etc.), as well as inhalation anesthesia – Isoflurane/Sevoflurane – since open systems are often used in connection with inhalation anesthesia of small experimental animals.

Avoid working with poultry/birds

Additionally, you should not work with birds/poultry due to the risk of ornithosis (psittacosis).

Both toxoplasmosis and ornithosis can cause fetal damage.

Avoid working with biological agents particularly dangerous for pregnant women

For example, Listeria can cause meningitis.

Patient material

Be cautious when working with blood and tissue samples; all patient material is considered potentially infectious and should be treated accordingly.

A vaccination against infectious hepatitis is recommended before starting work/before a possible pregnancy.

If you are already pregnant, you should avoid working with blood and tissue samples.

Regulation on biological agents and the working environment (external link).

Risk Assessment for pregnant and breastfeeding employees

Download form (pdf)

Last Updated 09.08.2023