Contexto laboral hostil ante el embarazoefectos sobre la salud de las trabajadoras embarazadas

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the effects of hostile work environments towards pregnancy on occupational stress and healthrelated behaviors of pregnant workers. Methods: Women from gynecological and maternal education offices who were employed during pregnancy and/or left their job because of being pregnant were identified for the study and completed a self-administered questionnaire that collected information on their perception of attitudes towards pregnancy at their workplaces, self-imposed demands at work, job promotion opportunities, importance of a job for the women, several occupational stress dimensions, health-related behaviors during pregnancy and personal and job characteristics. Multiple lineal regression models were built for analyses. Results: The sample includes 188 women. Organizational attitudes and values towards pregnancy, importance of a job for the women, job security and job promotion opportunities were associated with all stress dimensions (R2 from 0.10 to 0.49). Associations with delay in reporting pregnancy at work (R2=0.19) and intention to forego days of maternity leave (R2=0.11) were also observed. Conclusions: The perception of hostile work environments towards pregnancy increases stress levels and are associated with unhealthy behaviors in pregnant workers.