Excerpted from "A Year of Health Hints"
365 Practical Ways to Feel Better and Live Longer
With more than half the women in the United States working
full time, many want to know how long they can continue to work
if they be come pregnant. What's safe? What's wise? What's right
for you?
It depends. The Council on Scientific Affairs of the American
Medical Association studied the effects of pregnancy on work
performance and came up with the guidelines presented in the
table below. (As you can see, some women can work until the day
they're wheeled into the delivery room with no ill effects.) Of
course, you and your physician are the best judges of how work
affects your pregnancy and vice versa.
How Long Expectant
Women
Continue to Work
|
| Job Demands |
Week of Pregnancy |
| Secretarial and light clerical |
40 |
| Professional and managerial |
40 |
| Sitting, with light tasks |
40 |
| Standing --Prolonged (more than 4 hrs.)
|
24 |
| --Intermittent (more than 30 min. per
hr.) |
32 |
| --Intermittent (less than 30 min. per
hr.) |
40 |
| Stooping and bending below knee level --Repetitive
(more than 10 times per hr.)
|
20 |
| --Intermittent (less than 10 but more
than 2 times per hr.) |
28 |
| --Intermittent (less than 2 times per
hr.) |
40 |
| Climbing vertical ladders and poles --Repetitive
(more than 4 times per 8-hr. shift)
|
20 |
| --Intermittent (less than 4 times per
8-hr. shift) |
28 |
| Climbing up and down stairs --Repetitive
( more than 4 times per 8-hr. shift)
|
28 |
| --Intermittent (less than 4 times per
8-hr. shift) |
40 |
| Lifting --Repetitive (50 lbs. or more)
|
20 |
| --Repetitive (less than 50 but more than
25 lbs.) |
24 |
| --Repetitive (less than 25 lbs.) |
40 |
| --Intermittent (50 lbs. or more) |
30 |
| --Intermittent (less than 50 lbs.) |
40 |
SOURCE: Council on Scientific Affairs,
"Effects of Pregnancy on Work Performance," Journal of
the American Medical Association, vol. 251, no. 15 (April 20,
1984). Copyright 1984. American Medical Association.