Miscarriage risk high for pregnant women who work nights: Study
| Updated: Mar 28, 2019, 11:37 IST
A new study warns night shifts can be bad for pregnant women as it could increase the risk of miscarriage.
“Women working night shifts are exposed to light at night which disrupts their circadian rhythm and decreases the release of melatonin,” lead author Dr Luise Molenberg Begtrup told a news portal. “Melatonin has been shown to be important in maintaining a successful pregnancy, possibly by preserving the function of the placenta.”
Researchers from the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen conducted the study. The team wanted to understand if night shifts have an impact on pregnancy.
The findings showed 10,047 women, that were part of the study, had at some point in their pregnancy worked the night shift (between weeks three to 21). Among this group, 740 cases resulted in miscarriages. A report in Occupational & Environmental Medicine also showed there were 1,149 miscarriages among 12,697 women who did no night shift work.
Researchers say working two or more nights in one week increased the risk of miscarriage by 32 per cent. Working 26 or more night shifts between weeks 4 and 22 could make the chances of a miscarriage even greater. "This may be explained by the decline in the proportion of chromosomally abnormal fetuses with gestational age, which makes an association with environmental exposure more easily detectable among later miscarriages," the authors told a news portal.
However, while this study has found a link between night shifts and miscarriage, the team cannot conclusively prove working late is the cause. “This was not a randomized trial,” Dr Zev Williams, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told a news portal. Adding “With something like this, there are so many other confounders.”
Williams explains there are many contributing factors that lead to miscarriage. “This kind of data is not strong enough for people to think they need to change their lifestyles,” Williams told a news portal. Adding, “My concern is that people who had a miscarriage are going to think: ‘Oh my gosh, because I worked this night shift, I lost my baby. We are already seeing so many people wracked with stress and guilt because they had a miscarriage.”
Williams notes that if there is proof night shifts do have an impact on miscarriage, “in an individual case that risk is so small, ending night shifts would not have a major effect on reducing the rates of pregnancy loss."
“Women working night shifts are exposed to light at night which disrupts their circadian rhythm and decreases the release of melatonin,” lead author Dr Luise Molenberg Begtrup told a news portal. “Melatonin has been shown to be important in maintaining a successful pregnancy, possibly by preserving the function of the placenta.”
Researchers from the department of occupational and environmental medicine at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital in Copenhagen conducted the study. The team wanted to understand if night shifts have an impact on pregnancy.
The findings showed 10,047 women, that were part of the study, had at some point in their pregnancy worked the night shift (between weeks three to 21). Among this group, 740 cases resulted in miscarriages. A report in Occupational & Environmental Medicine also showed there were 1,149 miscarriages among 12,697 women who did no night shift work.
Researchers say working two or more nights in one week increased the risk of miscarriage by 32 per cent. Working 26 or more night shifts between weeks 4 and 22 could make the chances of a miscarriage even greater. "This may be explained by the decline in the proportion of chromosomally abnormal fetuses with gestational age, which makes an association with environmental exposure more easily detectable among later miscarriages," the authors told a news portal.
However, while this study has found a link between night shifts and miscarriage, the team cannot conclusively prove working late is the cause. “This was not a randomized trial,” Dr Zev Williams, chief of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told a news portal. Adding “With something like this, there are so many other confounders.”
Williams explains there are many contributing factors that lead to miscarriage. “This kind of data is not strong enough for people to think they need to change their lifestyles,” Williams told a news portal. Adding, “My concern is that people who had a miscarriage are going to think: ‘Oh my gosh, because I worked this night shift, I lost my baby. We are already seeing so many people wracked with stress and guilt because they had a miscarriage.”
Williams notes that if there is proof night shifts do have an impact on miscarriage, “in an individual case that risk is so small, ending night shifts would not have a major effect on reducing the rates of pregnancy loss."