Psycho-social work conditions as risk factors for premature birth and newborn hypotrophy

On the basis of the studies carried out the authors verified a hypothesis that psychosocial work conditions and occupational stress are risk factors for premature birth and newborn hypotrophy. The following aspects were considered in the evaluation of psycho-social work conditions: (a) work-related psychological demands; (b) the extent to what an employee is able to control the situation at work; (c) occupational stress arising from the discrepancy between work-related demands and the extent of control over the work situation; and (d) interpersonal relations at work. The analysis covered 219 cases of premature births and 159 cases of newborn hypotrophy. The control group comprised 586 women sampled randomly who gave birth at term to a healthy baby with correct birth weight. The authors found that ill interpersonal relations and a low level of control over the situation at work elevate the risk of giving birth to a baby with hypotrophy, while good interpersonal relations and a high level of control over the situation at work play a protective role. The effect of these psycho-social factors applied only to hypotrophy of a newborn and it was related neither to other features of occupational work nor to biomedical factors. It seems that this kind of factors may have generally less pronounced impact on premature birth.