New and Expectant Mothers - Checklist and Risk Assessment

The checklist should be completed first to help identify any hazards to which the new or expectant mother may be exposed during the course of her work activities.

Where a hazard is identified and assessed this should be entered into the risk assessment form at the rear of this checklist, with the control measures applied to eliminate, or reduce the risk to an acceptable level for the new or expectant mother.

Please note – This list is not exhaustive: Other issues other issues with the new or expectant mothers work conditions / place of work, may need to be considered.

The risk assessment should be reviewed on a regular basis throughout the pregnancy and necessary control measures put in place.

Risk

Inappropriate size, layout or space in relation to the workstation or work area due to increasing size and reduced mobility, dexterity, balance during pregnancy.

How to Avoid the Risk

DSE assessments should be revised for new and expectant mothers to avoid problems caused by stress and anxiety and workstation size and set up.

Risk

Travelling in the course of work, and also to and from the workplace can be problematic for pregnant women, involving risks including fatigue, vibrations, stress, static posture, discomfort and accidents. These risks can have a significant effect on the health of new and expectant mothers.

How to Avoid the Risk

An occupational driving policy should be in place and occupational driving risk assessments completed for staff/journeys where a significant risk is identified; this includes the risk associated with pregnancy.
New and expectant mothers should avoid sitting in static postures for prolonged periods. Additionally, as pregnancy progresses space in the car may become increasingly restrictive and uncomfortable for the pregnant woman.
Prolonged periods of vibration should also be avoided.

Risk

Pregnancy increases the likelihood that a woman will need urgent medical attention, especially in the later stages. It can also cause reduced mobility, impacting ability to seek help as the pregnancy progresses.

How to Avoid the Risk

Location, frequency and working pattern of lone working should be reassessed as part of the new and expectant mothers risk assessment.

Risk

Pregnant workers are especially at risk from moving and handling injuries.
Hormonal changes can affect the ligaments, increasing susceptibility to injury, and postural problems may increase as the pregnancy progresses.
There can also be risks for those who have recently given birth, for example after a caesarean section there is likely to be a temporary limitation on moving and handling capability.

How to Avoid the Risk

Alter the nature of the task to reduce risks from moving and handling. This could be for all workers including new and expectant mothers, specifically reducing the amount of physical work she undertakes, or providing mechanical aids to reduce the risks.

Risk

Confined Spaces – Working in confined spaces or at workstations which do not adjust sufficiently to take account of the increased abnormal size, particularly during the later stages of pregnancy. This may lead to sprain or strain injuries. Dexterity, agility, co-ordination, speed of movement, reach and balance may also be impaired and an increased risk of accidents may need to be considered.

Sitting – Constant sitting during pregnancy poses a relatively high risk of thrombosis or embolism. In the later stages of pregnancy, women are likely to experience backache, which can be intensified by remaining in a specific position for a long time.

Standing – Standing for a prolonged period of time may cause dizziness, faintness and fatigue.
Extremes of heat and cold – Pregnant workers who are exposed to prolonged periods in hot environments are at a far greater risk of suffering from heat stress.

Working in extreme cold may pose a hazard for pregnant women and their unborn child. These risks are particularly increased if there are sudden changes in temperature. Also breastfeeding may be impaired by heat dehydration.

How to Avoid the Risk

Confined Spaces – Introduce or adapt work equipment, redesign the workstation and/or the work area. Redesign the job content.

Sitting – Avoid sitting for long periods. Women should have the opportunity to alternate between sitting and standing and exercise/move to maintain healthy circulation. Regular rest breaks should be provided.

Standing – Avoid standing for long periods of time.

Extremes of heat and cold – Adequate rest breaks and unrestricted access to drinking water should be provided. Also the provision of a desk fan may be necessary. Relocation if possible or adjustment of working hours should be investigated. New and expectant mothers should drink water before they get thirsty, preferably in small and frequent volumes.

Risk
Dexterity, agility. Co-ordination, speed of movement and reach may all be impaired due to increasing size.

How to Avoid the Risk
Ensure good housekeeping practices are communicated and enforced.

Risk

If a worker is exposed to the risk of violence at work during pregnancy, when she has recently given birth or while she is breastfeeding this may be harmful to mother and child. It can lead to miscarriage, premature delivery and underweight birth, and it may affect the ability to breastfeed.

How to Avoid the Risk

Change the design of the job for example by avoiding lone working, reduce/remove the face to face client contact, and reassign difficult cases.

All face to face contact with service users where there is believed to be significant risk above that identified by the generic risk assessment must be risk assessed.

If you cannot significantly reduce the risk of violence you should offer the pregnant woman and new mothers suitable alternative work.

Risk

Rest facilities – Tiredness increases during and after pregnancy band may be exacerbated by work related factors.
The employees posture is also significant if varicose veins and/or haemorrhoids develop – the latter also being linked with a hot work environment.

Hygiene facilities – Because of pressure on the bladder and other changes associated with pregnancy, pregnant women often have to go to the toilet more frequently and urgently than others. Breastfeeding women may also need to go to the toilet more due to the increased fluid intake to promote breast milk production.

How to Avoid the Risk

Rest facilities – There must be facilities to sit or lie down in comfort and in privacy. Access to drinking water should also be available.

Hygiene facilities – If necessary measures should be put in place to ensure that new and expectant mothers can leave their workstations at short notice.

Risk

There is an increased hazard for pregnant workers working from heights, for example even short duration work from ladders, due to changes in dexterity and coordination.

How to Avoid the Risk

Working at height should be avoided by new and expectant mothers.

Risk

New and expectant mothers can be particularly vulnerable to occupational stressors for a variety of reasons,
• Hormonal, physiological and psychological changes occur and sometimes change rapidly during pregnancy, sometimes affecting susceptibility to stress, or to anxiety or depression in individuals.
• Financial, emotional and job insecurity may be issues, due to changes in economic circumstances brought about by pregnancy.
• It may be difficult to organise work and private life, especially with long, unpredictable or unsociable working hours or where other family responsibilities are involved.

Stress is associated in some studies with increased incidence of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and also with impaired ability to breastfeed.

Where women have recently suffered loss through stillbirth, miscarriage, adoption at birth, or neonatal death, they are especially vulnerable to stress, as will women who have experienced serious illness or trauma associated with pregnancy or childbirth.

How to Avoid the Risk

A stress policy should be documented detailing initiatives, sources of advice, training and support systems available to staff, along with a documented risk assessment.

If individuals are experiencing stress then an individual stress assessment should be completed.

Protective measures may include adjustments to working conditions or working hours, and ensuring that the necessary understanding, support and recognition is available when the women returns to work, while her privacy is also respected

Risk
The level of risk will depend on the type of work carried out, the infectious disease the worker is exposed to and the control measures in place. There will be an increased risk of exposure to staff who have contact with;
• Human blood and body fluids
• Infected animals including parrots, turkeys, pigeons, ducks, cats, rodents and sheep as well as household pets
• Laboratory cultures
• Water or food contaminated by human or animal faeces
• First aid duties

Usually during pregnancy, women are no more likely to catch an infection than at other times, however in some cases, the infection may be more severe in pregnancy. It is important to remember that if the mother does become infected, some infections may be dangerous for the baby.

How to Avoid the Risk
When assessing the infection risk to all staff the following should be considered:
• The types of infection likely to be transmitted at work
• The possible sources of infection
• The likelihood that a possible source of infection i.e. pet, service user, is actually infected
• The number of different sources of infection that staff may come into contact with and how often it may occur
• The control measures already in place to protect employees
• The medical history of the employee
• The history of previous infection or immunisation
• The need for suitable information, instruction and training for employees which may help them to prevent or reduce the risk of infection

Guidance on infections that are known to present a risk to the foetus and new-born baby are detailed in appendix 2 of the HSE publication ‘Infection Risks to new and expectant mothers in the workplace’

Risk
Hazardous Substances – Some substances are classified with the following warnings;
• R61 may cause harm to the unborn child
• R63 possible risk of harm to the unborn child
• R64 may cause harm to breastfed babies
However, the actual risk to health of these substances is determined by how they are used in the workplace.
Ionising Radiation – Significant exposure to ionising radiation can be harmful to the foetus, There may also be a risk to the foetus from significant amounts of radioactive contamination breathed in or ingested by the mother and transferred across the placenta. If nursing mothers work with radioactive liquids or dust, these can cause exposure to the child, particularly through contamination of the mother’s skin.

How to Avoid the Risk
Hazardous Substances – All hazardous substances should have a COSHH assessment carried out. Data sheets should be supplied by the chemical company and the COSHH assessment then carried out and the appropriate control measures put in place.
Ionising Radiation – Safe working practices should be developed to keep exposure of the pregnant women to as low as is reasonable practicable, and certainly below the statutory dose limit for pregnant women. Special attention should be paid to the possibility of nursing mothers receiving radioactive contamination. They should not work in areas where the risk of contamination is high and therefore alternative work should be arranged.