Psychosocial work environment and early pregnancy loss

Ewa Jarosz , University of Warsaw
Anna Matysiak, University of Warsaw
Chen Luo, University of Warsaw

Objective: Psychological stress at work has been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage. However, this stress is a reaction to certain occupational factors. Studies within the work demands- resources framework have linked particular aspects of the psychosocial work environment with individual stress response. We investigate the association between these factors and the risk of miscarriage. Methods: We use the German Family Panel (Pairfam) data, waves 1-11 spanning years 2008-2019. Using logit models with clustered standard errors we analyse the association between psychosocial environment and subsequent miscarriage. The models control for a set of recognized individual and occupational risk factors including age, BMI, time to pregnancy, shift work or work hours. Results: Net of other recognized risk factors, women who report having good climate at work and who say they are paid well for their job are less likely to experience a miscarriage. Conclusions: This is the first study to link particular aspects of the psychosocial work environment with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Our study addresses an important knowledge gap and points to a promising direction for future research.

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 Presented in Session 70. Contraception and Reproduction