The Economy, Maternity Leave and OH&S - What do they have in common?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported how new mothers are cutting their maternity leave short because of financial pressures - they need to get back to work as soon as possible because of the economy. With spouses' jobs in question or no longer existent, the need to get back to work to bring in money is even more critical. If the length of maternity leave decreases from a few months (or longer) to a few weeks - or even less - what does that mean for health and safety? Anything? I believe it could. First of all, it takes a woman's body some time to get back to it's original condition. Ligaments and hormones need to adjust back to the pre-pregnant state and returning to work before this has happened may have some implications, especially if the woman returns to a job that requires heavy lifting. The lack of sleep that is also common in a new mom's life could also be a factor at work. Sleep deprivation is a known cause of accidents. If the mother is breastfeeding, there may be additional issues if the woman is exposed to certain workplace chemicals that can later be found in the breast milk.
So, what can we do? Of course it would be nice to say that every new mother must take off a minimum of maternity leave but that is not realistic. If I knew my job or my husband's job was on the chopping block, I would try to get back to work as soon as I could. I think as EH&S professionals, we can try to be aware that these women coming back to work early may have some special needs or issues that they are not exactly going to be telling us about but it's our job to analyze their work tasks and take whatever steps we can to ensure that their job is still safe for them, and for their baby.