Reproductive health and work: different experiences

Seroconversion for cytomegalovirus infection in a cohort of pregnant women in Québec, 2010-2013

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading cause of congenital infection and non-genetic sensorineural hearing loss in children. There are no recent data on the incidence of CMV infection during pregnancy in Canada. This present study was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of CMV IgG antibodies and the rate of seroconversion in a cohort of pregnant women in the province of Québec, Canada. We used serum samples and questionnaire data collected as part of the 3D Pregnancy and Birth Cohort Study (2010–2013) conducted in Québec, Canada. CMV IgG antibodies were determined in serum samples collected at the first and third trimesters. Associations between independent variables and seroprevalence were assessed using logistic regression, and associations with seroconversions, by Poisson regression. Of 1938 pregnant women tested, 40·4% were seropositive for CMV at baseline. Previous CMV infection was associated with: working as a daycare educator, lower education, lower income, having had children, first language other than French or English, and being born outside Canada or the United States. Of the 1122 initially seronegative women, 24 (2·1%) seroconverted between their first and third trimesters. The seroconversion rate was 1·4 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·9–2·1]/10 000 person-days at risk or 3·9 (95% CI 2·5–5·9)/100 pregnancies (assuming a 280-day gestation). The high proportion of pregnant women susceptible to CMV infection (nearly 60%) and the subsequent rate of seroconversion are of concern.

Grossesse et travail : au-delà des facteurs de risques pour la santé

Cet article met en lumière les risques pour la santé liés au travail des femmes en abordant la problématique de la conciliation travail-grossesse. Cette analyse adopte comme cadre de référence la division sexuelle du travail (Kergoat, 2004). Cette perspective analytique est rarement intégrée dans les études portant sur la santé des femmes au travail. Le contexte de pénurie de main d'oeuvre qui touche actuellement le Québec en raison du vieillissement de sa population active, et dans certains secteurs en raison de la pénibilité des conditions de travail, marque l'importance d'ajouter cette perspective dans l'analyse de la santé des femmes au travail. Pour les femmes, l'expérience vécue du travail durant la grossesse constitue l'élément annonciateur du degré d'acceptation de la part des milieux de travail et de la société québécoise des spécificités féminines au travail. L'article fait ressortir où en sont rendues les organisations sur ce plan, à travers l'étude du traitement des demandes de retrait préventif de la travailleuse enceinte, droit inclus au Québec dans la Loi sur la santé et sécurité au travail. Malgré des avancées significatives dans certains milieux, on constate encore la prédominance d'une logique gestionnaire traditionnelle et sexiste dans l'application du droit qui mène les travailleuses au retrait du travail durant leur grossesse. La recherche a été menée auprès d'employeurs, de représentants syndicaux et de travailleuses du secteur hospitalier.

Production and reproduction: the issues involved in reconciling work and pregnancy

Quebec legislation in occupational health contains a measure that gives pregnant workers the right to demand healthy and safe work conditions so that they can continue working while they are pregnant. About one-third of pregnant workers exercise this right every year. Nonetheless, even though the legislation's goal is to favor continued employment, more than 75 percent of the female workers who are eligible for protective reassignment are, in fact, not reassigned to other work stations or tasks, and instead must stop working. The results presented here stem from research intended to improve our understanding of the difficulties that arise in the workplace when the organization of work has to be reconciled with pregnancy. In telling us their experiences, the 51 pregnant workers we interviewed gave us their definition of "reconciliation." They did this by identifying the elements and areas of their occupational and family responsibilities that hindered or favored this reconciliation. They thus brought to light the predominant role that social relationships play in these situations. The comments of the women we met shed light on work conditions and organizations whose characteristics, once identified, suggest some of the changes needed to make this reconciliation possible.