Is Working Until Your Due Date Safe For Your Baby?

How soon up to your baby's due date did you work? How did you take your maternity leave?

The world watched Malaysian athlete Nur Suryani Mohammed Taibi compete in the Olympics' 10-meter air rifle event, despite being eight months pregnant. Nur refused to let pregnancy stop her compete at the international sports level, and some mums-to-be do the same in the workplace.

But could you be doing your newborn harm with the modern 'gung-ho' attitude?

This research says you might be.

It found that women who work beyond their eighth month of pregnancy are more likely to have babies with lower birth weights.

On average, their newborn could be up to half a pound lighter than those born to mothers who stopped work between six and eight months. It is the same effect seen in babes born to women who smoked while pregnant.

Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe from the Institure of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists tells the Irish Independent it is an issue that warrants further research. She also cautions that the study doesn't distinguish between babies who are naturally small and those who weight less for other reasons.

“Some babes are destined to be small and that's entirely normal,” says Professor McAuliffe.

“It's the ones who don't reach their growth potential that you have to be worried about.

“Down the line, that baby would be at increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity,” she says.

The age of the mother also seems to be a factor. Babies born to women under the age of 24 didn't seem to weight less than average.

“Older mothers are more likely to have blood pressure problems in pregnancy. I wonder if that's the effect we're looking at here. Blood pressure problems can interfere with a baby's growth, and that's why older mothers are over-represented in this group of smaller babies.”

In Ireland, pregnant women must go on maternity leave at 38 weeks, but Professor McAuliffe advises her patients to stop work earlier.

“I think 36 weeks is a nice time to finish up,” she says, "I think neither the employer nor the pregnant woman benefits from working late into pregnancy.”

What about your own experience? Is this good advice...?