Pregnant and new birth parents policy

Statement

The University of Dundee will support the health, safety and welfare needs of employees through pregnancy and breastfeeding. It will provide expectant and new birth parents with relevant information about additional risks arising from their condition and, through risk assessment, will modify working procedures as necessary.

Information about maternity leave and pay issues can be found on People Directorate web pages.

Arrangements

Employees should notify their line manager at their earliest convenience that they are pregnant so that the risk assessment for their work can be reviewed. This assessment addresses all the risks faced by staff irrespective of their gender or age and so it is extremely unlikely that working procedures will have to be modified in the early stages of pregnancy.

Employees should read the health and safety information provided as part of the induction pack they received when they were appointed. This information can be found here.

Line Managers should review the risk assessment and, as part of this review, should consider the additional risks arising from pregnancy and breastfeeding. A risk assessment form is available and risk assessment guidance can be found on the Safety Services Sharepoint website. The risk assessment must be kept under active review throughout the pregnancy. It is essential that the risk assessment is discussed fully with the employee and reasons for not changing duties upon request fully explained. Mental wellbeing issues should be given priority to prevent anxiety and the potential for a stress related illness leading to absence. The Occupational Health Service or Safety Services can be contacted for advice if there are unusual or difficult issues to address.

Deans/Directors must ensure that suitable and sufficient risk assessments are carried out. In some cases, suitable and sufficient may mean that minor changes in working procedures are inadequate to reduce risk and that the employee should be offered alternative work or suspended on full pay. The People Directorate should be contacted for advice in these cases.

Guidance on Risk Assessment

It is essential to involve the pregnant employee when carrying out the risk assessment and to discuss the findings with them. The risk assessment should be reviewed regularly with them, both informally and formally. A risk assessment form is available on the Safety Services Sharepoint website. When reviewing the work activities of a pregnant employee for health and safety risks the common symptoms listed in the table on this page should be considered:

In addition, for some jobs the following specific issues may need careful consideration:

Lifting, carrying or moving heavy items (manual handling)

Physical and postural changes during and after pregnancy render staff more susceptible to strain injuries if carrying out heavy work. Manual handling activities they are required to undertake should be carefully reviewed to avoid the risk of injury. Changes in balance, agility, reach and coordination may also increase the risk of accidents if carrying loads or handling.

Working with personal computers

Radiation from monitors does not cause harm in pregnancy. Workstations may need to be adjusted for user comfort as abdominal size increases and there should be sufficient space at the workstation for the comfort of the employee at all stages of pregnancy. More frequent rest breaks and changes of activity may be required and additional back supports or other items provided to improve their comfort at the workstation.

Extremes of temperature

In pregnancy employees may be more sensitive to heat and may feel unwell or faint if working in high temperatures. Their work should be arranged to avoid this stress and in unusually warm weather given the opportunity to take breaks from work.

No pregnancy-related problems are known relating to working in cold conditions, but if any work has to be done in cold temperatures warm clothing should be provided as a matter of course.

Working conditions

Prolonged standing at work during pregnancy increases fatigue and may increase the likelihood of varicose veins. Work should be adjusted to allow the work to be done seated.

Working at height may cause difficulties and should be avoided especially in the later stages of pregnancy when balance and posture are more affected.

Night work

Pregnant night workers may be able to get a certificate from a GP or midwife stating that night work could be harmful to the individual’s health. This certificate makes it compulsory to stop the employee from working at night and either offer daytime employment or suspension on full pay. Therefore, night working should be discussed fully with the employee, in the expectation that it will be avoided if possible.

Dealing with demanding/difficult people

New or expectant mothers may find it more difficult to deal with demanding/difficult people since hormonal changes during pregnancy and breastfeeding and concerns about the pregnancy can cause them to be more easily upset by minor stresses that they would normally cope with. If they appear to be often upset or stressed by this type of work then they should be given more support, and possibly offered alternative work.

Ionising Radiation

Employees have a duty under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 to notify the employer as soon as they are pregnant or if they are breastfeeding.

There is a prescriptive limit under the Regulations for the exposure of pregnant employees of 1 mSv during the course of the pregnancy or as an annual dose limit if breastfeeding. Keeping below the allowable exposure limit can be readily achieved if working with some isotopes of low energy, but the employee should be kept away from high energy isotopes and particular attention paid to avoiding risks of contamination. The activities of other workers in the area also need to be considered in ensuring the safety of the pregnant worker and this may favour withdrawing her from areas where such work is carried out.

Radio-iodines are particularly hazardous because they are concentrated in the thyroid if they enter the body and do the same in the forming thyroid of a foetus. However, if Local Rules are followed there is rarely a need to prevent a pregnant woman from carrying out radio-immunoassays.

For further details on Ionising Radiations in pregnancy and breastfeeding please see University of Dundee Code of Practice “Protection against Ionising Radiations” 2016, appendices B and E.

A Protection Against Ionising Radiations Handbook can be found on the Safety Services Sharepoint website.

Non-ionising electromagnetic radiations

Optical radiation, electromagnetic fields and radiofrequency waves are not thought to be harmful to mother or foetus within the limits recommended by the Health Protection Agency. Unless the pregnant employee is working with or near specialised equipment associated with high levels of such energies there is no reason for concern. The small quantities of radiation received when working with monitors and TV sets are not considered hazardous.

Noise and whole body vibration

There is some evidence that prolonged exposure of the unborn child to loud noise, especially at low frequency, may have an effect on the child’s hearing. There is limited and conflicting information on birth weight and prematurity. The use of hearing protection by the mother will not protect the unborn child so pregnant employees should not have daily or weekly personal noise exposures above 85dB(A).

Long term exposure to whole body vibration (e.g. driving tractors and off road vehicles) may increase the risk of premature birth or low birth weight.

Biological Hazards

Although pregnant employees are not usually more susceptible to infection, the consequences of infection or contact with some biological agents can be severe during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Some infections, such as Rubella, pass across the placenta and harm the foetus and others can be transmitted through breast milk. This table details organisms known to be hazardous in pregnancy.

Work activities which are known to present increased hazards are:

• culturing micro-organisms, particularly from unknown sources
• handling water or food contaminated by animal or human faeces
• working with infected animals and birds
• handling human blood, tissues and body fluids
• working with lambing ewes

In any work area it is necessary to consider the risks that may be posed by the activities of other people even if the pregnant or breastfeeding employee is taking scrupulous precautions. The assessment needs to consider:

• known biological hazards in the workplace
• likelihood of unknown hazards being present
• routes of infection (e.g. ingestion, inhalation, percutaneous, eye contamination)
• existing control measures for all workers
• availability of additional effective control measures to reduce the risk to the individual
• any history of infections or dangerous incidents
• immune status of the individual (e.g. a person on whom Hepatitis B immunisation has been ineffective could be considered to be at particular risk working with unscreened blood samples)
• medical history and concerns of the pregnant or breast-feeding employee

When carrying out the assessment of biological hazards there should always be a precautionary approach where there is uncertainty of effects.

Chemical hazard

COSHH risk assessments should be carefully reviewed, especially for activities that involve the use of:

• chemicals or preparations with the following hazard statements:
  • H350: May cause cancer
  • H351: Suspected of causing cancer
  • H340: May cause genetic defects
  • H341: Suspected of causing genetic defects
  • H360: May damage fertility or the unborn child
  • H361: Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child
  • H362: May cause harm to breastfed children
  • H370: Causes damage to organs (single exposure)
  • H371: May cause damage to organs (single exposure)
  • H372: Causes damage to organs (repeated exposure)
  • H373: May cause damage to organs (repeated exposure)
• heavy metals including lead and organic mercury which are known to harm the unborn child
• cytotoxic or antimitotic drugs (i.e. potent carcinogens) for which there is no safe exposure limit
• hormone preparations such as griseofulvins and prostaglandins

The review should consider carefully how the hazardous substance could enter the pregnant or breastfeeding employee and if existing controls are adequate.

Work in Compressed Air, Diving and Hyperbaric Pressure

These activities must not be undertaken during pregnancy.

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