Night shifts ‘increase risk of miscarriage’

 

Ben Mitchell
Tuesday 09 July 2013 19:34 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Women who work night shifts are at greater risk of suffering miscarriages than those who work regular office hours, according to new research.

The study, led by Dr Linden Stocker and Dr Ying Cheong, also found those who work alternate and changing shifts are more likely to take longer to conceive a child and suffer from menstrual disruption.

The team, based at Southampton’s Princess Anne Hospital, assessed the impact of non-standard working schedules, which included night and mixed shifts, on the reproductive outcomes of 119,345 women. They found almost a third of women (29 per cent) who worked night shifts only had an increased rate of miscarriage, while a similar number (22 per cent) who worked changing shifts suffered menstrual disruption, which can cause fertility problems.

Dr Stocker, a clinical research fellow, said the research “provides strong initial evidence that women who are trying to conceive would benefit from assessing their work patterns”.

The study was presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology tomorrow.

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in