Frequent bending at work may raise miscarriage risk -Study

Frequent bending and prolonged walking at work during early pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage, according to new research.

Miscarriage affects about one in seven pregnancies, with established risk factors including advanced parental age, smoking, night-shift work, air pollution, and exposure to certain chemicals. However, the role of workplace physical activities has remained unclear.

A study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggested that certain workplace movements, particularly frequent forward bending, may also contribute to the risk.

Researchers from Bispebjerg Hospital and the University of Copenhagen analysed data from 803,829 pregnancies involving 475,312 Danish women between 2004 and 2018.

Using a pregnancy-specific job exposure model that combined activity tracker data with expert assessments, they estimated the amount of time pregnant women spent standing, walking, and bending forward by at least 30 degrees while at work.