Ergonomic Concerns of Pregnant Workers: An Exploration of Existing Research

Pregnant women, though typically numbering one million a year in the United States workforce, are often neglected by the ergonomic community. This claim is supported by considering available literature from a variety of sources including peer reviewed ergonomic journals, ergonomics text books, general web searches, cites pulled from seminal research articles, and reviews of the NIOSH and OSHA WebPages. Results show that only a few researchers have attempted to go beyond back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome concerns to consider other ergonomic factors affecting pregnant women. More information concerning the health of the fetus is available than the health and well-being of the pregnant women. Much of the research that focuses on pregnant women separate from their fetuses is nearly a decade old, leaving a tremendous gap in current research. Clearly additional and varied research considering both long and short term effects of ergonomic stressors on pregnant women are warranted.