Issue:
This research will provide information on reproductive hazards and will inform the design of workplaces and practices such that pregnancy complications can be avoided. As women move into non-traditional jobs it is necessary to ensure that reproductive function is not put at risk.
Objectives:
The project is designed to establish a cohort of female welders that can be used to examine, prospectively, whether female welders are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and to identify exposures and work practices that are associated with higher risk. Until recently, relatively few women have been employed as welders and little is known about whether exposures to metals or other welding tasks have an effect on fertility or pregnancy outcomes. The project aims to follow this cohort to see whether their pregnancy outcomes are related to welding exposures.
Anticipated Results:
This research will provide tradeswomen, employers and other interested groups with a good estimate of the size of the risk (if any) for women welders and indicates where steps are needed to reduce exposures.
Investigators:
Nicola Cherry (University of Alberta)
