Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace Tips for Job Safety

Selected References:  

  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). 2018. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 733: Employment Considerations During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. Obstet Gynecol; 131(4):e115-e123, reaffirmed 2023.  
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2025. Breastfeeding and special circumstances- occupational exposures. Available at URL: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/hcp/exposures/occupational.html [Last accessed May 2026]. 
  • Charkiewicz AE, et al. 2020. Lead Toxicity and Pollution in Poland. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 17(12):4385.  
  • Dietz M, et al. 2023. The relevance of oral exposure in the workplace: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Public Health.11:1298744.  
  • Goede H, et al. 2024. Meta-analysis of the quantitative effectiveness of risk management measures (RMM) in the workplace. Annals of Work Exposures and Health; 68(5), 495–509. 
  • Grajewski B, et al. 2005. Occupational exposures and reproductive health: 2003 Teratology Society Meeting Symposium summary. Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol; 74(2):157-63. 
  • Günal A, Demirtürk F. 2022. Occupational hazards, sleep quality and musculoskeletal problems of pregnant workers. J Obstet Gynaecol; 42(2):215-219. 
  • Holland MG, et al. 2016. Workplace Lead Exposure. J Occup Environ Med. 58(12):e371-e374.  
  • Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Reproductive Hazards Overview: https://www.osha.gov/reproductive-hazards [Last accessed May 2026]. 
  • Ohlander J, et al. 2020. Interventions to Reduce Exposures in the Workplace: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies Over Six Decades, 1960-2019. Front Public Health. 8:67.  
  • Paul M. 1997. Occupational reproductive hazards. Lancet; 349(9062):1385-8.  
  • Rice HR, Baker BA. 2007. Workplace hazards to women’s reproductive health. Minn Med; 90(9):44-7.  
  • U.S. Centers for Disease Control National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 2024. Reproductive Health and The Workplace. About Reproductive Health in the Workplace. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/reproductive-health/about/. [Last accessed May 2026].  
  • US Department of Health and Human Services, Cincinnati (OH), 1995NIOSH. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (2024). Hierarchy of Controls https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hierarchy-of-controls/about/. [Last accessed May 2026]. 

 


Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace Tips for Job Safety

Selected References:

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  • Byeong-Jin Y, et al. 2016. Evaluation of mercury exposure level, clinical diagnosis and treatment for mercury intoxication. Ann Occup Environ Med 28:5. 
  • Choy CMY, et al. 2002. Relationship between semen parameters and mercury concentration in blood and in seminal fluid from subfertile males in Hong Kong. Fertil Steril 78(2):426-428. 
  • Choy CM, et al. 2002. Infertility, blood mercury concentrations and dietary seafood consumption: a case-control study. BJOG: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology; 109(10), 1121–1125.  
  • Cox C, et al. 199. Prenatal and postnatal methyl mercury exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes. JAMA 282:1333-1334. 
  • Crump KS, et al. 1998. Influence of prenatal mercury exposure upon scholastic and psychological test performance: Benchmark analysis of a New Zealand cohort. Risk Anal 18:701-713. 
  • Davidson PW, et al. 1998. Effects of prenatal and postnatal methyl mercury exposure from fish consumption on neurodevelopment. JAMA 280:701-707. 
  • Davidson PW, et al. 2006. Prenatal methylmercury exposure from fish consumption and child development: A review of evidence and perspectives from the Seychelles Child Development Study. Neurotoxicology 27:1106-1109.  
  • Debes F, et al. 2016. Cognitive deficits at age 22 years associated with prenatal exposure to methylmercury. Cortex 74:358-69.  
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  • Hibbeln JR, et al. 2019. Relationship between seafood consumption during pregnancy and childhood neurocognitive development: Two systematic reviews. Prostaglandins Leuko Essent Fatty Acids 151:14-36.  
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  • Klus JK, et al. 2023. Postnatal methylmercury exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years of age in the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2, NeuroToxicology; 99: 115-119, 
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  • Lamoureux-Tremblay V, et al. 2021. Altered functional activations of prefrontal brain areas during emotional processing of fear in Inuit adolescents exposed to environmental contaminants. Nurotoxicol Teratol; 85:106973.  
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  • Maeda E, et al. 2019. Associations of environmental exposures to methylmercury and selenium with female infertility: A case-control study. Environmental research; 168,357–363.  
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  • Myers, et al. 2009. Postnatal exposure to methyl mercury from fish consumption: a review and new data from the Seychelles Child Development Study. Neurotoxicology; 30(3):338-349  
  • Myers GJ, et al. 2007. Nutrient and methyl mercury exposure from consuming fish. J Nutr; 137(12):2805-2808. 
  • Nišević RJ, et al. 2019. Combined prenatal exposure to mercury and LCUPUFA on newborn’s brain measures and neurodevelopment at the age of 18 months. Environ Res; 178:108682.  
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  • Papadopoulou E, et al. 2021. Maternal seafood intake during pregnancy, prenatal mercury exposure and child body mass index trajectories up to 8 years. Int J Epidemiol; 50(4):1134-1146.  
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  • Sloane-Reeves J, et al. 2020. Scholastic achievement among children enrolled in the Seychelles Child Development Study. Neurotoxicology; 81:347-352.  
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  • Smith JC, et al. 1997. Hair methylmercury levels in U.S. women. Arch Environ Health. 52(6):476-80. 
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  • Strain JJ, et al. 2015. Prenatal exposure to methyl mercury from fish consumption and polyunsaturated fatty acids: associations with child development at 20 mo of age in an observational study in the Republic of Seychelles. Am J Clin Nutr; 101(3):530-537. 
  • Strain JJ, et al. 2021. Associations of prenatal methylmercury exposure and maternal polyunsaturated fatty acid status with neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years of age: results from the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 2. Am J Clin Nutr; 113(2):304-313.  
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  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2026. Choose Fish and Shellfish Wisely. https://www.epa.gov/choose-fish-and-shellfish-wisely. 
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2014. Estimated Fish Consumption Rates for the U.S. Population and Selected Subpopulations (NHANES 2003–2010). Final report. EPA-820-R-14-002. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-01/documents/fish-consumption-rates-2014.pdf. 
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2013. Trends in Blood Mercury Concentrations and Fish Consumption Among U.S. Women of Reproductive Age (EPA NHANES, July 2013).  
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2026. National Biomonitoring Program. Mercury Factsheet. https://www.epa.gov/americaschildrenenvironment/biomonitoring-mercury  
  • United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2022. Eating Fish for Those Who Might Become or Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding and Children Ages 1 to 11 Years. https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/questions-answers-fdaepa-advice-about-eating-fish-those-who-might-become-or-are-pregnant-or 
  • United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) & United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2024. Advice About Eating Fish. https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish 
  • van Wijngaarden E, et al. 2017. Methyl mercury exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes in the Seychelles Child Development study main cohort at age 22 and 24 years. Neurotoxicol Teratol; 59:35-42. 
  • Vigeh M, et al. 2018. Prenatal mercury exposure and birth weight. Reprod Toxicol; 76:78-83.  
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  • Xiang H, et al. 2019. Protective effect of high zinc levels on preterm birth induced by mercury exposure during pregnancy: A birth cohort study in China. J Trace Elem Med Biol; 55:71-77.  
  • Yorifuji T, et al. 2025. Prenatal methylmercury poisoning and neurocognitive impairment in Minamata. The Science of the total environment, 985, 179743.  
  • Yorifuji T, et al. 2026. Long-term neurological and neurocognitive deficits in adults prenatally exposed to methylmercury: Minamata disease. Neurotoxicology and teratology; 115,107590.  
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Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace Tips for Job Safety

Selected References:

  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2020. Toxicological Profile for Tetrachloroethylene. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=264&toxid=48. Accessed 29 July 2025.  
  • Aschengrau A, et al. 2020. Reproductive and developmental health effects of prenatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water. Environ Sci Process Impacts; 22(3):555-566. 
  • Aschengrau A, et al. 2018. Modeled exposure to tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water and the occurrence of birth defects: a case-control study from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Environ Health; 17(1):75.  
  • Aschengrau A, et al. 2015. Long-term health effects of early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort. Environ Health; 14:36. 
  • Aschengrau A, et al. 2009. Prenatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene-contaminated drinking water and the risk of congenital anomalies: a retrospective cohort study. Environ Health; 8:44. 
  • Bagnell PC and Ellenberger HA. 1977. Obstructive jaundice due to a chlorinated hydrocarbon in breast milk. Can Med Assoc J; 117:1047–1104. 
  • Bosco MG, et al. 1987. Health and reproductive status of female workers in dry cleaning shops. Int Arch Occup Environ Health; 59:295-301. 
  • Brown Dzubow R, et al. 2010. Early life stage exposure and potential developmental susceptibility to tetrachloroethylene. Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol; 89(1):50-65.  
  • Bukowski JA. 2011. Review of the epidemiologic literature on residential exposure to perchloroethylene. Crit Rev Toxicol; 41(9):771-82.  
  • Ceballos DM, et al. 2021. Perchloroethylene and Dry Cleaning: It’s Time to Move the Industry to Safer Alternatives. Front Public Health; 9:638082.  
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2025. Breastfeeding and special circumstances- occupational exposures. Available at URL: https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/hcp/exposures/occupational.htmlAccessed May 2026. 
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC). 2019. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards: Tetrachloroethylene. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0599.html Accessed May 2026. 
  • Doyle P, et al. 1997. Spontaneous abortion in dry cleaning workers potentially exposed to perchloroethylene. Occup Environ Med; 54(12):848-853. Eskenazi B, et al.
  • 1991. A study of the effect of perchloroethylene exposure on semen quality in dry cleaning workers. Am J Ind Med; 20:575-591. 
  • Fisher J, et al. 1997. Lactational transfer of volatile chemicals in breast milk. Am Ind Hyg Ass J; 58:425-431. 
  • Forand SP, et al. 2012. Adverse birth outcomes & maternal exposure to trichloroethylene & tetrachloroethylene through soil vapor intrusion in New York State. Env Health Persp; 120(4):616-621.  
  • Ghahri A, et al. 2022. The perchloroethylene-induced toxicity in dry cleaning workers lymphocytes through induction of oxidative stress. J Biochem Mol Toxicol; 36(4):e23000.  
  • Getz KD, et al. 2012. Prenatal and early childhood exposure to tetrachloroethylene and adult vision. Environ Health Perspect; 120:1327-1332. 
  • Janulewicz PA, et al. 2008. Risk of learning and behavioral disorders following prenatal and early postnatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water. Neurotoxicol Teratol; 30(3):175-185. 
  • Januelewicz PA, et al. 2012. Adult neuropsychological performance following prenatal and early postnatal exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water. Neurotoxicol Teratol; 34(3):350-359. 
  • Kyyrönen P, et al. 1989. Spontaneous abortions and congenital malformations among women exposed to tetrachloroethylene in dry cleaning. J Epidemiol Community Health; 43(4):346-351. 
  • Laumon B, et al. 1996. Exposure to organic solvents during pregnancy and oral clefts: a case-control study. Reprod Toxicol; 10:15-19. 
  • Mirazi N, et al. 2023. Maternal long-term inhalation exposure to perchloroethylene and prenatal teratogenicity: morphometric, hormonal, and histological study. Toxicol Mech Methods; 33(3):206-214. 
  • Modenese A, et al 2019. Evaluation of occupational exposure to perchlorethylene in a group of Italian dry cleaners using noninvasive exposure indices. Int J Environ Res Public Health; 16(16):2832. 
  • Nijhuis N, et al. 2010. Tetrachloroethylene. In: WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Selected Pollutants. Geneva: World Health Organization; https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789289002134. [Last Accessed May 2026] 
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  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 2005. Reducing Worker Exposure to Perchloroethylene in Dry Cleaning. https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3253.pdf Accessed May 2026. 
  • Ruckart PZ, et al. 2013. Evaluation of exposure to contaminated drinking water and specific birth defects and childhood cancers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: a case-control study. Environ Health; 12:104. 
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  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2023. Final Risk Evaluation for Perchloroethylene (PCE). https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-tsca/final-risk-evaluation-perchloroethylene-pce. [Last accessed May 2026]. 
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Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace Tips for Job Safety

Selected References:

  • Carmichael SL, et al. 2007. Maternal corticosteroid use & orofacial clefts. Am J Obstet Gynecol; 197(6):585.e1-585.e7.  
  • Constantinescu S, et al. 2014. Breast-feeding after transplantation. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol; 28(8):1163-1173.  
  • Fitzsimons R, et al. 1986. Outcome of pregnancy in women requiring corticosteroids for severe asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 78(2):349-353.  
  • Florentien D, et al. 2023. Does prednisone use in pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis induce insulin resistance in the offspring? Clin Rheumatol; 42(1):47-54. 
  • Gomaa MF, et al. 2014. Combined oral prednisolone and heparin versus heparin: the effect on peripheral NK cells and clinical outcome in patients with unexplained recurrent miscarriage. A double-blind placebo randomized controlled trial. Arch Gynecol Obstet; 290:757–762. 
  • Gur C, et al. 2004. Pregnancy outcome after first trimester exposure to corticosteroids: a prospective controlled study. Reprod Toxicol; 18(1):93-101. 
  • Hendry WF, et al. 1990. Comparison of prednisolone and placebo in subfertile men with antibodies to spermatozoa. Lancet; 335:85-88. 
  • Ito S, et al. 1993. Prospective follow-up of adverse reactions in breast-fed infants exposed to maternal medication. Am J Obstet Gynecol; 168:1393-1399. 
  • Liauw J, 2025. Antenatal Corticosteroids and Child Neurodevelopment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Obstetrics and gynecology; 146(3), 360–376. 
  • Ma N, et al. 2022. Oral immunosuppressants improve pregnancy outcomes in women with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage: A meta-analysis. J Clin Pharm Ther; 47:870–878.  
  • Man YA, et al. 2009. Association of higher rheumatoid arthritis disease activity during pregnancy with lower birth weight: results of a national prospective study. Arthritis Rheum; 60(11):3196-3206.  
  • Marzec I, et al. 2021. Pregnancy after liver transplant: maternal and perinatal outcomes. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth; 21: 627.  
  • McGuire E. 2012. Sudden loss of milk supply following high-dose triamcinolone (Kenacort) injection. Breastfeed Rev; 20:32–34. 
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 2024. Prednisolone. Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed).  
  • Nørgård B, et al. 2007. Therapeutic drug use in women with Crohn’s disease and birth outcomes: a Danish nationwide cohort study. Am J Gastroenterol; 102:1406-1413.  Nyberg
  • G, et al. 1998. Breast-feeding during treatment with cyclosporine. Transplantation; 65:253-255. 
  • Ost L, et al. 1985. Prednisolone excretion in human milk. J Pediatr; 106:1008-1011.  
  • Palmsten K, et al. 2020. Oral corticosteroid use during pregnancy and risk of preterm birth. Rheumatology (Oxford); 59(6):1262-1271. 
  • Park-Wyllie L, et al. 2000. Birth defects after maternal exposure to corticosteroids: prospective cohort study and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Teratology; 62(6):385-392.  
  • Petri M, et al. 1992. The Hopkins Lupus Pregnancy Center: 1987-1991 update. Am J Reprod Immunol; 28(3-4):188-191.  
  • Pradat P, et al. 2003. First trimester exposure to corticosteroids & oral clefts. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol; 67(12):968-970.  
  • Rodríguez-Pinilla E & Martínez-Frías ML. 1998. Corticosteroids during pregnancy & oral clefts: a case-control study. Teratology; 58(1):2-5. 
  • Ryu RJ, et al. 2018. Prednisone pharmacokinetics during pregnancy & lactation. J Clin Pharmacol; 58(9):1223-1232. 
  • Silver RK, et al. 1993. Comparative trial of prednisone plus aspirin versus aspirin alone in the treatment of anticardiolipin antibody – positive obstetrics patients. Am J Obstet Gynecol; 169(6):1411-1417.  
  • Skuladottir H, et al. 2014. Corticosteroid use and risk of orofacial clefts. Birth Defects Res (Part A); 100: 499-506. 
  • Slob E, et al. 2023. Safety of antenatal predniso(lo)ne and dexamethasone on fetal, neonatal and childhood outcomes: a systematic review. The J of Clin Endocr & Metab; 109(4):e1328-e1335.  
  • Tata LJ, et al. 2008. Effects of maternal asthma, exacerbations and asthma medication use on congenital malformations in offspring: a UK population-based study. Thorax; 63(11):981-987. 
  • Van Zutphen AR, et al, National Birth Defects Prevention Study. 2015. Maternal asthma medication use during pregnancy and risk of congenital heart defects. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol; 103(11):951-961. 
  • Viktil KK, et al. 2012. Outcomes after anti-rheumatic drug use before and during pregnancy: a cohort study among 150,000 pregnant women and expectant fathers. Scand J Rheumatol; 41(3):196-2012.  
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Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace Tips for Job Safety

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