Pregnancy and 3rd shifts

Nurses LPN/LVN

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How bad of an idea is this? I just found out I'm pregnant and I am about to start a 3rd shift job... I am super excited about this job and don't know what will happen of how it's going to work 3rd shift

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Do a PubMed or Google Scholar search for "pregnancy" and "night shift". There's quite a bit of evidence out that that links night shift work to late pregnancy loss and stillbirth.

Personally, I miscarried shortly after transitioning to days just before the second trimester. If I could go back and insist on working days upon discovering the pregnancy and/or quit, I would.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Do some additional research before you panic-the study that showed an increased risk was done over 20 years ago in another country. Subsequent studies how no increased risk-keep yourself healthy by getting plenty of rest,excercise and good nutrition.Many women have miscarriages, often the true cause is never known. You can't let a lot of baseless fears haunt you during this time. Best advice--Stay OFF the internet-get some good books from your medical support staff and links to reputable web sites.Good Luck

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There will always be misinformation out there, especially on the internet. I strongly suggest you look at all the evidence with a critical eye, not just the evidence you like/want to hear. Go back to the basics of nursing research: evaluate the strength of the study for yourself. Rely on reputable sources and big studies.

My conclusion above wasn't evidence-less, naïve or selfish. It was reached only after a few days of looking over the evidence. I stuck to it due to the fact that several major studies suggest that night shift work and pregnancy loss appear to be linked.

https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/sites/default/files/hwdu-pregnancy-as-shiftwork-feb-2013.pdf

Health disorders of shift workers

Shift work, Job Stress, and Late Fetal Loss: The National Bi... : Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Work Schedule During Pregnancy and Spontaneous Abortion : Epidemiology

You'll notice that the articles above all acknowledge minimally that there seems to be some correlation between shift work and pregnancy loss, though many of them hesitate to draw set conclusions about causation--pretty typical of most research. If you do choose to work nights while pregnant, try to keep yourself otherwise healthy: healthy diet, safe amount of exercise, all that good stuff.

What I've posted above is only a small sampling of the studies out there. There's more evidence to be had. Let the limits of the search engines be your guide!

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Thanks everyone, I'll do some research during my downtime tonight while working 3rd shift...

Lol. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to quit a job I just got, especially with an amazing company. I may never get this chance again. I do have another job that pays 3 dollars less an hour and it'd prby be 3rds too and so I may just have to quit that one.

Thanks for all the info!

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One thing to consider is that the hectic hustle/bustle of a day shift job could negate any benefit of working during the day. I always found the night shift to be less stressful all in all, whether or not I was pregnant at the time.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

What I've posted above is only a small sampling of the studies out there. There's more evidence to be had. Let the limits of the search engines be your guide!

Why is that a better idea then consulting one's health care professionals? They KNOW the patient's history, they can help the patient determine the real risks? Why spend HOURS on the internet to discover eating Swedish Fish has been shown in a study to increased the risk of birth defects? Or sleeping in a polyester nightgown? Or using an electric blanket? The list could go on and on and on....It's obsessive and unhealthy,IMHO. Most of the studies quoted in this thread are 7 years old or older!
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Why is that a better idea then consulting one's health care professionals? They KNOW the patient's history, they can help the patient determine the real risks? Why spend HOURS on the internet to discover eating Swedish Fish has been shown in a study to increased the risk of birth defects? Or sleeping in a polyester nightgown? Or using an electric blanket? The list could go on and on and on....It's obsessive and unhealthy,IMHO. Most of the studies quoted in this thread are 7 years old or older!

The research quoted is the most current available. I can't make them publish more studies faster.

I never said it wasn't a good idea to consult one's healthcare professionals, nor am I sure why you would infer that I said anything like that as it is totally baseless.

Why, as a professional, wouldn't you use the resources at hand and your own knowledge of research to make an informed decision? How is taking initiative and doing your own research to confirm what you're being told obsessive and unhealthy? I'd be more concerned about the person who'd rather just be told what to do as opposed to taking an active, healthy interest in their own well-being and that of their child.

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Not every post in response to a thread can contain every instance to be considered or "cover" all the bases. This is often forgotten when the next person makes a comment. One can add another aspect to be looked at or another opinion, without the assumption that the previous poster left something important out on purpose, or that because they did not make a comment, that they disagree. These threads may become books after about six or seven pages of responses, but are not necessarily complete chapter for verse after only six or seven posts.

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Not every post in response to a thread can contain every instance to be considered or "cover" all the bases. This is often forgotten when the next person makes a comment.

Agreed, and I certainly wasn't trying to be comprehensive in my answer--only give the OP a taste for the info that's out there. I recently experienced what she's experiencing myself and figured I'd let her know what I did personally when faced with a somewhat similar situation.

However, I do resent it when someone comes out of the blue and decides to accuse me of offering a better alternative to speaking with one's own provider when I never even mentioned it my answer. To act all incredulous and infer that I offered a better alternative to contacting one's provider by suggesting that an educated professional reviews literature for himself/herself was unnecessary and unprofessional.

As medical advice is prohibited per the TOS, I expected the OP wasn't looking for medical advice or direction to seek out one's provider. I imagine they were looking to discuss evidence and the like with other professionals. My apologies if I'm wrong.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

This is a professional board and as a professional I don't condone endlessly scouring the internet-I stand by that. It's my opinion. It's way TOO EASY to get caught up in crap that's a dozen years old-tons of studies of dubious merit come to the top of the search (as has been illustrated on this thread).I suggested asking the provider for some links to good reliable web sites.

Having drawn that connection to your own miscarriage you are hardly biased. I've had two, never worked night shift-.However when I was pregnant I stayed OFF the internet. Why read the worst case scenario over and over?

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This is a professional board and as a professional I don't condone endlessly scouring the internet-I stand by that. It's my opinion. It's way TOO EASY to get caught up in crap that's a dozen years old-tons of studies of dubious merit come to the top of the search (as has been illustrated on this thread).I suggested asking the provider for some links to good reliable web sites.

Having drawn that connection to your own miscarriage you are hardly biased. I've had two, never worked night shift-.However when I was pregnant I stayed OFF the internet. Why read the worst case scenario over and over?

Nobody is talking about reading the worst-case scenario. The PP is talking about not only reading evidence, but judging it based on its strength. I have no idea why on AN this would be such a bad thing. We research things for our practice all the time. Why would we owe anything less to ourselves?

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