Description:
The project, initiated by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency in partnership with the Equality Authority in 2008, sought to address an information gap on the relationship between workplace culture and experiences of pregnancy in Ireland.
There are a number of significant findings in this report that increase our understanding of what and how workplace factors impact on experiences of crisis pregnancy. Overall, 33 per cent of mothers said their pregnancy had been emotionally traumatic or represented a crisis for them. Of this group, job-related issues emerged as a contributory factor for 27 per cent of women in employment. They reported reasons such as ‘work plans' or ‘work commitments' or ‘concern about the reaction of employers or co-workers to pregnancy' when describing their pregnancy as a crisis pregnancy. Financial worries were a consideration for approximately 49 per cent of women experiencing a crisis pregnancy.
Analysis of the survey data reveals a strong association between experiences of unfair treatment at work during pregnancy and crisis pregnancy. Women who experienced more than one form of unfair treatment were at an increased risk of experiencing a crisis pregnancy. On the positive side, the availability of flexible working practices was associated with a reduced likelihood of crisis pregnancy for women in employment. Mothers who experienced lower levels of work-family conflict during their pregnancy were less likely to report a crisis pregnancy.
These findings will have an important bearing for the CPP in the development of its strategic plan 2012-2016. They will inform the level and degree to which contributory factors to crisis pregnancy prevalence in Ireland, such as reconciliation of work and family life, are prioritised and addressed as policy issues.