Dr Helen Barrett is an Obstetric Physician and Endocrinologist at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Brisbane and a Clinical Academic in the School of Medicine, The University of Queensland. She undertook her endocrinology and obstetric medicine training in Sydney and Brisbane and completed her PhD through the School of Medicine at The University of Queensland.
Helen has a strong interest in improving the outcomes of complicated pregnancy and her PhD studies focussed on the role of lipids in maternal diabetes and preeclampsia. She is currently involved in the SPRING study, examining the use of probiotic supplementation to prevent GDM.
Pregnancy in the workplace 1 School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia
2 UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia
Throughout history, it has been debated whether pregnant women could or could not work. The answer to the question has varied with time and with the cultural and socioeconomic rank of the pregnant women. Even in modern times, pregnancy in the workplace is not a solved issue. Discrimination of pregnant women is due to prejudices, fears of loss of productivity and requirements for accommodations during pregnancy and after return to work are commonplace. Furthermore, well-intentioned protective measures to keep pregnant women safe can hinder the participation of pregnant women in the workforce.
This seminar will briefly highlight why pregnancy in the workplace is not a solved problem and why it is important for clinicians caring for pregnant women to remain vigilant.
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