REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND THE WORKPLACE

Additional resources: healthcare worker safety

• Occupational Hazards for Pregnant Nurses:

  This article from the American Journal of Nursing discussing hazardous exposures nurses may encounter, with suggestions on how to deal with these hazards. Written specifically for nurses, by nurses.

• Guidelines for Infection Control in Healthcare Workers (2007):

  This document from the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee includes detailed infection control guidelines for all health care workers. Table 6 gives guidelines for pregnant health care workers.

• Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (2007):

  Describes airborne precautions for some infectious agents. Guidelines for pregnant health care workers vary by organism and are summarized in Appendix A.

• Recommendations for Immunization of Health-Care Personnel (2011):

  This document from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) provides general guidelines for all health care personnel, and summarizes immunization recommendations for special HCW conditions including pregnancy in table 3.

• NIOSH Guidance on Controlling Exposures to Nitrous Oxide During Anesthetic Administration:

  This NIOSH reference discusses anesthetic gas scavenger systems. An update is available here.

• NIOSH Topic Page: Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Drugs:

  Includes the original 2004 NIOSH alert (Preventing Occupational Exposure to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings) and the NIOSH Hazardous Drug List (List of Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings), along with links to additional information.  A link to the updated NIOSH Hazardous Drug List is also available.