Women's paid and unpaid work and pregnancy outcome: a discussion of some open questions

Empirical results in the last 20 years have shown that employedwomen, on the whole, have a better perinatal outcome than full-timehousewives. The possible reasons for this difference are presentedand discussed Despite the consistency of the data, current thinkingin this area is still influenced by the idea that being outsidethe labour market may represent a protective factor in pregnancy.The obvious resistance, on the part of researchers, to fullyacknowledging results based on empirical data indicates thepersistence of the prejudice that sees housewives as women whodo not work. The fact of the matter is that they work full-time,often in poor conditions, and without a salary. The possibleconsequences of this prejudice for perinatal health are outlined.