ArticleBMJ open2017
Sick leave and medication use in pregnancy: a European web-based study.
Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pilates during pregnancy for maternal musculoskeletal pain and discomfort: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Experiences managing pregnant hospital staff members using an active management policy-A qualitative study.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Impact of job adjustment, pain location and exercise on sick leave due to lumbopelvic pain in pregnancy: a longitudinal study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2019Trial
- Individually tailored physiotherapy interventions for pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain: functioning, physical activity, and treatment satisfaction four months postpartum. A cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Associations between sick leave during pregnancy and after childbirth and future labour force participation: a Dutch cohort study.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2026Article
- Observing life from the sideline - a qualitative study on experiences of living with pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Absence during pregnancy in the Danish workforce: occupational, industrial, and temporal trends in a nationwide register-based cohort study.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2025Article
- Association of Self-Rated Health in Pregnancy With Maternal Childhood Experiences, Socioeconomic Status, Parity, and Choice of Antenatal Care Providers: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Occupational Physical Activity Among Pregnant Employees in the Danish Workforce: The PRECISE Occupational Cohort Profile.Clinical epidemiology · 2025Article
- Use of benefits during pregnancy: a cohort study in four organisations in Spain.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Postpartum Psychiatric Outcomes and Sick Leave After Discontinuing SSRI or SNRI in Pregnancy.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- A narrative review on factors associated with job interruption during pregnancy.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2023Review
- Pregnancy, Mental Well-Being and Lockdown: A Nationwide Online Survey in France.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Do birthrates contribute to sickness absence differences in women? A cohort study in Catalonia, Spain, 2012-2014.PloS one · 2020Article
- Article
- Pregnancy and working conditions in the hospital sector: a scoping review.Revista brasileira de medicina do trabalho : publicacao oficial da Associacao Nacional de Medicina do Trabalho-ANAMTArticle
- The weight of motherhood: Identifying obesity, gestational weight gain and physical activity level of Italian pregnant women.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectiveA comparison of sick leave in pregnancy between countries is difficult as most studies have been conducted in single countries in Scandinavia. The objective of this study was to explore patterns of and reasons for sick leave during pregnancy on a multinational level, focusing on medication use but also differences in sick leave policies. DESIGN AND
settingCross-sectional, web-based study in 12 European countries from October 2011 to February 2012. Data were collected via an electronic questionnaire.
participantsPregnant women and mothers of children under the age of 1 year. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE: Sick leave prevalence in pregnancy.
resultsOf 6686 women included, 3385 (50.6%) had been on sick leave during pregnancy. The rates of sick leave varied across countries, ranging from 31.7%-34.8% in Sweden and the UK to 62.4%-71.3% in Norway, Serbia, Croatia and Poland. The most common reasons for being on sick leave were pregnancy complications (26.5%); pain in the neck, back or pelvic girdle (16.2%); and nausea and vomiting (NVP, 16.0%). Women using medications for acute illnesses were more likely to be on sick leave than their non-medicated counterparts, while an opposite trend was observed for women with chronic disorders, where non-medicated women were more likely to be on sick leave. Women from countries with 'low' sick leave policies were less likely to have extensions of sick leaves compared with women from countries with 'medium' policies (adjusted OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.82).
conclusionThe rates of sick leave in pregnancy vary greatly across European countries. Women using medications were more likely to be on sick leave, especially for acute illnesses. The differences in sick leave patterns across countries only partially reflected differences in sick leave policies, which implies that sick leave in pregnancy is also affected by other national differences.
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Registered trials
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