Delivery outcome in pregnancies when either parent worked in the chemical industry. A study with central registries.

Parental exposure in chemical industry may represent a risk for pregnancy outcome. Using a population-based medical birth registry, linked to census for 3 years (1976, 1981, 1986), delivery outcome has been studied in women who worked as factory workers in chemical industry or whose cohabiting partners had such work. As a group of reference were used all women who worked in industry and all women whose partners worked as factory workers, respectively. No increased rate of abnormality was seen in infants fathered by men working in chemical industry. Infants born of women working in such industry showed a high rate of low birth weight and short gestational length and also of infant death. The latter phenomenon was only seen among infants born in 1976.