Maternal Work Research Articles

Maternal Work-Life Balance and Children's Social Adjustment: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stress and Parenting Practices.

The participation of women with young children in the Japanese labor force has increased dramatically in recent years, bringing growing potential for conflict between work and family roles amid inadequate social systems, such as childcare support. Thus, work–life balance (WLB) of mothers may influence their children’s mental health and lifestyle. This study aims to clarify the relationship between parents’ WLB and children’s mental health, as well as the underlying factors of parental stress and nurturing attitude. The study is based on a questionnaire survey administered in 2019 to fifth-grade elementary school students and their caregivers in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The regression results indicated that the higher the work–family negative spillover, the higher the child’s externalizing and internalizing problems, and the higher the positive spillover, the lower the problems and the higher the prosocial behaviors. Path analysis indicates that maternal WLB is negatively and positively related to children’s behavior through maternal stress and parenting practices. The study suggests that maternal WLB is related to children’s emotional and behavioral problems. WLB may impact children’s emotional and behavioral problems through parents’ mental health and involvement with their children, particularly because of work arrangements changing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 and the work of women-mother-researchers

Este artigo analisa o trabalho feminino no cenário pandêmico, articulando-o em suas dimensões doméstica, científica e maternal, com textos de escrita feminina e dados de pesquisas sobre o desemprego no Brasil. Pondera a relação cuidado-maternagem-trabalho em periódicos qualificados pela Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, onde o significante cuidado, como atributo feminino, tende a posicionar a mulher em profissões socialmente relacionadas a ele. Numa agenda feminista, considera-se necessário romper tal estereótipo, consolidando políticas científicas femininas e de emprego, mantendo aberto o lugar de habitar na denúncia da sobrecarga de trabalho de mulheres.

Analysis Of Maternal Risk Factor On Stunting In Children In Palembang City

The incidence of stunting is one of the sustainable development goals target. To achieve it, an intervention that is right and significant and in accordance with the priority of stunting risk factors. The priority of risk factors is influenced by many things in different places. Thus, this research is the key as a strategy in identifying priority factors as a prevention strategy against stunting toddlers in Palembang. This research is an analytical observational research with case control approach. The samples were collected using purposive sampling techniques and 170 research subjects were obtained. The data was collected from Health Centre of Palembang City by measuring the height according to the age of the toddlers and carried out interviews with the toddler’s mother. There results were analysed using Chi-square statistical tests. The analysis results obtained which had a meaningful relation with stunting incidence are maternal age, maternal work, maternal body height, maternal body weight, history of anemia during pregnancy, number of birth, pregnancy gap factor, history of iron or folate supplement consumption history, number of ANC visits, history of infectious diseases during pregnancy, and exclusive breastfeeding. The most dominant risk factors in sequence the chances of stunting children are the number of children more than one by 12 times, anemia during pregnancy by 9 times, mothers who have a high risk age has 7 times, the mother's height is not ideal by 6 times, the distance of pregnancy is equal to or less than 24 months by 4 times, an ANC visit is less than 4 times the chance of 4 times , do not give exclusive breast milk by 4 times, mothers who work outside the house by 3 times, do not consume iron or folate supplements by 3 times.

Work-Family Conflict on Children's Internet Addiction: Role of Parenting Styles in Korean Working Mother.

Based on spillover and crossover models in the family system, we hypothesized the mediating effect of parenting style in the association between maternal work–family conflict (WFC) and children’s problematic internet (PIU). This is a cross-sectional study using data from the 10th wave Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC) in 2017. The study subjects were 707 mothers and their children. The WFC was measured using the Marshall and Barnett scale, parenting style by the Parenting Styles and Dimension Questionnaire developed by Robinson, and the PIU of a child by the K-Scale for adolescent observers. As a result, maternal WFC had a positive association with the PIU of a child. Maternal WFC also had a link with parenting styles. Specifically, WFC had a negative association with an authoritative parenting style, and a positive association with authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. Regarding the relationship between maternal WFC and the PIU of a child, parenting styles showed a mediating effect for authoritative (z = 2.08, p = 0.037), authoritarian (z = 2.71, p = 0.007), and permissive (z = 3.14, p = 0.002). Based on the results, we assert that when planning an intervention to reduce children’s PIU for working mothers, a multifaceted approach is essential, including both WFC and parenting behavior.

Influências do Desmame Precoce em Lactentes: Uma Revisão

O Aleitamento Materno é de extrema importância nos primeiros seis meses de vida por ser um alimento nutricionalmente completo, não sendo necessária nenhuma complementação. A pesquisa tem como objetivo verificar a influência do desmame precoce em lactentes. Trata-se de uma revisão sistemática de trabalhos publicados nos últimos 10 anos. A busca dos artigos foi realizada em banco de dados eletrônicos como Scientific Eletronic Library Online (Scielo) e Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs). Foram utilizados os descritores “Aleitamento Materno”, “Desmame Precoce”, “Lactente”, “Alergia” e “Doença”, totalizando 18 artigos selecionados, no qual foi apontado em todos os estudos que as amostras das pesquisas realizadas obtiveram o inferior a 50% em relação ao Aleitamento Materno Exclusivo pelo ciclo de seis meses, conforme recomendado pelo Ministério da Saúde. Os fatores mais recorrentes para os desmame precoce foram o uso de chupeta, mamadeira e o trabalho materno fora de casa, ocasionando assim uma possível doença e/ou alergia, pois há evidências para se afirmar que crianças com tempo de aleitamento menor que seis meses, tenham mais propensão para o desenvolvimento dessas alterações em seu estado de saúde. Conclui-se que nos estudos realizados de 2008 a 2018 é possível perceber que o desmame precoce ainda é bastante comum na sociedade. Outro ponto observado na pesquisa foi o predomínio do tempo de aleitamento materno, que foi identificado abaixo da média apontado pela Organização Mundial de Saúde. Diante dessas evidências, recomenda-se o Aleitamento Materno até os dois anos de idade, juntamente com a introdução gradual de uma alimentação complementar a partir do sexto mês de vida.

Early-life Farm Exposure and Ovarian Reserve in a US Cohort of Women.

In a previous exploratory study, we reported lower concentrations of the ovarian reserve biomarker anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in adulthood with prenatal farm exposure. We now examine this association as well as childhood farm exposure using enrollment data from the Sister Study, a large US cohort of women. We collected prenatal and childhood farm exposure data by questionnaire and telephone interview. However, serum AMH data were available only for a nested subset: premenopausal women ages 35-54 subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 418 cases) and their matched controls (n = 866). To avoid potential bias from restricting analyses to only premenopausal controls, we leveraged the available cohort data. We used data from both premenopausal cases and controls as well as postmenopausal women ages 35-54 (n = 3,526) (all presumed to have undetectable AMH concentrations) and applied weights to produce a sample representative of the cohort ages 35-54 (n = 17,799). The high proportion of undetectable AMH concentrations (41%) was addressed using reverse-scale Cox regression. An adjusted hazard ratio (HR) <1.0 indicates that exposed individuals had lower AMH concentrations than unexposed individuals. Prenatal exposure to maternal residence or work on a farm was associated with lower AMH concentrations (HR 0.66; 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 0.48 to 0.90). Associations between childhood farm residence exposures and AMH were null or weak, except childhood contact with pesticide-treated livestock or buildings (HR 0.69; 95% CI = 0.40 to 1.2). Replication of the prenatal farm exposure and lower adult AMH association raises concern that aspects of prenatal farm exposure may result in reduced adult ovarian reserve.

Parental Nonstandard Work Schedules and Child Development: Evidence from Dual-Earner Families in Hong Kong.

With the emergence of 24/7 economies, the practice of working nonstandard schedules has become increasingly common. This trend raises a concern about how parental nonstandard work schedules affect child development outcomes. Using data from dual-earner families with young children (age 5–6) in Hong Kong, this study examined the association between parental work schedules and child development. It also examined under what conditions parental nonstandard work schedules affect child development, with a focus on the moderating role of family income. Results showed that paternal nonstandard work schedules were negatively associated with overall child development. This association was particularly salient among low-income families. By contrast, maternal nonstandard work schedules were not associated with child development outcomes. These findings suggest that it is important to equip parents, in particular low-income fathers, to address challenges resulting from their nonstandard work schedules.

Harmful alcohol use among mothers of under-five child: findings from the Panel Study on Korean Children

BackgroundHarmful alcohol use in young mothers as a primary caregiver has a profound impact on their own health and interaction with the child. We studied the epidemiology of harmful alcohol use among Korean mothers and their partners of under-five children.MethodsWe used a longitudinal data of 2,150 Korean mothers of the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC). We assessed temporal trend and risk factors for harmful alcohol use in mothers using generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. To estimate the impact of maternal harmful alcohol use on the child, the association between neurodevelopment of the child measured by the Korean-Ages & Stages Questionnaire (K-ASQ) and maternal harmful alcohol use was analyzed using GEE and generalized linear mixed model. We included mother’s age, education, preterm, year of the survey and time-varying covariates (including maternal working status, monthly household income, plan for additional childbirth, psychological stress related with childcare, current smoking, and partner’s harmful alcohol use) in the model.ResultsMean age of mothers at the baseline was 31.3 years. Annual prevalence of harmful alcohol use increased from 0.7% in the 1st year to 2.6% in the 4th year (P for linear trend < 0.001). Prevalence of harmful alcohol use increased by 48% per year among the mothers (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.48, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22, 1.78). Lower education than college or university graduation was associated with higher odds of harmful alcohol use (2.52, 95% CI: 1.43, 4.45). Current smoking (7.44, 95% CI: 3.00, 18.45), harmful use of alcohol of partner (2.66, 95% CI: 1.57, 4.49) were associated with higher risk of harmful alcohol use in mothers. The association between low K-ASQ score and maternal harmful alcohol use was toward positive which did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsIn a cohort of Korean mothers participating in the PKSC, risk of harmful alcohol use increases over time and is associated with harmful alcohol use of their partners. We suggest an approach targeting both parents can be more effective in controlling the harmful alcohol use of mothers.

874 Abnormal cell-free DNA screening in the setting of malignancy: could cancer stage and type matter?

With increasing cfDNA aneuploidy screening, there is a corresponding increase in “false positive” and “non-reportable” results in the setting of maternal malignancy. We hypothesize that these cfDNA results may be further characterized depending on stage and type of cancer. This was a retrospective review of cases with aneuploidy screening and a diagnosis of malignancy during pregnancy. We abstracted maternal history, diagnoses, screening results, and fetal outcomes from the medical record. We identified 13 cases from 2015-2019 with a malignancy in pregnancy. Four patients did not pursue aneuploidy screening. Three underwent first trimester screening and one underwent quad screening (all normal). Five patients had cfDNA screening (Table 1), three of whom had an abnormal result: a case of stage III rectal adenocarcionoma resulted “non-reportable”, a case of stage IV serous ovarian carcinoma resulted as “monosomy 13”, and a case of acute myeloid leukemia resulted as “concerning for maternal mosaic monosomy X”. There were two cases of non-metastatic breast cancer both of whom had normal cfDNA results. No fetuses had a genetic abnormality. Corroborating previous isolated case reports, we demonstrated “false positive” and “non-reportable” results on cfDNA screening secondary to maternal malignancy. Our data suggest that cancers with hematologic spread are likely to be detected by cfDNA, while those with less tumor shedding are not. Ultimately, cfDNA may prove useful in identifying certain types of malignancy. Conversely, fetal aneuploidy screening by cfDNA is not indicated in the case of known maternal malignancy as it may invalidate interpretation of fetal status. Larger patient cohorts are needed to further characterize the association of different tumor types and the pattern of cfDNA results, as well as to implement appropriate protocols for maternal diagnostic work up.

Prevalence and predictors of under nutrition among adolescents in Tanahun District, Nepal

Adolescent is the period of physical, psychological and social maturing from childhood to adulthood. The term adolescent refers to individuals between the ages of 10-19 years and the age group 15-19 years known as late adolescents. This study aims to identify the prevalence and predictors of under nutrition among the late adolescents in Tanahun District, Nepal. The study design was school based cross-sectional and conducted at 12 higher secondary schools of Tanahun district using multistage stratified sampling. The study applied the self-administered questionnaires and anthropometric assessment. The mean age of the adolescent was 17.43 years and two thirds were female. More than half of the respondents were janajatis followed by bhrahmin/chhetri and dalits. 18% of the respondents were underweight. The mean weight and height of the respondent were 51.46 kg and 159.65 cm. The mean BMI was calculated as 20.11 with SD 2.81. Sex of the adolescents, ethnicity and type of family was found to be associated with underweight. Having the milk/milk product which was two times more chances of having underweight those who drinks milk daily compare to those not having milk/milk product (OR 1.171, CI: 1.100-2.243). The daily of milk/milk product had a significantly associated with underweight by 1.44 times greater than those having milk/milk product. Those adolescents who were involves on any type of sports had 1.58 times more chances of having underweight than those not involved on sports activities (OR 1.587, CI: 1.114-2.262). The study found diverse results regarding under nutrition of adolescents in the study area. The present study indicates that nutritional status of adolescent is not satisfactory as one fifth of the adolescents were Undernourished. This study also focuses on some other contributing factors which may affect adolescent nutrition like socio-economic status, maternal working status, family type and family size, eating habits and personal habits. There is much scope for the improvement of their nutritional status. The most important predictors identified for underweight were adolescent's sex, cast and types of family (p &lt; 0.05).

Association Between Maternal Working Status and Unintentional Injuries Among 3 to 4-Month-Old Infants in Japan.

Globally, unintentional injuries are one of the leading causes of infant death. Established risk factors for injuries during infancy include single parent households, socioeconomic disadvantage and maternal postpartum depression. We sought to examine whether maternal working status is associated with unintentional injury among infants in Japan. We used data from an original questionnaire targeting mothers who participated in a 3 or 4-month health check-up program in Aichi prefecture, Japan. Experience of any type of unintentional injury was used as the primary outcome, and we also examined the experience of "falls" and "near-drowning" as secondary outcomes. We conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusting for covariates. We also performed propensity score matching in order to balance covariates between paid employment and unpaid employment groups. Among 6,465 valid responses (response rate, 67%), 9.8% of infants experienced unintentional injuries. After matching on propensity for maternal employment (based on 26 covariates), we found that infants of mothers in paid employment were 1.35 times (95% CI: 1.04-1.74) more likely to experience injures, including 1.60 times higher likelihood of falls (95% CI: 1.14-2.24). Near-drowning was not significantly associated with maternal employment. We also found that father's employment status was positively associated with risk of falls. Both multivariable logistic analysis and propensity score matching analysis revealed that maternal paid employment status was associated with unintentional injuries among Japanese infants. To prevent infant injuries, comprehensive support for working families should be considered.

Maternal working hours and smoking and drinking in adolescent children: based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI and VII.

BackgroundAdolescent smoking and drinking are influenced by parental supervision. This study aimed to investigate the gap in adolescent smoking and drinking experience rates and age at initiation according to maternal working hours.MethodsData from 1,580 adolescents aged 12–18 years and 1,172 working mothers of double-parent or single-mother households were selected from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) VI & VII data. Figures on adolescents' smoking and drinking rates and their ages at imitation were used. Maternal working hours were divided into < 40 hours, 40–52 hours, and > 52 hours to analyze whether smoking and drinking experience rates and age at initiation differ according to maternal working hours and by the child's sex. Maternal age, education level, household income, occupation, shift work, current smoking status, monthly drinking frequency and child's obesity, stress recognition and depressive mood were adjusted for in the statistical analyses.ResultsThe odds for adolescents' smoking behavior were significantly higher with increasing maternal working hours in boys but not in girls. The odds for adolescents' drinking behavior were not significantly higher in both boys and girls. Regardless of the child's sex, there were no significant differences in the age of smoking and drinking initiation according to maternal working hours.ConclusionsAdolescents of mothers who work long hours are at a higher risk of being exposed to smoking. Thus, our society needs to share the burden of raising children, which is concentrated on women, and employers and governments should support policies that can help prevent long working hours.

Relationship of Parenting and Social Support for Working Single Mothers on the Provision of Balanced Nutrition and Nutritional Status of Early Childhood in Coastal Areas

This study aimed to analyze parenting and social support relationships by working single mothers on balanced nutritious feeding and early childhood nutritional status. This is quantitative research with a cross-sectional design. This research was conducted in the coastal area of the Probolinggo Regency, consisting of 16 sub-districts. The population in this study was 247 single mothers who worked and had 3-year-old children. The sampling technique of this research is simple random sampling. The final sample in this study was 219 people. A short questionnaire measured the sociodemographic data of research respondents (age, last education, and maternal work). Questionnaires measured data on parenting and social support variables. A food recall sheet measured data on balanced nutritious feeding variables to see the food the mother gave to her child within a month. Nutritional status variable data is recorded using the observation sheet. The data analysis technique in this study was logistic regression. The results showed a link between parenting and social support by single mothers who work with balanced nutritious feeding and early childhood nutritional status in coastal areas. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that health education is needed for mothers who have children in early childhood to help them solve the problems they experience when knowing their child is malnourished. Therefore, cross-sectoral cooperation is needed to provide sustainable health education.

Breastfeeding Patterns as a Determinant of Fertility in the Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Although the fertility rate in East Nusa Tenggara Province has decreased over the last 10 years, the birth rate is still higher than other provinces in Indonesia. Interestingly, the infertility index for breastfeeding in East Nusa Tenggara Province is the lowest compared to other provinces in Indonesia, which means that women of childbearing age in East Nusa Tenggara Province breastfeed their children with the longest breastfeeding period. Therefore, this study aims to determine the fertility decomposition and characteristics of breastfeeding mothers in East Nusa Tenggara Province in 2017. The data source of this study uses the results of the 2017 Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) using women of childbearing age who have given birth. The analysis used in this study included fertility decomposition analysis and continued with univariable, bivariable, logistic regression analysis. The results of this study indicate that breastfeeding as a proxy for infertility towards fertility in the province of East Nusa Tenggara has an index value (Ci) of 0.72 and after controlling for maternal characteristics variables, age, education and work status of mothers are the factors most related to breastfeeding behavior in East Nusa Tenggara in 2017. Promotion of good breastfeeding techniques and the benefits of breastfeeding needs to be improved in order to improve the quality of life of infants, spacing pregnancies and reduce the incidence of tengkes (stunting).

Manutenção da amamentação da trabalhadora formal: fatores que influenciam e suas consequência

Objetivo: Caracterizar os fatores que interferem na manutenção da amamentação da mulher trabalhadora com ví­nculo empregatí­cio formal. Método: Pesquisa quantitativa observacional analí­tica, com 207 participantes, em Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, através de questionário online. Analisado por meio de medidas estatí­sticas univariadas. Resultados: Emergiram duas categorias: concepções relacionados í amamentação enquanto trabalhadora e consequências das interferências do trabalho materno sobre a amamentação. A primeira categoria subdividiu-se em 5 fatores: individuais, ambientais, organizacionais, culturais e aspectos legais. Conclusão: Fortalecer tecnologias de apoio í amamentação: creches no local de trabalho, implantação de salas de apoio í amamentação nas empresas e ampliação da licença-maternidade mostraram-se relevantes para a consolidação das polí­ticas de incentivo ao aleitamento materno no paí­s.

‘Working for/from Home’: An Interdisciplinary Understanding of Mothers in India

Situated in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, this paper begins by looking at the recent advertisement by Amul praising mothers who are ‘working from home’ and ‘working for home’ during the lockdown, with an accompanying cartoon visualizing the iconic Amul girl sitting beside her mother who is working on her laptop while keeping an eye on her daughter; in a juxtaposed cartoon, the mother is cooking in the kitchen while simultaneously scrolling through her smartphone. Amongst my groups of women friends, the advertisement elicited strong and contradictory responses: ranging from approval of the appreciation for maternal work to disapproval at the missing father. In order to critique this advertisement, I would use the lens of Motherhood Studies, an emerging area of scholarship that is inherently interdisciplinary. Reading the advertisement as a cultural text, I will attempt to locate the maternal stereotypes embedded in it: the merging of the stay-at-home mother and the working-mother into the ideal neoliberal mother-worker, the supermom who effortlessly balances work and home, even in extraordinary times like the pandemic and lockdown. These entangled maternal stereotypes have been reified in popular consciousness through mythic, religious, literary and filmic artefacts. A cross-disciplinary tracing of the stereotypes will reveal the motherhood constructs and the cultural expectations that mothers encounter, and also attempt to explain why and how these constructs and expectations operate. The paper will look at the possibilities of resistance to these stereotypes, germinating in feminist, or posthuman, or matricentric approaches to motherhood. I will use the critical distinction between motherhood-as-ideology and mothering-as-agency to understand maternal resistances, some of which may be located in the responses to the Amul advertisement. The paper will conclude by assessing the emergence of Motherhood Studies as a legitimate field of interdisciplinary humanities and/or social sciences.

Maternal working memory, emotion regulation, and responsivity to infant distress

Maternal responsivity is important to caregiving, reflecting a mother's capacity to initiate prompt behavioural responses to infant's cues, supporting the infant's own regulatory development. There is limited research examining cognitive and affective processes, including working memory and emotion regulation, in the context of maternal responsivity to infant distress. Therefore, we examined associations between working memory, emotion regulation, and behavioural responsivity to simulated infant distress in 61 mothers. Tests of direct and indirect effects showed (1) greater working memory capacity predicted increased engagement in cognitive reappraisal; (2) increased engagement in cognitive reappraisal predicted longer latency to pick-up a distressed infant simulator; and (3) greater working memory capacity indirectly, through increased engagement in cognitive reappraisal, predicted longer latency to infant distress. These findings indicate the importance of jointly considering maternal working memory and emotion regulation to understand their potential role in the assessment of, and behavioural response to, infant distress cues.

Do children influence their mothers' decisions? Early child development and maternal employment entries after birth.

This study investigates whether early child development influences mothers' decisions regarding when to return to the labor market in Germany. Previous research has examined how institutional, individual and household factors affect maternal work interruption durations after childbirth. This study extends the literature by focusing on the impact of children on mothers' return-to-work behavior after childbirth and by examining mechanisms that might explain this impact. The study builds on data from NEPS Starting Cohort 1, the first large-scale newborn panel study in Germany, which provides measures on four different aspects of early child development, sensorimotor skills, habituation, regulatory capacity and negative affectivity, as well as information on mothers' labor market behavior and household settings. The analytical sample consists of 2,548 mothers with valid child information and contains data from the first four panel waves of the study until the child is 3 years old. The results from discrete-time event history models indicate a differentiated pattern of effects of child development indicators: higher sensorimotor skills and lower regulatory capacity are weakly associated with earlier maternal employment, while habituation and negative affectivity are unrelated to mothers' work behavior. Effects are the strongest among mothers returning to part-time work and among those with a medium level of education.

Finding a Medical Home for Perinatal Depression: How Can We Bridge the Postpartum Gap?

Finding a Medical Home for Perinatal Depression: How Can We Bridge the Postpartum Gap?

Simulated shift work during pregnancy does not impair progeny metabolic outcomes in sheep.

Maternal shift work increases the risk of pregnancy complications, although its effects on progeny health after birth are not clear. We evaluated the impact of a simulated shift work protocol for one-third, two-thirds or all of pregnancy on the metabolic health of sheep progeny. Simulated shift work had no effect on growth, body size, body composition or glucose tolerance in pre-pubertal or young adult progeny. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was reduced in adult female progeny and insulin sensitivity was increased in adult female singleton progeny. The results of the present study do not support the hypothesis that maternal shift work exposure impairs metabolic health of progeny in altricial species. Disrupted maternal circadian rhythms, such as those experienced during shift work, are associated with impaired progeny metabolism in rodents. The effects of disrupted maternal circadian rhythms on progeny metabolism have not been assessed in altricial, non-litter bearing species. We therefore assessed postnatal growth from birth to adulthood, as well as body composition, glucose tolerance, insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity, in pre-pubertal and young adult progeny of sheep exposed to control conditions (CON: 10males, 10 females) or to a simulated shift work (SSW) protocol for the first one-third (SSW0-7: 11males, 9 females), the first two-thirds (SSW0-14: 8males, 11 females) or all (SSW0-21: 8males, 13 females) of pregnancy. Progeny growth did not differ between maternal treatments. In pre-pubertal progeny (12-14weeks of age), adiposity, glucose tolerance and insulin secretion during an i.v. glucose tolerance test and insulin sensitivity did not differ between maternal treatments. Similarly, in young adult progeny (12-14months of age), food intake, adiposity and glucose tolerance did not differ between maternal treatments. At this age, however, insulin secretion in response to a glucose bolus was 30% lower in female progeny in the combined SSW groups compared to control females (P=0.031), and insulin sensitivity of SSW0-21singleton females was 236% compared to that of CON singleton female progeny (P=0.025). At least in this model, maternal SSW does not impair progeny metabolic health, with some evidence of greater insulin action in female young adult progeny.