New and Expectant Mothers Toolbox Talk

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'New or expectant mother' means an employee who is pregnant, who has given birth ['given birth' is
defined as delivered a living child or, after 24 weeks of pregnancy, a stillborn child] within the previous
six months, or who is breastfeeding.
Being pregnant or a new mother does not prevent you from working and progressing your career. Many
women work while they are pregnant and return to work while they are breastfeeding.
In many workplaces there are risks which could affect the health and safety of new and expectant
mothers and that of their child. Sometimes working conditions generally considered acceptable may no
longer be so during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
The management of health and safety at work regulations require employers to assess risks to their
employees, including new and expectant mothers, and to do what is reasonably practicable to control
those risks.
No. Your employer is required to conduct a risk assessment for his/her employees, which should also
include any specific risks to females of childbearing age who could become pregnant and any risks to
new and expectant mothers.
Key Points to consider are:
 Employers have a duty to carry out risk assessments which should include any specific risks to
females of childbearing age who may become pregnant as a matter of course.
 Although you do not have a legal duty to inform your employer that you are pregnant or
breastfeeding, it is important that you provide them with written notification as early as possible so
that they can protect both you and your unborn child.
 Until your employer has received written notification from you, they are not obliged to take any action
other than those resulting from the risk assessment for all their employees.
 Your employer can ask for a certificate from your GP or your midwife showing that you are pregnant.
 When pregnant you may be at risk from different physical, biological, and chemical agents, working
conditions and processes. These risks will vary depending on your health, and at different stages of
your pregnancy.
 Your employer should ask you to help with the risk assessment and it is important that any advice
you have received from your doctor or midwife, which could impact on the assessment, is passed on
to your employer. Some of the more common risks might be:
 lifting/carrying of heavy loads;
 standing or sitting for long lengths of time;
 exposure to infectious diseases;
 exposure to lead;
 work-related stress;
 workstations and posture;
 exposure to radioactive material;
 other people’s smoke in the workplace;
 threat of violence in the workplace;
 long working hours;
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 excessively noisy workplaces.

 Your employer is required to review your risk assessment as you move through the pregnancy to
incorporate any changes in your ability or needs
 When considering returning to work after giving birth you are required to take compulsory maternity
leave for the first two weeks following childbirth. At what time you return to work after compulsory
maternity leave is for you to decide in discussion with your employer.
 If you return to work when you are still breastfeeding, you should provide your employer with written
notification that you are breastfeeding, a specific risk assessment must be completed for this.
 Your employer is required to provide somewhere for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to rest. The
Health and Safety Executive recommends to employers that it is good practice to provide a private,
healthy and safe environment for nursing mothers to express and store milk. A toilet is not suitable
for this purpose.
Any Questions?
Toolbox Talk - New and Expectant Mothers

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Key Points to consider are:

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 excessively noisy workplaces.

Toolbox Talk - New and Expectant Mothers

Notes from Presentation:

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