Occupational Risks in Midwifery: From Bernardino Ramazzini to Modern Times

Abstract

Occupational risks are often underestimated in midwifery. It is not commonly known that occupational risks were originally described by the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini (1633–1714) at the beginning of the 18th century. Our aim was to describe occupational risks in midwifery from Ramazzini to modern times. The original text by Bernardino Ramazzini was analyzed. A review of modern scientific articles on occupational risks in midwifery was conducted. Ramazzini identified two major occupational risks in midwifery: infections and awkward postures. Modern literature seems to agree with his considerations, focusing on infection, use of universal protection and personal protective equipment, and musculoskeletal problems. Modern studies also evidenced posttraumatic stress disorder that was probably postulated by Ramazzini himself. The poor number of articles in literature on midwives' occupational risks shows a lack of interest toward this issue. Prevention should therefore be emphasized in this field, so high-quality studies on occupational risks in midwifery are needed.

The Effects of Musculoskeletal Disorders on Professional Quality of Life Among Midwives Working in Delivery Rooms

“…Ramazzini identified two major occupational risks in midwifery: infections and awkward postures. [ 13 ] In the present study, the musculoskeletal problem most experienced by midwives in the last 12 months was pain in the lumbar region (80.7%), followed by back (71.6%) and neck (71.6%) pain. In Turkey, there is no study to identify musculoskeletal disorders in midwives, but there are studies of operating room nurses reporting that they had most pain in the waist (95.2%), back (88%) and neck (87.5%) regions.…”

Perinatal stress events and burnout among midwives in Poland. The mediating role of self-efficacy

“…Despite several decades of research, the relationship between stressful work events and burnout continues to interest researchers (Banovcinova & Baskova, 2014;Creedy et al, 2017). The literature indicates insufficient research on the professional functioning of midwives, although this has been a subject of interest since at least the 18th century (Bianchi et al, 2019). The most recent studies pay particular attention to traumatic stress in this profession.…”

G. B. Morgagni (1682–1771): His contributions to occupational health

“…1 fessor of Theoretical Medicine. 3 Both physicians came from the same geographic area, the historical regions of Emilia and Romagna, in the northeast of Italy, and, they shared the same medical approach, based on neo-Hippocratic and iatro-mechanical theories, trying to connect symptoms and pathological alterations to causes, including occupational ones. 4,5 In his masterpiece, Morgagni frequently cited Ramazzini-named "Ramazzinus noster" (i.e., "our friend Ramazzini") (I, VII, 14) 6 -demonstrating a deep knowledge of his writings.…”