Examining the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mother and baby health.

Over the last decade, more than 50,000 pregnancy discrimination claims were filed in the United States (United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [U.S. EEOC], 2018a). While pregnancy discrimination claims remain prevalent, research examining the effects of pregnancy discrimination on the well-being and health of working mothers and their babies is lacking. As such, we aim to examine the role of perceived pregnancy discrimination in the workplace on health outcomes for mothers and their babies via mother's stress. We draw on the occupational stress literature and medical research to propose that perceived pregnancy discrimination indirectly relates to mother and baby health via the mother's perceived stress. In our first study, we examine the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mothers' postpartum depressive symptoms via perceived stress. In our second study, we replicate and extend our first study and examine the effects of perceived pregnancy discrimination on mothers' postpartum depressive symptoms and babies' gestational age, Apgar scores, birth weight, and number of doctors' visits, through the mechanism of perceived stress. We find that perceived pregnancy discrimination indirectly relates to increased levels of postpartum depressive symptoms for the mothers, and lower birth weights, lower gestational ages, and increased number of doctors' visits for the babies, via perceived stress of the mothers during pregnancy. Implications for theory and practice, limitations, and future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Pushed out or opting out? Integrating perspectives on gender differences in withdrawal attitudes during pregnancy.

In light of recent research suggesting mothers are more likely to withdraw from work than fathers are, we assess the relative contributions of popular "pushed-out" and "opting-out" perspectives over the course of their pregnancies. As pregnancy is a pivotal time for the reevaluation of work and life roles, we investigate the degree to which gender differences in changes in turnover intentions and intentions to return to the workforce are explained by changes in perceived career encouragement from organizational members (a pushed-out factor), as well as changes in the employees' own career motivation (an opting-out factor), throughout pregnancy. We also examine the relationships between these pushed-out and opting-out variables over time. Using latent growth modeling, we find support for the notion that women's perceptions of being pushed out may lead to women's opting out of their organizations. We find that gender (being female) indirectly relates to an increase in turnover intentions and a decrease in career motivation throughout pregnancy, as explained by decreases in perceptions of career encouragement (for women) at work. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).