The State : Miscarriages Rattle Nurses

Half the pregnancies among nurses who work at nurseries in Sacramento’s Kaiser Permanente Medical Center ended in miscarriages over the last three years, the California Nurses Assn. said. The nurses are calling for an investigation. Janet Sass-McDermott, labor representative for the association, said four of five pregnant nurses who work in the intensive care and intermediate care nurseries miscarried last fall. “We don’t have any proof at this point that the workplace is causing (the miscarriages),� Sass-McDermott said. “Certainly, a number of the nurses are very concerned that there is a correlation.� The approximately 40 nurses who work in the nurseries have asked the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety to conduct a study. Sass-McDermott said the 50% miscarriage rate was based on an informal survey of nursery nurses at the hospital.