Healthy beginnings: Guidance on safe maternity at work

In order for work to be decent, women workers need to be protected during maternity – protected from losing their jobs and protected from any risks to their health or that of their babies.

This guide looks at maternity protection in the workplace, focusing on measures that can be taken to ensure a healthy beginning for both the mother and her child.

The starting point is the Maternity Protection Convention (No. 183), which was adopted by the International Labour Conference in 2000, in particular, the health protection measures that are foreseen in the Convention and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191).

The material in this guide sets out basic principles and, in an effort to be relevant to a maximum number of settings, provides a wide range of information on reproductive hazards and how to prevent harm. Annexes provide a choice of practical tools which will be helpful in identifying workplace risks and finding solutions.