Researchers at the University of Essex investigated the pregnancy and birth weights of 1,339 participants in the British Family Status Survey (BFS), 17,483 participants in the UK Millennium Study and 12,166 participants in the US National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), all of which were conducted between 1991 and 2005. The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) in the United States and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) in the United States found that the weights of babies born during pregnancy were higher than those born during the sixth month of pregnancy. The results found that babies born to pregnant women who continued to work during the eighth month of pregnancy weighed about 230 grams less than those who stopped working between the sixth and eighth months of pregnancy. The researchers say that working late in pregnancy has the same effect on the fetus as smoking during pregnancy, resulting in slower development of the fetus in the mother’s womb. Previous studies have shown that babies born with low birth weights are more likely to have poorer health and stunted growth. They may also develop a range of problems as they grow up. Not all mainly affects manual laborers and women over the age of 24 However, this effect does not occur in all pregnant women. Citing researchers, the British newspaper The Guardian 28 reported that stopping work early in pregnancy is especially beneficial to women who have less education, suggesting that the effects of late-pregnancy work on the fetus may be directed more toward manual laborers. The researchers also found that the effect of late-pregnancy work on newborn weight was more pronounced in pregnant women over the age of 24, and that continuing to work late in pregnancy had little or no effect on newborn weight in pregnant women under the age of 24. The report written by the researchers was published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Labor Economics. Marco Francesconi, one of the study’s authors, suggested that the government should consider encouraging employers to offer more flexible forms of maternity leave, as women may need more rest before giving birth than after. Francesconi said: “We know that being born underweight can signal a number of problems in adulthood, including less success in school competitions, lower pay and a higher risk of early death. We need to seriously consider when to start taking maternity leave because, as this study shows, the benefits of starting leave before birth can be considerable.”