You’re Pregnant. Now What?

When a female officer gets pregnant, she must be aware of an array of possible risk factors, including chemical hazards, firearms and other issues.

After researching pregnancy and police officer issues, it appears stress may be the biggest problem for women who are pregnant or who want to become pregnant due to lack of department support. Most departments classify pregnancy under “illness” when it comes to categorizing how the pregnancy will be dealt with in an administrative way.

Social pressures that accompany being a pregnant officer in a male-dominated occupation include the continued pressures to be a good mother and employee at the same time as the child grows. At times, this seems like an impossible task. Many male officers believe a pregnant officer or mother can’t do her job properly because she has to take time to care for her children and should look for a different type of job.

Let’s delve deeper into the risks of being a pregnant officer.

First, there are the unexpected risks involved with firearms during pregnancy. There’s always the obvious risk of being shot. Other risks involved with being around firearms include noise and exposure to lead or other chemicals involved in cleaning a gun.

Noise exposure to a fetus is a matter of serious concern. By 16 weeks of gestation, a fetus responds to sound. By 24 weeks, the ear is structurally complete. The amount of sound blocked by ear protection while firing a gun is significantly higher than the amount of sound blocked going into the womb.

Several studies testing the levels of sound reaching the womb vary according to where and how the microphones have been placed, but there’s no doubt that the sound of gunfire reaches a fetus in the womb. The dangers of exposing a fetus to a loud noise while in the womb include miscarriage, retardation, hearing loss in the baby and decreased birth weight.   

Exposure to lead is another serious issue during pregnancy. Should a female officer qualify with her weapon during pregnancy? It’s generally considered safe if reasonable precautions are taken. While it’s a risk every pregnant woman needs to be aware of, some precautions can be taken, such as qualifying at an outdoor range where ventilation is good, wearing a mask rated for filtering lead, and avoiding other shooters to limit lead exposure.

Designating someone to pick up the brass after shooting can also help limit exposure to lead or other chemicals. The dangers to a fetus from lead exposure include miscarriage, low birth weight, premature delivery, small head circumference, infant and childhood behavioral issues, and pre-eclampsia. Several studies report that these issues can occur at lead exposure levels that are considered acceptable.

To further limit lead exposure, it’s important to wash your hands with cold water after handling firearms or ammunition. Also don’t eat or drink at the range, and change your clothes immediately after qualifying or practicing.

Toxic substance exposure is another serious issue officers need to be aware of while pregnant. There’s almost no information available about the risks associated with exposure to flares, drug-testing kits, fingerprint kits and solvents. Chemicals that officers come into contact with while dealing with firearms include arsenic, barium and copper.

How does this compare to the smoke from flares used during traffic enforcement? Flares shouldn’t be inhaled, and the boxes are labeled with warnings about how long a person can be exposed to them while they are burning. I’ve lit a new flare from the burning end of another flare many times and inhaled the smoke. What are the consequences of breathing in those fumes? More studies are needed to determine the effects of this and other chemicals officers are regularly exposed to.

Researching pregnancy and female police officers can raise new questions. Even if the issues surrounding a pregnancy aren
’t discriminatory, a policy needs to be put in place. For issues involving stress, culture, or firearms and chemical exposures, women need to speak up, because what affects a pregnant officer ultimately affects everyone.

Lori M. Connelly is a retired officer from a large police department in the Southwestern part of the United States. 

Related Articles:

Note: The views expressed by guest bloggers and contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Campus Safety magazine.

If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century

This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!

Get Our Newsletters
Campus Safety Conference promo