<![CDATA[Background: Preeclampsia remains a major obstetric problem because it contributes to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Gestational age and maternal employment may be related to its occurrence, although occupational risk depends on the type and intensity of work. Objective: To analyze the association of gestational age and employment status with preeclampsia among women treated at Bhayangkara Hospital Makassar. Methods: This observational analytic study used a retrospective cross-sectional approach based on secondary medical-record data. The study included 80 women from an initial population of 100 deliveries recorded in the source report. Gestational age was categorized by trimester and employment status as working or not working. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were performed. An exact test was used for the 3×2 gestational-age table because of small expected cell counts, while the association between employment and preeclampsia was assessed using Pearson's chi-square test and odds ratio (OR). Results: Preeclampsia was identified in 32 women (40.0%). All preeclampsia cases occurred in the third trimester; the association between gestational-age category and preeclampsia was significant (p<0.001). Preeclampsia occurred in 25 of 43 working women (58.1%) and 7 of 37 non-working women (18.9%). Working women had higher unadjusted odds of preeclampsia (OR=5.95; 95% CI: 2.14–16.54; p<0.001). Conclusion: Gestational-age category and employment status were associated with preeclampsia in this hospital sample. The findings should be interpreted cautiously because the analyses were unadjusted and employment was measured only as a binary status.]]>
