Helping women but hurting ourselves? Neck and upper back musculoskeletal symptoms in a cohort of Australian Midwives

Objective: To determine the prevalence of neck and upper back musculoskeletal symptoms in a group of Australian midwives and explore individual characteristics and workplace exposures associated with these symptoms. Design: Cross-sectional, using data from the Nurses and Midwives e-Cohort Study, a longitudinal, electronic survey of midwives and nurses in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Setting: Data were collected via an online survey in 20062008. Participants: Qualified Australian midwives aged 23-70 years. Measurements and Findings: We undertook descriptive analysis of the sample, calculated prevalence and examined associations between individual and workplace variables and neck and upper back musculoskeletal symptoms. Variables achieving p