College-Educated During Women Pregnancy Are More Likely to Work During Pregnancy % of women who worked while pregnant with first child, by education
Highly educated women are more likely to work during the pregnancy preceding their first birth than less educated women. The latest data indicate that 87% of women with a bachelor’s degree or higher worked while pregnant with their first child. By contrast, just 28% of women without a high school diploma worked while pregnant with their first child, a disparity that parallels full-time employment rates by educational attainment more broadly.
College-Educated During Women Pregnancy Are More  | Likely to Work During Pregnancy  | % of women who worked while pregnant with  | first child, by education  | Total  | 66%  | Bachelor's degree or higher  | 87  | Some college  | 71  | High so hool graduate  | 50  | Less than high school  | 28  | Note: Based on women who had first birth between 2006-08  | Source: U S. Census Bureau, Maternity Leave and  | Employment Patterns of First Time Mothers: 1961-2008:"  | Employment October 2011  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 