What is the recommended handling policy for pregnant staff in relation to hazardous drug exposure?

• A. Continue HD work with enhanced PPE.
• B. Provide additional breaks but continue.
• C. Pregnant staff should be reassigned away from HD handling to reduce risk of fetal exposure.
• D. Move to a non-patient-facing role but keep same HD tasks.

Answer: (C)

Pregnant staff should be reassigned away from handling hazardous drugs to reduce fetal exposure. The reason is that hazardous drugs can pose reproductive and fetal risks through any potential exposure—dermal contact, inhalation, or splashes—even with PPE and engineering controls in place. Reassignment removes the worker from the exposure environment entirely, which offers the strongest protection for both mother and fetus.

Other options fall short because they still involve some level of exposure or rely on protective measures that cannot guarantee zero risk. Moving to a non-patient-facing role but continuing HD tasks still means ongoing handling risks, and simply adding breaks or continuing with enhanced PPE does not eliminate exposure. The aim is to minimize fetal risk by eliminating HD handling duties for pregnant staff whenever possible.