Executive summary: A new study of low-income minority pregnant women in the United States finds that newborns are commonly exposed to environmental pollutants, many of which are found at higher levels in newborns than in pregnant women. A new study of low-income minority pregnant women in the United States finds that they are widely exposed to environmental pollutants, with many newborns having higher levels of pollutants than pregnant women.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco collected blood samples from 77 pregnant women between 2010 and 2011, as well as umbilical cord blood samples from 65 of them during childbirth. The pregnant women, mostly from Hispanic and low-income families, sought care at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. The researchers measured levels of PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds, mercury and lead in blood samples of 59 common industrial and agricultural pollutants in the environment.
In previous studies, multiple types of these chemicals were found in more than 99 percent of pregnant women in the United States, according to National Health and Nutrition Examination Examination data. In the latest study of 59 toxic chemicals, a median of 25 were found in blood samples from pregnant women and a median of 17 were found in cord blood samples. Eight chemicals were present in cord blood samples.
U.S. pregnant women\’s exposure to a variety of harmful industrial chemicals has been linked to premature birth, low birth weight and birth defects, said study senior author Tracy Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. New research finds that many chemicals are absorbed by the fetus in greater amounts than by the pregnant woman itself, which can have serious consequences for the health of the developing fetus.
Additionally, nearly 80 percent of the chemicals detected in maternal blood samples were also detected in cord blood samples, suggesting that these chemicals cross the placenta and enter the fetus.
Woodruff said the findings point to the need to educate policymakers and the public about the health risks of exposure to chemicals during pregnancy to mothers and babies, and to reduce exposure to these chemicals at the source.