If a woman is exposed to certain pesticides during pregnancy, it could harm her baby’s intelligence, reports New Scientist.
Three research studies were conducted in New York City and California’s Salinas Valley. Researchers assessed the levels of organophosphorus metabolites in the urine of pregnant women or in the umbilical cord blood.
During the Californian study, women were divided into five groups – depending on the level of organophosphates. When their children turned seven, their intelligence was tested. It found that the children of women most exposed to pesticides scored an average of seven points less than those of women who had the least exposure to these substances.
However, no relationship was found between the intelligence of children and the content of pesticide metabolites in their own urine, suggesting that the brain is particularly sensitive when in the womb.
While the women in California may have been exposed to occupational exposure (some of them worked in agriculture during some part of their pregnancy), similar results for New York pregnant women indicate that pesticide residues in food are the main problem, says the head of the California study Brenda Eskenazi from the University of California at Berkeley (PAP)