Young brain damage if mother is infected with pesticides

According to a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences magazine, published on April 30, when a pregnant woman is exposed to pesticides, even moderately, the child's brain can be changed The structure makes children less intelligent.

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The study was conducted for 369 pregnant mothers in New York City, who visited because of exposure to chlorpyrifos or CPF, which is widely used to eliminate pests in farms and areas. public, and this study was conducted before 2001, the time when CPF was banned for domestic use in the United States.

The researchers compared 20 children, aged 5-11, whose mothers were tested to have the highest CPF infection, found that 'there were significant abnormalities' in their brain structures. with 20 children whose mothers were exposed less to this substance.

It is worth noting that all pregnant women covered by this study were exposed to a lower level than the acute threshold prescribed by the US. This suggests that even expectant mothers who are only moderately exposed can jeopardize their brain development.

Virginia Rauh, a professor at the Mailman School of Public Health and Deputy Director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, said: 'This study is evidence that pregnancy is a vulnerable time. injury to the development of the fetus. Exposure to toxic substances during this critical time can have unpredictable effects on brain development as well as personality behavior. '