If You Want A Healthy Baby, Stay Away From Pesticides

If You Want A Healthy Baby, Stay Away From Pesticides
Easy Health Options Staff | Apr 09, 2012 | Comments 1

All of us have pesticides stored in our bodies. We may consume these chemicals in food or absorb them through the skin when we walk on pesticide-treated lawns. Once absorbed, these chemicals often remain stored in body fat.

For a fetus in the womb, these toxins may present a special danger. Research on 306 expectant mothers in Cincinnati found that those with the greatest amount of pesticide residues gave birth to babies that, on average, were a third of a pound lighter than the babies born to mothers with less exposure. These kids were also born, on average, a half-week earlier.

Both of these consequences of pesticides — being born earlier and at a lighter weight — can impair a newborn’s health.

The researchers who performed this study urge women of childbearing age to eat organic foods (raised without the use of pesticides), and not to use pesticides in the home or yard.