As first seen on Sustainable Pulse:

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are learning more about the effects of herbicide exposure during pregnancy, finding glyphosate in 99 percent of the pregnant women they observed in the Midwest. In the study, published recently in Environmental Health, higher glyphosate levels were associated with lower birth weight and may also lead to higher neonatal intensive care unit admission risk.

This is the second small-scale study the researchers have conducted with significant findings. The team’s previous study, published in 2018, was the first study to confirm glyphosate in 93 percent of pregnancies which found associations with shortened pregnancies. Other recent studies have also confirmed their findings.

“Pesticide exposure in pregnancy, especially in early pregnancy, can imprint DNA and alter gene expression,” said Paul Winchester, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics and the study’s lead author. “But little is known about how these chemicals can impact fetal development in humans.”

“Como neonatólogo, veo cada vez más bebés con problemas como bajo peso al nacer, así como madres con problemas como obesidad o diabetes gestacional”, dijo Winchester. “Necesitamos seguir estudiando estos herbicidas a largo plazo para descubrir cómo podrían estar causando estos problemas y qué podemos hacer para prevenirlos”.

Los investigadores esperan estudiar la exposición al glifosato en un grupo más grande de mujeres embarazadas con el tiempo.

Este estudio fue un esfuerzo de colaboración con Franciscan Health en Indianápolis, la Universidad de California en San Francisco, la Universidad de Arkansas para Ciencias Médicas y la Facultad de Medicina de King's College London.

Read the full article here.