Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are learning more concerning the effects of herbicide exposure while pregnant, finding glyphosate in 99 percent of the pregnant women they observed within the Midwest. Within the study, published recently in Environmental Health, higher glyphosate levels were related to lower birth weight and can also result in higher neonatal intensive care unit admission risk.

That is the second small-scale study the researchers have conducted with significant findings. The team’s previous study, published in 2018, was the primary study to verify 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. But little is thought about how these chemicals can impact fetal development in humans.”

Paul Winchester, MD, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Study’s Lead Creator

Glyphosate is a chemical, commonly present in Roundup, used to kill weeds. It’s utilized by farmers and homeowners across the USA, but especially within the Midwest on corn and soybeans. Previous studies have shown people could be exposed to glyphosate in all of the foods they eat, even packaged or organic foods.

Over the course of several years, researchers observed a cohort of 187 pregnant women in Indiana, collecting urine samples in the primary trimester of their pregnancies. All but considered one of the ladies had glyphosate detected of their urine.

Winchester said previous studies have shown a wide range of negative effects of pesticide exposure in animal models, but not much is thought concerning the impact on fetal development in humans.

“As a neonatologist, I’m seeing increasingly infants with problems like low birth weight in addition to moms with issues like obesity or gestational diabetes,” Winchester said. “We want to maintain studying these herbicides long run to learn the way they could possibly be causing these issues and what we are able to do to stop them.”

Researchers hope to review glyphosate exposure in a bigger group of pregnant women over time.

This study was a collaborative effort with Franciscan Health in Indianapolis, University of California San Francisco, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and King’s College London School of Medicine.

Source:

Indiana University School of Medicine

Journal reference:

Gerona, R.R., et al. (2022) Glyphosate exposure in early pregnancy and reduced fetal growth: a prospective observational study of high-risk pregnancies. Environmental Health. doi.org/10.1186/s12940-022-00906-3.