A new study recently published in Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology suggests that early postnatal household use of pesticides for rodents and insects can harm the psychomotor development of infants in early childhood.
The researchers gave telephone questionnaires to 296 mothers with newborns in the Pregnancy Cohort Maternal Risks and Development of Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES).
MOTHERS
This is one of the first studies to provide evidence that the use of pesticides at home can harm children’s psychomotor development. These results are particularly important for socioeconomically disadvantaged communities that often find poor housing conditions and jointly experience a high burden of exposure to environmental and adverse chemicals. health effects.
The researchers evaluated pesticide use in the home when the babies were three months old. Using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, the researchers assessed gross and fine motor development when the babies were six months old.
Babies with mother-reported home use of pesticides for rodents and insects had significantly reduced psychomotor performance relative to babies without reported use of home pesticides.