{"id":41263,"date":"2026-03-27T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T04:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=41263"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:32:39","slug":"preconception-and-prenatal-maternal-exposure-to-pesticides-linked-to-neonatal-health-risks-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2026\/03\/preconception-and-prenatal-maternal-exposure-to-pesticides-linked-to-neonatal-health-risks-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Preconception and Prenatal Maternal Exposure to Pesticides Linked to Neonatal Health Risks, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, March 27, 2026) In a study of birth outcomes in Arizona, published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology<\/em><\/a>, researchers find that preconception and prenatal exposure to certain carbamates<\/a>, organophosphates<\/a>, and pyrethroids<\/a> increases the risk of lower Apgar scores, a metric used to assess neonatal health at one minute and \ufb01ve minutes after birth. The results reveal that exposure to \u201cseveral pesticide active ingredients at any point during preconception and\/or pregnancy were associated with increased odds of low Apgar scores: the carbamates carbaryl<\/a> and formetanate hydrochloride<\/a>; the organophosphates diazinon<\/a> and tribufos<\/a>; and the pyrethroid cypermethrin<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This multi-institutional study, led by the University of Arizona with researchers from Harvard Chan School of Public Health and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, provides novel insights, as it incorporates pesticide exposure over a 15-year period both before conception and throughout pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo analyze associations of preconception and prenatal exposures to carbamate, organophosphate, and pyrethroid pesticide classes and 25 individual active ingredients with newborn Apgar scores to evaluate the relationship between these exposures and neonatal health,\u201d the authors explain. They continue: \u201cWe used pesticide use registry and birth certificate data from 2006 to 2020, linked as part of the Arizona Pregnant Women\u2019s Environmental and Reproductive Outcomes Study (Az-PEARS). Exposures were measured as binary variables and defined as living within 500\u2009m of an agricultural pesticide application during preconception (T0, 90 days before conception) and each trimester (T1\u2013T3).\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional positive associations between lower Apgar scores are noted for ethephon<\/a>, phorate<\/a>, and beta-cyfluthrin<\/a> during T0, methomyl<\/a> during T1, and esfenvalerate<\/a> and fenpropathrin<\/a> during T2. This highlights how residential proximity to agricultural pesticide exposure can threaten infant health, even prior to conception.<\/p>\n

Study Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

While previous research connects pesticide exposures to adverse health effects, such as in the reproductive<\/a>, endocrine<\/a>, nervous<\/a>, and immune<\/a> systems of the human body and particularly in children<\/a>, \u201c[f]ew studies have investigated how ambient preconception and prenatal exposures to pesticide active ingredients affect neonatal health, despite the importance of studying sensitive windows of exposure.\u201d Many studies of infant health include assessing biomarkers from birth cohort studies, which can determine gestational exposures to certain pesticide classes, but have results only within a narrow window of time. (See research here<\/a> and here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

In referencing maternal residential proximity to pesticide use with Apgar scores in infants, this shows the connection between pre-birth pesticide exposure and neonatal health. Apgar scores, with the highest value being ten, are calculated for newborns one minute after birth and then again five minutes after birth by evaluating characteristics that include skin color, heart rate, re\ufb02exes, muscle tone, and breathing. \u201cPrevious studies have demonstrated that this scoring system may have predictive value for short-term brain damage and survivability in preterm infants,\u201d the researchers share. (See studies here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.) Additional research suggests that Apgar scores less than seven predict neurological disorders<\/a> and respiratory distress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Methodology and Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The state of Arizona is one of only two states, along with California, that have a legislatively mandated public pesticide use registry (PUR) database for tracking of commercial and agricultural applications. \u201cThis study used the state of Arizona\u2019s PUR, linked to Arizona birth certi\ufb01cates, to analyze the association of residential proximity during preconception and pregnancy to carbamate, organophosphate, and pyrethroid pesticide classes and their speci\ufb01c active ingredients agriculturally applied from 2006 to 2020, with newborn \ufb01ve-minute Apgar scores,\u201d the authors state.<\/p>\n

To connect the use of agricultural pesticides in areas near where the mothers lived (within 500 m), the PUR records were compared with geocoded birth certi\ufb01cates, provided by Arizona\u2019s Department of Health Services, along with data from the Arizona Pregnant Women\u2019s Environmental and Reproductive Outcomes Study (Az-PEARS). The total sample size for the study includes 1,141,806 newborns and assesses exposure to a total of 25 active ingredients within the carbamate, organophosphate, and pyrethroid pesticide classes.<\/p>\n

The Apgar scores were obtained from birth certi\ufb01cates. While this included both Apgar scores for one minute and five minutes after birth, the study focuses on Apgar scores taken \ufb01ve minutes after birth as they are \u201cstronger predictors<\/a> of neonatal survival compared to the one-minute score.\u201d The researchers continue, saying: \u201cWe examined pesticide exposures occurring at any point during preconception and\/or pregnancy (T0\u2013T3) as well as exposures during speci\ufb01c exposure periods. Each model included pesticide active ingredients with at least \ufb01ve newborns exposed either during preconception and\/ or in utero and having a low \ufb01ve-minute Apgar score (<8).\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, a total of 24,272 newborns had a \ufb01ve-minute Apgar score below eight. Prior to conception, 5567 mothers were exposed to a carbamate, 16,344 were exposed to an organophosphate, and 26,059 were exposed to a pyrethroid pesticide based on residential proximity to an agricultural source. \u201cSigni\ufb01cant associations were found for the carbamates carbaryl and formetanate hydrochloride, the organophosphates diazinon and phorate, and the pyrethroids cy\ufb02uthrin, esfenvalerate, and zeta-cypermethrin,\u201d the authors report. This provides evidence that agricultural exposure before and during pregnancy is positively associated with lower Apgar scores and could threaten infant health.<\/p>\n

Study Limitations<\/strong><\/p>\n

While this study provides crucial insights into a specific area of science that has not been extensively researched, there are a few drawbacks that the researchers recognize and point out. The methodology does not take exposure to multiple pesticides into account, which is a more accurate representation of how exposure occurs since pesticide mixtures<\/a> are encountered as opposed to single active ingredients one at a time.<\/p>\n

The authors also note: \u201cThe limitations of this study include that only carbamates, organophosphates, and pyrethroids applied at rates that allowed for statistical analysis with suf\ufb01cient power were analyzed; therefore, some pesticide active ingredients within these pesticide classes and other pesticide classes were not addressed. Due to a lack of available data, other sources of pesticide exposures outside of agricultural applications, such as residential use, occupational use, and dietary exposures, were not considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with 19th News<\/a><\/em>, one of the lead authors on the study, Melissa Furlong, PhD, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Arizona, adds: \u201cThis is just one metric of exposure to these pesticides, but it\u2019s concerning because the general population is still exposed to these ingredients… The research would have implications for household use and for residues on fruits and vegetables.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous Research<\/strong><\/p>\n

While there is limited scientific literature connecting preconception and prenatal pesticide exposure to lower Apgar scores, there is a wide body of science linking pesticide exposures to adverse health outcomes in infants. (See Beyond Pesticides\u2019 Daily News<\/em> coverage on infants and children<\/a>, as well as the Pesticide-Induced Diseases: Birth\/Fetal Effects<\/a> resource.)<\/p>\n

Cited within the current study, this includes:<\/p>\n