In another bit of scary pesticide-related news, there is some evidence that pesticides consumed by a pregnant mother may be attacking the nervous system of her unborn child, increasing the risk of a diagnosis of ADHD for that child by the time he or she reaches the age of five.
The report was published in Environmental Health Perspectives that linked the amount of pesticide breakdown in a pregnant woman’s urine with the increased risk for ADHD.
Linda Carroll at MSNBC.com also picked up on this report and did a whole story about it. One of their quoted experts says that it is human nature to freak out about this information. As a mom of three who wasn’t previously aware of the dirty dozen and pesticide issues with produce, yes, I am a little freaked out.
The levels checked in the study are related to chemicals called organophosphates. These pesticides work by attacking the nervous systems of insects. Could they also be attacking delicate developing fetal nervous systems as well?
I tried to eat a healthy diet with each of my children, including plenty of fresh produce. I stayed away from x-rays and standing in front of the microwave, but I wonder if the cravings for fresh fruit with my daughter will lead to a ADHD and harder life for her, or if drinking city water while living away from an agricultural area might decrease the risk. It is hard to know for sure.
There are so many children of whom my family are acquainted and who have been diagnosed with ADHD. But were pesticides really the cause? We know a set of twins. One child had a pretty bad case of ADHD, while the other is unaffected. They obviously had the same fetal environment and were exposed to the same things, chemical or otherwise in the womb.
What do you think? Should we be worried about pesticides during pregnancy, or it is all so much hype?