Neurodevelopment in children born to women exposed to pesticides during pregnancy

With the global rise in pesticide use, particularly in Africa, pregnant women working in horticulture face a significant risk of pesticide exposure, which may adversely affect fetal neurodevelopment. This study aims to investigate the relationship between self-reported maternal pesticide exposure during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes in their children, aged 4 to 6 years.

A cross-sectional design was employed, involving 432 mother-child pairs from three horticulture-intensive regions in Tanzania. Maternal exposure to pesticides was assessed by interviewing the mothers, using self-reported questions about activities during pregnancy, including pesticide spraying, weeding, and handling contaminated clothing. Children’s neurodevelopment was evaluated using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA), which measures domains such as motor skills, literacy, numeracy, social-emotional development, and executive function.

The children of mothers reporting engaging in pesticide spraying during pregnancy scored significantly lower in social-emotional (β = −6.813, 95% CI: −11.53 to −2.096, p = 0.005) and executive function (β = −9.317, 95% CI: −16.007 to - 2.627, p = 0.006) domains, using linear regression analyses. Children exhibited the highest performance scores in fine and gross motor skills (mean = 62.11±19.3), while the lowest mean scores were in executive function (43.97±24.3). The study also found that older children (aged 6 years) consistently outperformed younger children across all developmental domains.

These findings indicate a relationship between maternal pesticide exposure during pregnancy and adverse neurodevelopment outcomes of their children. However, as the pesticide exposure is based on self-reports, the results should be interpreted with caution. There is a clear need for comprehensive risk assessments that include objective pesticide exposure measurements, particularly in horticulture settings where women of reproductive age constitute a significant portion of the workforce.