Children, conceived during the summer could be less intelligent than their peers.
Reseearch has suggested that spring babies don't do as well at school because of exposure to high levels of pesticides during early pregnancy when brain development is most active. Researcher Paul Winchester, a consultant gynaecologist,looked at the exam performance of more than 1.5million children aged between eight and fifteen along with levels of pesticides throughout the year. H discovered that children conceived in summer did less well in English and maths. Although he admitted the research did not comprehensively prove that pesticides were to blame, it 'strongly supported such a hypothesis.'
Speaking at the the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual conference in the USA, Dr Winchester said, "The foetal brain begins developing soon after conception. The pesticides we use to control pests in fields and our homes and the nitrates we use to fertilise our crops and even our lawns are at their highest level in summer. Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal milieu of the pregnant mother and the developing foetal brain."
The same study also showed that more premature babies are born when pesticide use is at its highest.
Georgina Downs, of the UK Pesticides Campaign, said, "Pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies and young children and those who are ill already are particularly vulnerable to the effects of pesticides."
May 2007
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