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Exposure to Fluoride During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Neurobehavioral Problems in Children
Just another reason why toxic fluoride compounds should not be added to the U.S. water supply.
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In case you need yet another reason to avoid fluoride, a new study suggests fluoride exposure during pregnancy poses a significant risk to the developing brain and may increase neurobehavioral problems in young children.
Researchers in a study published on May 20 in JAMA Network Open found women with higher fluoride exposure during pregnancy were 83% more likely to rank their children under age 3 higher on a child behavior checklist for neurobehavioral problems such as emotional reactivity, anxiety, and somatic complaints—physical symptoms that cause significant distress or problems functioning.
Furthermore, higher exposure levels increased the risk of neurobehavioral problems considered borderline clinical or in the clinical range, and mothers with higher levels were more likely to have children with symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Researchers calculated fluoride exposure from urine samples provided by 229 pregnant women during their third trimester. The participants resided in a predominately fluoridated region with fluoride exposures typical of other communities in the United States.
These findings suggest there “may be a need to establish recommendations for limiting exposure to fluoride from all sources during the prenatal period, a time when the developing brain is known to be especially vulnerable to injury from environmental insults,” the authors wrote.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Ashley Malin, is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and UF College of Medicine. She said that taken with other recent studies on the effects of fluoride on young children’s IQ, the findings suggest fluoride may adversely affect fetal brain development.
“There is no known benefit of fluoride consumption to the developing fetus, but we do know that there is possibly a risk to their developing brain,” Dr. Malin said. “We found that each 0.68 milligram per liter increase in fluoride levels in the pregnant women’s urine was associated with nearly double the odds of children scoring in the clinical or borderline clinical range for neurobehavioral problems at age 3, based on their mother’s reporting.”
Yet, according to NBC News, the study’s authors said it’s too soon to stop adding fluoride to drinking water, despite the fact fluoride that compounds do not prevent cavities and are poisonous to humans—even in small amounts.
Fluoride science is about as legitimate as tobacco and vaccine “science.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 73% of the U.S. population in 2020 received fluoridated water through public water systems, which makes its way into water used for drinking, cooking, and bathing. Flouride is also in other products, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, and yogurt.
Numerous studies show that fluoride—added to water in the form of sodium fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate, and fluorosilicic acid—is toxic, reaffirming the results of the JAMA study.
In a recently published study in Science of the Total Environment, researchers found maternal exposure to fluoride at 0.7 mg/L in drinking water was associated with poorer inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, especially in girls.
A December 2021 study published in Neurotoxicology found maternal exposure to fluoride at typical levels hindered cognitive performance in boys 12 to 24 months of age.
In a September 2021 study in Environmental Research, scientists found fluoride exposure lower than U.S. levels may be associated with negative neurodevelopment outcomes, especially in boys during pregnancy and in girls during infancy.
Likewise, a 2017 study published in Environmental Health Research found higher prenatal fluoride exposure, in the typical range for pregnant women and non-pregnant adults, was associated with worse cognitive function in offspring at age 4 and 6 to 12 years.
In a 2018 paper, researchers sought to examine the association between fluoride exposure during pregnancy and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They collected urine samples from 213 mothers during pregnancy and conducted child assessments for ADHD-like behaviors at ages 6 to 12. The study showed higher levels of fluoride exposure during pregnancy are associated with more ADHD symptoms in children.
A recent systematic review conducted by the National Toxicology Program found “with moderate confidence” that higher fluoride exposure is consistently associated with lower IQ in children.
Even though many of these studies are funded by U.S. health and regulatory agencies, these entities will not voluntarily limit fluoride. They will continue to say that the risks fluoride poses to developing babies and the brain are outweighed by the supposed benefits it provides to teeth.
Therefore, it’s up to parents to protect themselves and their children from fluoride and limit their risk of exposure—both during pregnancy and after.
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