Article by Niranjana Rajalakshmi, University Communications, March 13, 2026 at
https://news.arizona.edu/news/new-u-study-expands-pesticide-risk-window-pregnancy

Review by Diane Keeney, Middle Tennessee Group

A new study* published by scientists at the University of Arizona found that exposure of mothers to pesticides during preconception and pregnancy was strongly correlated with poorer health of their children at birth.

"What's new in this study is that we identified the preconception period as a possible sensitive window of exposure to some of the commonly used pesticides, said Audrey Yang, a graduate student at the College of Medicine – Tucson and the study's first author”.

Source:
*Yang, A.R., Parra, K.L., Paul, K.C. et al. Residential proximity to agricultural pesticide
exposures during preconception and pregnancy and associations with Apgar scores in
the Az-PEAR study (2006–2020). J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol (2026).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-026-00849-8