A research has found that if pregnant women whose jobs require too much exposure to solvents like kerosene, gasoline,glues etc may be more likely to have chilren with defective eyesight. Head researcher Dr. Gideon Koren and colleagues, from Toronto published this in Jornal of Occupational health.
They found that poor vision acuity (sharpness) were more common among children whose mothers were frequently exposed to organic solvents at work during their pregnancies than among children whose mothers were not exposed. This is the first study to look at the effects of prenatal exposure on offspring.The researchers compared the vision of 43 children between 3 and 6 years old whose mothers were frequently exposed on the job to organic solvents with 29 children whose mothers were not exposed. . The researchers found a significantly higher number of children with color blindness and poorer visual acuity among the group whose mothers were exposed to organic solvents at work.
The mothers of the affected children had jobs in the auto or paint industries or in laboratories. However, according to Dr. Koren, the findings suggest that exposure to levels of toxins such as lead and mercury considered safe for an adult woman might not be safe for her unborn child.
