NIOSH to research chemical exposures and birth defects
To learn whether exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals in the workplace increases the risk of birth defects, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers are partnering with the Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (CBDRP) on one of the largest birth-defects prevention research efforts in the nation. NIOSH researchers hope to address some key questions:
The CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities is funding and coordinating the research. The first part, called the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), collected information from voluntary participants about health and lifestyle, including their work before and during pregnancy. Between 1997 and 2011, more than 30,000 mothers of babies with birth defects, identified through population-based birth defects surveillance systems, and 10,000 mother of babies without birth defects participated in the study.