The Tragic Troubles with Chlorine and Pregnancy

A study published in Epidemiology in 1998 found that one of the DBP's called bromodichloromethane was associated with spontaneous abortion in women who drank more than 5 glasses per day of tap water.

A study, led by California health department investigators Kirsten Waller and Shanna Swann, examined the records of 5,144 pregnant women from the Fontana, Santa Clara and Walnut Creek areas.

The study, found that women who drank five or more glasses of tap water per day with at least 75 micrograms per liter of THMs had an increased risk of miscarriage.

A study by researchers from the University of Birmingham has shown some very disturbing news linking chlorine, found in regular tap water, to tragic and increased difficulties with pregnancies.

The danger of exposure to pregnant women happens when the chemical by-products of chlorination called trihalomethanes (THM's) are absorbed through the skin and then transmitted to the womb.

Studies have linked THM's with:

1. Low birth weight newborns
2. Children with heart problems
3. Cleft palate
4. Major brain defects
5. Spina bifida
6. Anencephalus, a brain condition, rose to 17 percent in high THM areas
7. Hole-in-the-heart defects nearly doubled
8. Neurological abnormalities in infants
9. Increased incidences of neural tube defects
10. Congenital anomalies including NTD
11. Cardiac anomalies
12. Urinary tract defects

Content Canadian study from Dalhousie University reported that women who drink or bathe in water containing these chemical compounds increase their risk for stillbirths.

High levels of THM's (trihalomethanes) may also have an effect on pregnancy. A California study found that pregnant women who drank large amounts of tap water with high THM's had an increased risk of miscarriage.

A study, led by California health department investigators Kirsten Waller and Shanna Swann, examined the records of 5,144 pregnant women from the Fontana, Santa Clara and Walnut Creek areas.

The study, found that women who drank five or more glasses of tap water per day with at least 75 micrograms per liter of THMs had an increased risk of miscarriage.

A study conducted by Windham et al. (2003) suggests that THM exposure in chlorine may affect ovarian function.