Study finds link between weed killer exposure and risk of preterm birth

For decades, glyphosate was hailed as a miracle herbicide—a farmer’s savior.

Glyphosate, the key ingredient in the globally best-selling weedkiller RoundUp, catapulted to greatness when its developer, Monsanto, released its line-up of patented, glyphosate-resistant seeds. This development enabled farmers to spray their entire fields with glyphosate, killing the weeds while sparing their crops. It was an economic game-changer for farmers around the world.

It was almost too good to be true. Then, it was too good to be true.

RoundUp’s glyphosate—the cancer years

In March 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Tens of thousands of plaintiffs came forward with lawsuits claiming that their use of RoundUp and other glyphosate products caused their cancer.

By March 2020, Bayer (the German multinational pharmaceutical giant that purchased Monsanto) responded to a class action with an agreement to pay between $8.8 and $9.6 billion to settle more than 100,000 such claims. The company also earmarked $1.5 billion for the settlement of future claims.

The ubiquity of glyphosate—in the ground, in the water, in the food we eat—should have set expectations for another round of RoundUp concerns. Bayer did not have to wait long for the other shoe to drop. No sooner had the company come up for air from its 2020 settlement than researchers connected the prize herbicide to yet another health concern—preterm births.

Giving pregnant women something new to worry about

On May 19, 2021, Environmental Health Perspectives published research regarding exposure to glyphosate and its environmental degradate, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), and its effect on preterm birth.

University of Michigan researchers conducted their study by gathering urine samples from pregnant women and testing them for prenatal exposure to glyphosate. The study concluded that a pregnant woman who experiences exposure to herbicides in which glyphosate is the main ingredient has a significantly greater chance of going into labor prematurely.

Specifically, women who endure exposure to such weedkillers (including RoundUp) during their third trimester of pregnancy suffer the greatest risk for preterm births. Those who are exposed in the earlier stages of pregnancy did not experience this risk.

How the glyphosate study came about

The University of Michigan study is one of the first—and only—research initiatives that explores the link between glyphosate exposure and preterm birth. The idea to conduct this research came about almost by accident, according to an article in Michigan News.

John Meeker, professor of environmental health sciences and senior associate dean for research at the U-M School of Public Health, was driving along Puerto Rico’s northern coast a few years ago. Accompanying Meeker were several research collaborators, and the group was visiting clinics in the area. At one point, Meeker spotted a sign planted in the lush greenery. It was an advertisement for a popular herbicide.

An environmental factor for preterm births

Meeker thought it would be worthwhile to measure glyphosate, the herbicide’s main ingredient, in study participants in the PROTECT pregnancy and birth cohort. The professor had established this group 12 years earlier to explore the connection between various environmental factors and Puerto Rico’s increasing rate of preterm births.

Adding glyphosate to the mix of previously researched factors (metals, chemicals, and maternal stress) made for a logical next step, given the herbicide’s global penetration and its already-established negative impact on human health.

A closer look at Meeker’s research

The PROTECT cohort knew that measuring glyphosate in urine samples made sense because mammals’ bodies do not largely metabolize glyphosate. The group also included AMPA detection in its analysis, as the substance is a degradation product of glyphosate and takes months to degrade in the environment.

Methodology

Researchers analyzed urine at 16-20 weeks (first trimester) of pregnancy and 24-28 weeks (third trimester) of pregnancy. The test group comprised 247 pregnant women.  When preterm births occurred, the researchers compared each to the mother’s urinary concentrations of glyphosate and AMPA.

The results of this comparison showed that women who had more elevated concentration levels during the third trimester of pregnancy had higher odds of preterm birth. Study participants with such concentrations during the first trimester of pregnancy did not show this association.

Meshing with previous findings

Meeker told Michigan News that the PROTECT study correlated with results from another small study conducted in Indiana. Those findings also drew a connecting line between glyphosate exposure and abbreviated gestation times. Environmental Health published this research in March 2018.

Risks associated with preterm births

Preterm births are those that occur earlier than the normal gestation period of 37 weeks. According to the PROTECT study’s first author, Monica Silver, infants born prematurely suffer a heightened risk for adverse long-term health effects.

The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine (CCJM) reported on the long-term consequences of premature birth in December 2020. According to the article’s authors, the rate of preterm births is on the rise. Because these infants’ organs had less time to develop in utero, the babies suffer a greater risk of several disorders later in life. As they grow older, the children will have to monitor risk factors closely and carefully maintain healthy lifestyles.

The authors explain that organs grow and mature rapidly during the third trimester of pregnancy. As such, their major organs are not fully developed at birth. For this reason, adverse, organ-related disorders can contribute to health problems later in life.

Pulmonary disorders

Premature infants are at risk for neonatal and childhood pulmonary vascular disease. Diminished vascular development could also stress the myocardium, resulting in pulmonary artery hypertension in later years.

Preterm babies also tend to experience more respiratory symptoms in childhood and their young adult years when compared with babies delivered full term. They face a risk of asthma that is four times that of a child born after full gestation, as well as wheezing disorders and overall poorer lung function.

Renal system disorders

The filtering units in the human kidney are called nephrons, as the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) explains. Over 50 percent of a baby’s nephrons are formed during the third trimester of pregnancy. Because a preterm delivery interrupts this “nephrogenesis,” adults born preterm have a higher incidence of kidney disease.

Cardiovascular system disorders

A premature birth interferes with normal cardiac development. This interruption can manifest as vascular abnormalities in adolescence or early adulthood. Furthermore, a preterm infant’s heart endures higher volume loads and pressure than the heart of a baby born at 37 weeks. Some of the impairments associated with these cardiac abnormalities include:

• Cardiac dysfunction
• Hypertension
• Ischemic heart disease
• Heart failure

Central nervous system disorders

The brain is yet another major organ that develops profoundly during the third trimester. When preterm labor interrupts this development, the brain is naturally affected. As CCJM reports, preterm infants suffer a greater risk of cognitive disability, cerebral palsy, and seizure disorder.

Development of the prefrontal cortex and its neural network is interrupted, too, prompting the possibility of behavioral problems in the child. This report also outlines the following neurologic conditions that have been connected to preterm births:

• Mood disorders
• Intellectual disability
• Autism

Endocrine system disorders

The CCJM study’s authors write that preterm deliveries also interrupt the development of the endocrine system. This interference can lead to several endocrine-based disorders, including:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Metabolic syndrome

Adding more glyphosate worries to the pregnancy mix

As if pregnant women did not already have enough to worry about, it seems we cannot go a very long stretch of time before hearing about yet another concern. More and more, these concerns relate to chemicals in the environment.

Glyphosate for breakfast

In June 2019, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported its alarming findings that several popular children’s breakfast cereals were contaminated with glyphosate. Researchers detected the weedkiller ingredient used in RoundUp in 21 oat-based cereals and snack items. Glyphosate levels in 17 of these products were higher than the levels that EWG scientists deemed safe for children.

The link between pesticide and brain cancer

The PROTECT cohort’s revelation comes on the heels of findings published in the June 2021 issue of Environmental Research. The results of this separate study showed that pregnant women who live in geographical proximity to pesticide applications—such as agricultural fields—risked their children suffering from central nervous system tumors.

Glyphosate is everywhere

According to the IARC, of all the herbicides, glyphosate enjoys the greatest production across the globe. The introduction of Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds marked a sharp uptick in the weedkiller’s agricultural applications. However, the substance also appears in urban, home, and forestry industries. People who live near sprayed areas endure the highest levels of exposure to glyphosate, but the substance has been detected in water, food, and the air.

The IARC’s research into glyphosate uncovered “strong evidence” that the substance can harm cells’ DNA, giving rise to cellular mutations that eventually cause cancer. The rates for a specific type of cancer—non-Hodgkin lymphoma—are especially prone to increase with exposure to this herbicide.

Legal options for preterm infants after exposure to glyphosate

Meeker told Michigan News that the public health implications of PROTECT’s findings “could be enormous,” considering that just about everyone is exposed, to some degree or another, to glyphosate—and may not even be aware of this exposure.

Given the potential for long-lasting adverse health effects of preterm births, pregnant women who have been exposed to glyphosate will want to monitor their pregnancies closely. Furthermore, as their preterm babies grow, they will need to be extra vigilant in leading healthy lifestyles and monitoring their health for the development of any preterm-related disorders.

Pursuing compensation for your damages

If you or a loved one experienced exposure to glyphosate and had a preterm delivery—or if you were a preterm infant whose mother was exposed to Roundup or another glyphosate-based weedkiller—you may be entitled to receive compensation for your damages.

The amount of compensation you might receive in your case depends on multiple factors, including the extent to which you have suffered physically, emotionally, and financially as a result of this premature delivery. In many cases, a claimant can expect to collect compensation that covers:

• Medical expenses and treatments (past and future)
• Lost income (past and future)
• Diminished future potential earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Diminished enjoyment of life

Please know that every state enforces its own statute of limitations, requiring that you take legal action for a birth injury within a certain window of time. Our nationwide group of lawyers can tell you what you need to know and represent you in your pursuit of justice.

Contact the attorneys at Birth Injury Lawyers Group for help

A preventable oversight that harms your newborn infant can change everything you envisioned for your child. On top of this, you face years of expenses in—at the very least—monitoring for possible complications from a preterm delivery. You may also experience years of emotional struggle in coping with the potential for or reality of a preterm complication.

Birth Injury Lawyers Group could help alleviate your burden by fighting for the compensation that a weedkiller maker, like Bayer, owes you for exposing you and your child to its chemicals. Call Birth Injury Lawyers Group today for a free consultation.