Birth defects being linked to father’s employment

While we’ve been warning mothers of birth defects from exposure to harmful chemicals, new research shows us the father’s exposure can be just as damaging.

The study, released Tuesday in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, followed nearly 10,000 fathers with children who were born with birth defects and compared them with 4,000 fathers who have healthy babies.

It found a large number of fathers having babies born with cleft lips, ear deformities and intestinal complications worked with toxic solvents during a critical four-week span of the baby’s development. Specifically, three weeks before the child’s conception through the first week of the fetus in the womb.

Solvents like paint, chemicals, and fine debris found in art studios, photo processing rooms, engineering labs or even outdoors in landscaping supplies, all can potentially cause serious birth defects.

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