While news of the Flint water crisis broke a few years ago, its effects are still ongoing. According to a new study, the lead-poisoned water from the Flint River led to fewer pregnancies and more fetal deaths for Michigan women and their unborn children.
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Researchers from West Virginia University and the University of Kansas conducted a study to determine the link between lead-poisoned water and fertility and birth outcomes in Flint.
To do so, they used data from the Michigan Department of Community Health to compare the birth and fetal death rates in Flint with those in other Michigan cities, including Lansing, Grand Rapids, Dearborn and Detroit.
After analyzing the data, they found that fertility rates among Flint women decreased by 12 percent and fetal death rates increased by 58 percent, which the authors described as “horrifyingly large, after April 2014. Other Michigan cities did not show such disparities.
In 2014, Flint officials cut the cost of its water system by breaking ties with Detroit’s to establish an independent one that would include a pipeline to Lake Huron. Since the project would take years to fund, officials decided to temporarily use the Flint River, without properly treating it, as a primary water source until the new system was complete.
Researchers have since reported increased levels of lead, which could negatively affect the brain, kidney and liver, as a result of the switch.
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Although the city began using Lake Huron again near the end of 2015, this recent study has revealed even further detriments.
“A substantial decrease in fertility rates in Flint for births conceived around October 2013, which persisted through the end of 2015. Flint switched its water source in April 2014, meaning these births would have been exposed to this new water for a substantial period in utero (i.e., at least one trimester),” the study said. “These results suggests women who miscarried, had a stillbirth or had a newborn with health complications should register.”
The authors also noted that among the babies conceived from November 2013 through March 2015, “between 198 and 276 more children would have been born had Flint not enacted the switch in water.”
The analysis, which has not been peer reviewed, is a working paper, and researchers believe their findings are strong.
“An overall decrease in fertility rates can have lasting effects on a community, including school funding,” the paper said. “This study is of great importance as the current legislative environment includes calls for a substantial decrease in funding for the EPA which is charged with ensuring localities maintain minimum water standards. Our results suggest that a more lax regulatory environment in the context of drinking water may have substantial unforeseen effects on maternal and infant health.”
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