Pesticides in breast milk led to infant mortality: Study

MAHARAJGANJ: A study by Lucknow's Queen Mary Hospital has claimed that pesticides have been found in the milk of pregnant women which were responsible for the death of nearly 111 newborns in the past ten months in Maharajganj district.

The research by Queen Mary Hospital revealed that pesticides were found in the milk of pregnant women. The tests were conducted on 130 vegetarian and non-vegetarian pregnant women to find the reason behind the death of the infants.

The research, which was done by Professor Sujata Dev, Dr Abbas Ali Mehndi, and Dr Naina Dwivedi, was also published in Environmental Research General. It stated that fewer pesticides were found in the milk of vegetarian women than in non-vegetarians.

However, pesticides have still been found in the breast milk of women who stay away from non-vegetarian food. The reason behind the pesticide in milk is chemical farming, stated the research. Different types of pesticides and chemicals are put in green vegetables and crops.

Animals are also injected with supplements and chemicals which have led to pesticide formation in the milk of a woman who eats non-vegetarian food. The pesticides present in the breast milk of a woman who eats non-vegetarians were triple than that of a vegetarian woman.

The research said that while a newborn does not eat any meat or crops, pesticides still reach his/her body through the milk of the mother. Breast milk, which has some amount of pesticides present inside it, has severely harmed infants.

Meanwhile, the district magistrate has formed a three-member committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Development Officer (CDO) to find the reason behind the rise in mortality rates.

This committee will function under the leadership of CDO, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), and Chief Medical Superintendent . The team will also investigate the increase in the figures of maternal and infant mortality reports. They will also find the reason behind the deaths of new-borns.