WHAT IS THE ENVIRONMENT?

For many people, "the environment" conjures
up images of polluted air and water, hazardous waste sites and toxic spills.

From the perspective of the developing fetus, however, the environment includes everything
the mother may come into contact with during pregnancy. For this reason, our studies look at
a wide range of risk factors and exposures in
both the mother and father.

Among the areas studied by the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program are:

	Chemicals, like pesticides and solvents
	Diet, nutrition and vitamin use
	Drinking water
	Electromagnetic fields
	Hazardous waste sites
	Health status, illness, medications
	Occupation and hobbies
	Pregnancy complications
	Tobacco, drug and alcohol use
	Stressful life events

TIMING AND PATHWAY

Because most structural development of the
fetus occurs during early pregnancy, our studies usually focus on the "periconceptional" period—the month before and first 3 months
after conception.

Studies must validate biologically plausible pathways of exposure—in other words, ways the mother could have been exposed. Proximity is
not enough. If a pregnant woman lives near a source of environmental concern, for example,
we also consider whether she could have inhaled, ingested or otherwise been exposed to harmful conditions.