Risk behaviors for pesticide exposure among pregnant women living in farmworker households in Salinas, California.
BACKGROUND
Farmworkers and their families are at risk for pesticide exposure, however, little is known about behaviors that increase their risk. We determined the frequency of risky behaviors among pregnant farmworkers and characterized those at greatest risk.


METHODS
Participants included 153 pregnant farmworkers and 248 pregnant non-farmworkers who resided with farmworkers from the CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas) study. We examined risky behaviors relating to handwashing, bathing, protective clothing, house cleaning, laundering of work clothes, wearing of work clothes and shoes into the home, and eating produce from the fields.


RESULTS
Between 25 and 60% of women demonstrated risky behavior on each item. Practices of households with pregnant farmworkers and non-farmworkers did not differ. Women who lived in the United States longer, and in crowded households demonstrated the most risky behavior overall.


CONCLUSIONS
Pregnant farmworkers and those living with farmworkers need to be educated to reduce potential take-home pesticide exposure.
Goldman
Lisa
L
Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California 94709, USA.
Eskenazi
Brenda
B
Bradman
Asa
A
Jewell
Nicholas P
NP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture; D002140:California; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000633:toxicity; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014171:Transients and Migrants
D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010575:Pesticides