Member advisory: 27th May 2021

Nitrate levels in drinking water: risks for pregnant women and formula-fed babies

Through land uses such as farming and sewage disposal systems, nitrate, a highly soluble compound, is released into the soil and easily transported through into groundwater.

Exposure to high nitrate levels in drinking water may prevent the blood from delivering oxygen throughout the body. High nitrates in drinking water have been associated with methaemoglobinaemia (blue baby syndrome) in infants who are formula fed and two recent international studies published in 2021 have also linked antenatal nitrate exposure in pregnant women to low birth weight (1) and preterm birth (2).

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