Study links fracking, low birth weight



Q: Fracking just started near my Ohio hometown, and I remember reading about a connection to the risk of having a baby with low birth weight. I want to get pregnant, but now I’m worried. How close do you have to be to a site to be affected?

A: Fracking is the common term for hy­draulic fracturing, a drilling process that pumps fluid at ultra-high pressure deep into the earth. This fractures the underlying shale rock and makes the natural gas or oil that it contains available for extraction. There has been no end of controversy regarding the process in recent years, with vigorous de­bate over whether fracking causes air pollu­tion, contaminates surface and groundwater, leads to earthquakes and plays a role in a range of health problems. Among the health questions that have been raised is whether the process affects birth weight among preg­nant women who live near fracking sites.

Your question refers to a study published a few years ago in the journal Science Ad­vances. The researchers, including one from UCLA, analyzed the outcomes of 1.1 million live births in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2013. They compared the birth weights of infants born to mothers living at varying dis­tances from active fracking sites, both before the extraction operations had begun, and af­ter the wells became active.

They found that women who lived very close to an active fracking operation — within one-half mile — had a 25 percent higher risk of delivering a baby of low birth weight than did women who lived at a distance of 2 miles or more. The study found that babies born to women who lived more than one-half mile from a fracking site, but less than 2 miles away, were also adversely affected, but to a lesser degree. When researchers looked at women who lived at least 2 miles from a fracking operation, they found no signs of ad­verse health effects to newborns.

“Low birth weight” is the term used to describe an infant who weighs less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces at delivery. By con­trast, the average healthy newborn weighs in at about 8 pounds. Low birth weight oc­curs most often in premature births, when the infant doesn’t have the full 37 weeks of gestation to grow and gain weight. Low birth weight is sometimes seen in full-term babies who failed to grow well during gestation due to issues with the mother’s health, the pla­centa or the baby’s condition. Multiple births also often result in smaller babies.

Although the study correlates proximity to fracking sites with low birth weight, it doesn’t explain what is causing these outcomes. The authors agree that more information is needed, and have said they hope their study will lead to further research.

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