Pesticide Exposure and Health Problems among Women In Reproductive AGE: A Literature Review

Abstract

Pesticides are persistent organic pollutants that are resistant to environmental degradation and have a negative impact on human health and the environment. Exposure to chemicals from pesticides can be accepted by anyone, including women, both women of reproductive age and women who are pregnant. This study was a literature review study with a data collection process was carried out by obtaining articles relevant to the research objectives in the Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases. The keywords used include “Pesticide and reproductive health and women” and “pesticide and reproductive health and farmer and women”. After that, 20 articles that match the research objectives were selected. Women who expose to pesticides during early pregnancy may increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes such as small for gestational age, preterm delivery, and low birth weight. The negative impacts of pesticides, that harmful for human health and the environment, are because of bad handling practices, lack of information about the toxicity, the availability of this chemical are so many although they are banned or unauthorized by the government, and that negative impacts are also larger but underestimated and underreported. Multiple recommendations can take to minimize pesticide's negative effect including application of the regulation, choosing alternative biopesticides, using personal protective equipment when applying the pesticides, and regular counseling on all aspects of pesticides.