Female Farmworkers’ Perceptions of Pesticide Exposure and Pregnancy Health

Occupational pesticide exposure may be hazardous to pregnant farmworkers, yet few studies have focused on the health of female
farmworkers distinct from their male counterparts or on the impact of agricultural work tasks on pregnancy outcomes. In the
current community-based participatory research study, researchers conducted five focus groups with female nursery and fernery
workers in Central Florida to enhance knowledge of attitudes about occupational risks and pregnancy health and to gather qualitative
data to help form a survey instrument. This article presents the results from questions focused on pesticide exposure and
its impact on general, reproductive, pregnancy, and fetal health. Workers reported a belief that pesticide exposure could
be hazardous to pregnancy health; descriptions of symptoms and health concerns believed to be related to farmwork and to pesticide
exposure; and descriptions of barriers preventing them from practicing safer occupational behaviors.