Can prenatal insecticide exposure from household bug sprays affect a baby's hormones?

What's actually in it

Household bug sprays, ant killers, flea treatments, and garden insecticides contain three main types of chemicals: organophosphates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids. You absorb them through your skin, lungs, and the food you eat. Residues show up on conventional fruits and vegetables too. During pregnancy, these chemicals cross the placenta and reach the developing baby.

What the research says

A 2026 study in J Hazard Mater measured insecticide levels in pregnant women and then tested both the mothers' and infants' reproductive hormones. The results showed a clear connection: higher insecticide exposure was linked to altered hormone levels in both mothers and babies.

The study tested for all three insecticide types and found each one affected hormones differently. Organophosphates were linked to changes in estrogen-related hormones. Pyrethroids affected testosterone pathways. Neonicotinoids, the same chemicals that are controversial for killing bees, also showed hormone-disrupting effects in humans.

Reproductive hormones during pregnancy help guide how a baby's brain, reproductive organs, and immune system develop. Shifting these hormones at the wrong time can alter development in ways that don't show up until years later.

The exposure levels in the study weren't extreme. They reflected normal, everyday contact with insecticide products and treated foods. The mothers weren't pest control workers. They were regular pregnant women going about their daily lives.