Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.
Prenatal exposure to 900 MHz, cell-phone electromagnetic fields had no effect on operant-behavior performances of adult rats.
Bornhausen M, Scheingraber H · 2000
View Original AbstractPrenatal exposure to low-level cell tower radiation showed no learning deficits in rats, though this doesn't address higher phone-level exposures.
Plain English Summary
German researchers exposed pregnant rats to 900 MHz cell phone radiation throughout pregnancy to test whether prenatal EMF exposure affects brain development and learning ability. When the offspring reached adulthood, they showed no cognitive deficits or learning problems compared to unexposed rats. This suggests that low-level cell phone radiation during pregnancy may not impair brain development in rats.
Why This Matters
This study provides reassuring data about prenatal EMF exposure, but it's important to view it within the broader research landscape. The exposure level (0.1 mW/cm²) represents what you might encounter near cell towers, not the much higher levels from phones held against your head during calls. While the results show no cognitive effects in rats, this represents just one study using one specific exposure scenario. The developing brain remains a particular concern in EMF research because it's more vulnerable to environmental influences than adult brains. What this means for you: while this study doesn't raise red flags about tower-level exposures during pregnancy, it doesn't address the higher exposures from personal device use that pregnant women typically experience.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.0175, 0.075 W/kg
- Power Density
- 0.1 mW/cm²
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz, 217 Hz pulse modulated
Exposure Context
This study used 0.1 mW/cm² for radio frequency:
- 10Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 166.7Kx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
To clarify potential health risks of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) used in cellular telephone technology to the developing brain, Wistar rats were continuously exposed during pregnancy to a low-level (0.1 mW/cm2) 900 MHz, 217 Hz pulse modulated EMF that approximated the highest legal exposure of normal populations to the radiation of base antennas of the GSM digital cell-phone technology.
Whole body average specific absorption rate (SAR) values for the freely roaming, pregnant animals we...
Analyses of performance scores and of IRI-patterns both showed that exposure in-utero to the GSM fie...
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2000_prenatal_exposure_to_900_2957,
author = {Bornhausen M and Scheingraber H},
title = {Prenatal exposure to 900 MHz, cell-phone electromagnetic fields had no effect on operant-behavior performances of adult rats.},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1002/1521-186X(200012)21:8%3C566::AID-BEM2%3E3.0.CO;2-G},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1521-186X(200012)21:8%3C566::AID-BEM2%3E3.0.CO;2-G},
}