Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.
Maternal cell phone and cordless phone use during pregnancy and behaviour problems in 5-year-old children
Guxens M, van Eijsden M, Vermeulen R, Loomans E, Vrijkotte TG, Komhout H, van Strien RT, Huss A. · 2013
View Original AbstractMaternal cell phone use during pregnancy showed no significant link to behavioral problems in 5-year-old children.
Plain English Summary
Dutch researchers studied whether pregnant mothers using cell phones or cordless phones would have children with more behavioral problems at age 5. They followed 2,618 children and found no significant increase in behavioral issues among children whose mothers used phones during pregnancy, even with heavy phone use of 5 or more calls per day. The study suggests that prenatal phone exposure doesn't appear to cause behavioral problems in young children.
Why This Matters
This study provides some reassurance in an area where parents understandably worry about potential developmental effects. The researchers found no clear pattern linking maternal phone use during pregnancy to behavioral problems in 5-year-olds, even examining different levels of use from light to heavy. What makes this finding particularly noteworthy is that it contradicts some earlier research suggesting prenatal EMF exposure might affect child development. However, we should interpret these results carefully. The study relied on mothers recalling their phone use from years earlier, which can introduce memory bias. More importantly, this research examined phone use from 2003-2004, when phones emitted different radiation patterns and usage habits were quite different from today's smartphone-dependent world. The reality is that today's children face far more complex EMF exposures from multiple devices starting in utero and continuing throughout development.
Study Details
we assessed the association between maternal cell phone and cordless phone use during pregnancy and teacher-reported and maternal-reported child behaviour problems at age 5.
The study was embedded in the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study, a population-base...
A total of 2618 children were included. As compared to non-users, those exposed to prenatal cell pho...
Our results do not suggest that maternal cell phone or cordless phone use during pregnancy increases the odds of behaviour problems in their children.
Show BibTeX
@article{m_2013_maternal_cell_phone_and_2758,
author = {Guxens M and van Eijsden M and Vermeulen R and Loomans E and Vrijkotte TG and Komhout H and van Strien RT and Huss A.},
title = {Maternal cell phone and cordless phone use during pregnancy and behaviour problems in 5-year-old children},
year = {2013},
url = {https://jech.bmj.com/content/67/5/432.short},
}