Influence of pregnancy stage and fetus position on the whole-body and local exposure of the fetus to RF-EMF.
Varsier N, Dahdouh S, Serrurier A, De la Plata JP, Anquez J, Angelini ED, Bloch I, Wiart J. · 2014
View Original AbstractFetal brain exposure to cell phone radiation varies throughout pregnancy and increases when babies are positioned head-up in the womb.
Plain English Summary
French researchers used computer models to study how radiofrequency radiation (like from cell phones) affects developing babies at different stages of pregnancy. They found that fetal exposure to RF radiation changes throughout pregnancy, with brain exposure being slightly higher when the baby's head is positioned up rather than down in the womb. The study examined the 2100 MHz frequency band commonly used by mobile phones.
Why This Matters
This research fills a critical gap in our understanding of fetal RF exposure during pregnancy. What makes this study particularly important is that it demonstrates fetal exposure isn't constant throughout pregnancy - it varies based on developmental stage and position. The 2100 MHz frequency examined is widely used in 3G and 4G cellular networks, making these findings directly relevant to everyday phone use by pregnant women. The science demonstrates that the developing brain shows measurably different absorption patterns depending on fetal positioning, with head-up positions showing higher brain exposure. While this was a modeling study rather than direct measurement, it provides essential data for understanding how our most vulnerable population - developing fetuses - absorb RF energy. Put simply, this research suggests that timing and fetal position matter when it comes to radiation exposure during pregnancy.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
This paper analyzes the influence of pregnancy stage and fetus position on the whole-body and brain exposure of the fetus to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
Our analysis is performed using semi-homogeneous pregnant woman models between 8 and 32 weeks of ame...
By analyzing the influence of the pregnancy stage on the environmental whole-body and local exposure of a fetus in vertical position, head down or head up, in the 2100 MHz frequency band, we concluded that both whole-body and average brain exposures of the fetus decrease during the first pregnancy trimester, while they advance during the pregnancy due to the rapid weight gain of the fetus in these first stages. From the beginning of the second trimester, the whole-body and the average brain exposures are quite stable because the weight gains are quasi proportional to the absorbed power increases. The behavior of the fetus whole-body and local exposures during pregnancy for a fetus in the vertical position with the head up were found to be of a similar level, when compared to the position with the head down they were slightly higher, especially in the brain.
Show BibTeX
@article{n_2014_influence_of_pregnancy_stage_2649,
author = {Varsier N and Dahdouh S and Serrurier A and De la Plata JP and Anquez J and Angelini ED and Bloch I and Wiart J.},
title = {Influence of pregnancy stage and fetus position on the whole-body and local exposure of the fetus to RF-EMF.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25098501/},
}