Most of the research on pesticides as they relate to fertility has more to do with the habitual, long-term exposure that comes from working with pesticides, or broad-ranging, cultural effects, like widespread decline in male fertility, but these broad-ranging studies have implications for the details of your day-to-day life, as well.
How an organic food diet can impact pregnancy
Eating non-organic produce is in no way on the same level of pesticide exposure as if you worked with pesticides on a day to day basis, but just because the impact is lessened, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Most of the research on pesticides as they relate to fertility has to do with the chemicals’ effect on sperm, but a 2009 study of the effect of certain pesticides on the fertility of female migrant farm workers discovered that the women involved had, on average, a 30% less likely chance to conceive in a given month than women who were only occasionally exposed to pesticides.
Consider this
Because of the lack of data, it’s unclear exactly how much of a difference eating organic makes, if any at all. However, according to some of the studies that talk about the more far-reaching effects of pesticides in our food, some of these effects may have already taken place, based on exposure during childhood or even in the womb. This means that switching to organic produce when you’re trying to conceive, and sticking with it during pregnancy, could not just help your fertility and your partner’s, but it could help your future child’s fertility as well, a few decades down the line.
