Nahid Maleki-Saghooni - Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences,Mashhad, Iran
Effat Saghi - Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Use of pesticides growing up on the world and these may be an important source of exposure to agents that havebeen classified as developmental toxins. There has been growing concern about the occurrence of certain birthdefects which seemed to have increased. Since that Adverse association between maternal pesticide exposure andneural tube defects (NTDs) have been suggested but not consistently observed so this study aimed tosystematically evaluate the relation between maternal pesticide exposures and NTDs in offspring.The databases of PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, SID and Magiran were searched with keywords of Pesticide , Neural Tube Defects , birth defects , Anencephaly , Spina Bifida and Pregnancy to identify relevantarticles. Included were all Persian and English observational studies, published between 2000 and December 2017.Fourteen of 150 articles met the inclusion criteria. Four Studies revealed Peri conceptional maternal exposures topesticides were associated with NTD risk in Neonates. Four Studies suggest an association between exposure topesticides and the occurrence of congenital birth defects including anencephaly, spina bifida, cleft lip and cleftpalate. Three Studies show that maternal occupational exposure to pesticides during early pregnancy may beassociated with increased risk of NTDs such as spina bifida in offspring.From available information, it seems reasonable to conclude that, to date, there is some evidences for establishinga relationship between pesticides exposure during pregnancy and birth defects. We recommend a restrained use ofor exposure to pesticides, while monitoring the expectant mothers closely for birth defects like NTDs. Furtherobservational works should continue to examine associations between pesticide and NTDs using a detailedpesticide exposure assessment. Education programs for women alerting them to the dangers to their babies from theuse of pesticides and elimination of the reuse of pesticide are indicated as preventive measures.Keywords: Pesticides, Pregnancy, Neural Tube Defects, Birth defects.

Pesticides, Pregnancy, Neural Tube Defects, Birth defects