Cellphone use during pregnancy may affect child

Women who use cellphones while pregnant may be affecting the behaviour of their unborn child, according to new research.

Scientists at UCLA School of Public Health found children whose mothers used cellphones frequently during pregnancy and who are themselves cellphone users are more likely to have behaviour problems.

The finding "certainly shouldn't be over interpreted, but nevertheless points in a direction where further research is needed," said Dr. Leeka Kheifets, who worked on the study and reported the results in the journal Epidemiology.

"We need to be looking into what are the potential health effects and what are ways to reduce risks should there be any," she added in an interview.

Kheifets and her team looked at a group of 13,159 children whose mothers took part in the Danish National Birth Cohort study early in their pregnancies. When the children reached age seven, their mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire about their children's behaviour and health, as well as their cellphone use in pregnancy and the child's use of cellphones.

After the researchers adjusted for factors that could influence the results, such as a mother's psychiatric problems and socioeconomic factors, children with both prenatal and postnatal cellphone exposure were 80 per cent more likely to have abnormal or borderline scores on tests evaluating emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity or problems with peers.

Risks were higher for children exposed before birth only, compared with those exposed only after birth, but were lower than for children exposed at both time points.

Kheifets and her colleagues said that a fetus's exposure to radiofrequency fields by a mother's cellphone use is probably very small. But they added that research has shown that children using cellphones are exposed to more radiofrequency energy than adults, because their ears and brains are smaller.

Because cellphone use was so infrequent among children in the study -- 30 per cent of children were using a cellphone, but just one per cent used a cellphone for more than an hour a week -- radiofrequency exposure seems unlikely to have caused any behaviour problems, they said.

"Another possible explanation for the observed association might be the lack of attention given to a child by mothers who are frequent users of cellphones," the researchers said.

Mothers who used cellphones frequently were of lower socio-occupational status, more likely to have mental health and psychiatric problems and more likely to have smoked while they were pregnant.

Kheifets said one simple way to reduce exposure to cellphones would be to use hands-free technology. The researchers said their findings are preliminary, but should be reported.

"We felt that the public is quite capable of dealing with proper information," they explained. "One shouldn't really try to be paternalistic about it."