Pesticide Residues in Human Milk: Health Impacts on Infants and Nursing Mothers

Abstract

Human breast milk is the only natural food of newly born infant as it provides essential nutrients and other supplementary requirements to support the growth and development of natural immunity during early infancy. Children provided with breast feeding up to 6 months after birth, show healthy growth with reduced chances of gastrointestinal diseases and other ailments. Presence of pesticide residues and other persistent organic pollutants in human breast milk posed a major and increasing threat to health of infants and also to the nursing mothers. This review aims to discuss the various aspects of pesticide residues in human milk and its adverse health impacts on infants and nursing mothers. It was noted that, various pesticides are still the major contaminants of human milk. Therefore, monitoring of human milk samples should be practised on a larger scale. General symptoms of pesticide residue toxicity of human milk include weakness, headache, backache, joint pain, fever, hepatitis, liver dysfunction, chest pain, respiratory discomfort, and hypertension. Safety measures recommended should include, dietary intake assessment of foods of different animal origin, monitoring of human milk samples, strict government guidelines for application of pesticides, and use of personal protection kits by women working in agriculture fields, and other areas where they are exposed to pesticides.