*crickets chirping*
Flint’s lead-poisoned water had a ‘horrifyingly large’ effect on fetal deaths, study finds

During this time period, residents in Flint were generally unaware of the amount of lead in their water. “Because the higher lead content of the new water supply was unknown at the time, this decrease in [the general fertility rate] is likely a reflection of an increase in fetal deaths and miscarriages and not a behavior change in sexual behavior related to conception like contraceptive use,” Grossman and Slusky conclude.

They next turned to deaths of fetuses of 20 weeks gestation and older, excluding abortions, which are reported by hospitals. They found that “fetal death rates increased in Flint but did not change substantially in other areas following the water change.” The change in Flint amounted to a 58 percent increase in fetal deaths, relative to areas not afflicted by lead-poisoned water, a change the authors characterized as “horrifyingly large.”

The authors say their number probably undercounts the total number of miscarriages and fetal deaths for several reasons: “(1) They do not include abortions; (2) they do not include miscarriages that occur before 20 weeks of gestation; and (3) they are restricted to hospitals reporting these events,” Grossman and Slusky said.

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