May Electromagnetic Field Exposure During Pregnancy Have a Negative Effect on Anthropometric Measurements of the Newborn?

Background: This study was conducted to determine the effect of low frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure due to electronic media device (EMD) during pregnancy on the anthropometric measurements of newborn. Methods:A questionnaire was administered among randomly selected women offering Gaziantep University, Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics Outpatient Clinics for their child's routine health visits between November 2017-May 2018. Four hundred women who have a child aged between 0-5 years old, completed the questionnaire about their pregnancy history. Data was analysed using SPSS 22.00. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results:A negative correlation was identified between maternalsingle cell phone usage during pregnancy and newborn’s birth weight (p=0.042). Multiple cell phone (more than one cell phone) usage during pregnancy was negatively correlated with the birth week, birth weight and birth length of the newborn (p=0.004, p=0.038, p=0.037; respectively). The head circumference of the newborn was negatively correlated with watchingtelevision (TV) and living close to a base station during pregnancy (p=0.040, p=0.041; respectively) Conclusions:Watching TV, cell phone usage and living near a base station during pregnancy may cause negative effect on the anthropometric measurements of the newborn