Numerous women of childbearing age are exposed occupationally to organic solvents. Previous retrospective studies have reported conflicting results regarding teratogenic risk. However, exposed women who had a previous miscarriage had rates of major malformation that were similar to exposed women who had no previous miscarriage. This risk appears to be increased among women who report symptoms associated with organic solvent exposure. Women's exposure to organic solvents should be minimized during pregnancy.
Symptomatic exposure appears to predict higher fetal risk for malformations.
Many women of childbearing age are occupationally exposed to organic solvents. The most important women-dominated occupations with potential chemical exposures are health care professions and work tasks in the clothing and textile industries, all of which involve exposure to organic solvents. There are reports of limb and central nervous system defects in mice, marked developmental toxic effects and retardation of skeletal growth in rats, and congenital malformations in rabbits. However, the animal studies typically use high doses of single solvents and a variety of routes of administration. In the occupational setting, exposure usually occurs to a multitude of solvents at much lower doses by inhalation, making extrapolation from animals to humans problematic.