Pesticides 'linked to reduced fertility'

Women exposed to pesticides and phthalates in the workplace could be at risk of having reduced fertility, according to a new study.

These women are also more at risk of having a low-weight baby, the research by Dutch scientists found.

Some 6,000 females were studied at various stages of their gestation for the research, which was published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal.

The researchers from Rotterdam found women who were exposed to either pesticides or phthalates were more than twice as likely to try to conceive a baby for six months or longer, and give birth to a child with a low weight.