This comes as a separate landmark study links negative effects of certain pesticides on children's brains.
Pesticides are ubiquitous in our food supply. Numerous studies over the years have shown the detrimental effects of various chemicals on neuro development, but this is the first study to follow a large sample of children from pregnancy and get precise brain measurements.
For the first time, researchers can tell you exactly how pesticides can cause harm in the offspring of exposed pregnant women. MRIs revealed a thickening of the outermost layer of the brain,
"It's where most of the computational work is done in the brain," said study author and chief of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Children's Hospital Los Angeles Dr. Bradley Peterson.
CHLA and Columbia University researchers said pesticides trigger inflammation and oxidative stress, which harms neurons and slows down how energy flows through the brain.
"So that would be evident in things like penmanship, and spelling, and motor speed, performance," said Peterson.
Researchers studied 270 children from birth up to 14 years old.
Their mothers had been exposed to pesticides from having their homes fumigated and from using commercial sprays, but researchers say these moms were also exposed to chemicals in the produce and grains they ate.
"These were inner-city women in northern Manhattan, either Latinx or African American or of Caribbean descent," said Peterson.
Researchers measured levels of chlorpyrifos - or CPF - in the mom's blood and umbilical cord. The study began before CPF was banned from home use in 2001, but it's still being used on crops.
While scientists have pushed for pesticides to be removed from farms, some groups lobbied against it.
"There is no chance that our current system of agriculture can survive without those crop protection tools," said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
"Exposure to those environmental problems do pose risk for offspring," said Peterson.
Peterson said CPF isn't the only chemical and isn't the only harmful chemical. He recommends more eco-friendly ways to eliminate pests and eating organic produce and grains when possible.
"But if you're able to afford it and can find it, we would recommend that, especially for pregnant women, but really for developing children and adolescents of all ages, and even adults," he said.
Peterson believes the most important way to prevent exposure is through policy that bans pesticides for agricultural and residential use.
The "Make America Healthy Again" draft does not signal any intention to eliminate pesticides, instead calling for "more targeted and precise pesticide applications."
The report is also calling for a government-wide definition of what "ultra-processed food" is. The Health and Human Services Department is declining to verify the draft's authenticity.