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Lack of adverse effects in pregnant/lactating female rats and their offspring following pre‐ and postnatal exposure to ELF magnetic fields
Author(s) -
Chung MoonKoo,
Kim JongChoon,
Myung SungHo
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/bem.10182
Subject(s) - offspring , pregnancy , lactation , gestation , fetus , physiology , medicine , endocrinology , biology , genetics
We have recently reported that exposure of pregnant rats to 60 Hz at field strengths up to 0.5 mT during the entire period of pregnancy did not induce any biologically significant effects on both pregnant dams and embryo‐fetal development. The present study was carried out to investigate the potential effects of gestational and lactational MF exposure on pregnancy, delivery, and lactation of dams and growth, behavior, and mating performance of their offspring in rats. Timed‐pregnant female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats (24/group) received continuous exposure to 60 Hz magnetic field (MF) at field strengths of 0 (sham control), 5 μT, 83.3 μT, or 0.5 mT. Dams received MF or sham exposures for 21 h/day from gestational day 6 through lactational day 21. Experimentally generated MF was monitored continuously throughout the study. No exposure‐related changes in clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, pregnancy length, and necropsy findings were observed in dams. Parameters of growth, behavior, and reproductive performance of offspring showed no changes related to MF exposure. There were no adverse effects on embryo‐fetal development of F2 offspring from dams exposed to MF. In conclusion, exposure of pregnant SD rats to 60 Hz at field strengths up to 0.5 mT from gestational day 6 to lactational day 21 did not produce biologically significant effects in dams, F1 offspring, or F2 fetuses. Bioelectromagnetics 25:236–244, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.