Water disinfection byproducts associated with low birth weight
A recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that exposure to trihalomethanes, a chemical used to disinfect drinking water, during the second trimester of pregnancy may be associated with low birth weight. The risk seems to be highest for minority women, who had a 60% increase in risk of low birth weight when exposed to high levels of trihalomethanes; for Caucasians the increased risk was 37%. You can read the journal abstract here.