Occupational pesticide exposure may be hazardous to pregnant farmworkers, yet few studies have focused on the health of female farmworkers distinct from their male counterparts or on the impact of agricultural work tasks on pregnancy outcomes. In the current community- based participatory research study, researchers conducted five focus groups with female nursery and fernery workers in Central Florida to enhance knowledge of attitudes about occupational risks and pregnancy health and to gather qualitative data to help form a survey instrument. This article presents the results from questions focused on pesticide exposure and its impact on general, reproductive, pregnancy, and fetal health. Workers reported a belief that pesticide exposure could be hazardous to pregnancy health; descriptions of symptoms and health concerns believed to be related to farmwork and to pesticide exposure; and descriptions of barriers preventing them from practicing safer occupational behaviors. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.

focus groups Pesticides reproductive health Farmworkers

information processing pregnancy complication Pregnancy Complications occupational disease human middle aged statistics female infertility chemically induced disorder ethnology African American Hispanic Americans qualitative research United States Young Adult Florida Humans Hispanic Adolescent female occupational exposure pesticide pregnancy Agricultural Workers' Diseases Pesticides Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Article adult participatory research Community-Based Participatory Research Infertility, Female attitude to health African Americans Focus Groups