Dietary Exposure to Food Contaminants of Pregnant Women in Northern Spain and Possible Effects on Fetal Anthropometric Parameters Hinojosa Nogueira, Daniel José Bahamonde, José Ramón Aguilera-Nieto, Marta Navajas-Porras, Beatriz González Vigil, Verónica Rufián-Henares, Jose Ángel Pastoriza de la Cueva, Silvia Food contaminants Pregnant women Dietary exposure Fetal anthropometry A considerable number of organizations are working to improve food safety, with particular attention to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women due to the important influence of diet on fetal development. The aim of this study was to evaluate exposure to 11 food processing contaminants and their effects on maternal and fetal health. Online questionnaires during the first and third trimesters were used to analyze the intake and exposure to different food contaminants, estimated from the contaminants food database “CONT11”, in 84 pregnant women in Oviedo (Spain) and their influence on newborn anthropometric data. Exposure to certain contaminants, such as acrylamide or total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, was found to have a significant impact on maternal and fetal health, particularly in relation to birth weight or head circumference. During the third trimester, pregnant women reported dietary improvement and reduced exposure to dietary contaminants. Identifying the foods and food groups that contribute most to exposure and the potential for health professionals will facilitate the development of basic exposure reduction strategies. This study is one of the few to assess the exposure of pregnant women to a wide range of contaminants and their impact on fetal health, providing a baseline for future research. 2025-07-04T10:20:53Z 2025-07-04T10:20:53Z 2025-05-16 journal article Hinojosa-Nogueira, D.; Bahamonde, J.R.; Aguilera-Nieto, M.; Navajas-Porras, B.; González-Vigil, V.; Rufián-Henares, J.Á.; Pastoriza de la Cueva, S. Dietary Exposure to Food Contaminants of Pregnant Women in Northern Spain and Possible Effects on Fetal Anthropometric Parameters. Toxics 2025, 13, 399. [DOI: 10.3390/toxics1305039] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/105070 10.3390/toxics1305039 eng info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/H2020/816303 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI