NEONATAL BEHAVIORAL-ASSESSMENT SCALE PERFORMANCE IN HUMANS INFLUENCEDBY MATERNAL CONSUMPTION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTAMINATED LAKE ONTARIO FISH

Behavioral effects in neonates of their mothers' consumption of Lake O ntario fish were examined using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Sca le (NBAS). Newborns of women who had consumed > 40 equivalent pounds o f fish rr err placed in a high-exposure group (n = 152), those of wome n who had consumed < 40 equivalent pounds of fish ir?cri-e placed ill a low-exposure group (n = 243), and offspring of women who reported ha ring never eaten Lake Ontario fish comprised rite control group (IZ = 164). Assessments were given at 12-24 hours after birth, and again at 25-48 hours after birth. Despite relatively low levels of fish consump tion, newborns in the high-exposure group scored more poorly than thos e in both the low-exposure and control groups on the Reflex, Autonomic , and Habituation clusters of the NBAS. No significant group differenc es were found on the Orientation, Range of State, Regulation of State, or Motor clusters of the NBAS, nor did birth weight or head circumfer ence differ between groups, These results represent the first replicat ion and extension of the neonatal results of the Lake Michigan Materna l Infant Cohort study (Jacobson et al. 1984).