| Summary: | Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and toxic metals are recognised as having effects on health and development in children. These substances are also known to be transferred from the mother to the foetus and neonates through the umbilical cord and breast feeding respectively. In this regard, the growing foetus and new born child are at a greatest risk of the toxic effects of these substances as they are still in their developmental stages. On the other hand, deficiency or excess levels of some trace elements during pregnancy has also been linked to adverse health effects. In this regard, the levels of these contaminants in maternal blood during pregnancy give an indication of the potential risk to the developing foetus. Most of the monitoring and studies on effects of persistent toxic substances among pregnant women in relation to reproductive health are conducted in temperate regions, mostly in Europe and America. One important contributor is the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). AMAP started in 1991 and includes monitoring of PTS in eight arctic countries namely Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA. At the later stage, these studies were also expanded to a few countries in the southern hemisphere. The data on these substances and possible associations with adverse reproductive health effects are scarce, especially in the African settings that include other low- and middle-income countries. POPs (including Polyand Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) toxic and trace elements have been used in Malawi for a long time. However, to our knowledge, studies on exposure to these environmental pollutants by susceptible groups like pregnant women and its associations on reproductive health outcomes are limited. This thesis is based on data from a cross-sectional study of pregnant women and their offspring in southern Malawi. The study aimed at assessing the predictors for concentrations of POPs (including PFAS) toxic as well as trace elements in pregnant women. Furthermore, ...
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