--- title: Fracking Health Effects Include Harm to Infants: Study description: Children whose mothers lived near fracking wells during pregnancy are more likely to experience negative health effects than counterparts born elsewhere canonical: https://time.com/5062700/fracking-health-effects/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-13T19:00:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:33:35.654Z article:section: Health og:title: Fracking Health Effects Include Harm to Infants: Study og:description: Children whose mothers lived near fracking wells during pregnancy are more likely to experience negative health effects than counterparts born elsewhere og:url: https://time.com/5062700/fracking-health-effects/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d088cc34244475b/6988f4f7bc6cfcdf953e4512/fracking-human-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6300 og:image:height: 3544 og:image:alt: fracking human health flares og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Fracking Health Effects Include Harm to Infants: Study twitter:description: Children whose mothers lived near fracking wells during pregnancy are more likely to experience negative health effects than counterparts born elsewhere twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d088cc34244475b/6988f4f7bc6cfcdf953e4512/fracking-human-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Fracking Linked to Negative Health Effects in Infants, Study Says > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a9588209-7805-4097-a152-0ef2ae0e2876&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 13, 2017 7:00 PM UTC  Oil and gas development using 'fracking' technology in the Bakken Oil Fields of Williams and Mountrail Counties in northwestern North Dakota. Oil and gas development using 'fracking' technology in the Bakken Oil Fields of Williams and Mountrail Counties in northwestern North Dakota. Richard Hamilton Smith—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 13, 2017 7:00 PM UTC Babies born to mothers who lived near fracking wells during pregnancy are more likely to experience negative health effects than babies born elsewhere, according to new [research](http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/e1603021). Researchers behind the study, published in the journal _Science Advances_, found that living within 1 km (0.6 miles) of a fracking well during pregnancy increased odds of low birth weight by 25%. Low birth rates are associated with a slew of different health effects later in life, including various illnesses and developmental problems. The effect was lower but still significant in babies whose mother lived between 1 and 3 km (1.9 miles) from a well during pregnancy, according to the study. Researchers found little effect beyond 3 km. Fracking, which is short for hydraulic fracturing, has transformed the U.S. energy system in recent years by opening vast reserves of oil and natural gas once thought to be unreachable or too costly to exploit. That change has helped keep energy prices low and [pushed coal](http://time.com/coals-last-kick/), which is among the dirtiest fuels, out of top slot for energy in the U.S. But lingering concerns about the health risks posed by fracking, as well as worries about natural gas’s contributions to climate change, have prompted widespread [opposition](http://time.com/4649649/natural-gas-renewable-energy-donald-trump/) from lawmakers and activists alike. New York, Maryland and Vermont have all banned the extraction process. “Hydraulic fracturing has brought a series of benefits to the United States,” says Michael Greenstone, director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, in a video accompanying the study. “Ultimately whether or not we as a society will have access to those benefits in the long run is going to rest on those local communities… judging whether the local benefits exceed the local costs.” The authors of the new study relied on data from more than 1.1 million births between 2004 and 2013 in Pennsylvania, where fracking wells pepper the state. When applied to the entire country, the findings suggest that annually some 29,000 newborns could be affected. Research into the effects of fracking on human health remains in early stages, but public health experts say fracking can damage health in a variety of ways. Chemicals used in the fracking process may seep through rocks into underground drinking water, according to a [report](https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/fracking/index.cfm) from the National Institutes of Health. 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