Flint, the Michigan city where lead levels in drinking-water supplies notoriously spiked in April 2014, saw fewer pregnancies and an increase in fetal deaths during the period of time when they were exposed to such levels, according to a new study that examined local and state health records. Fetal death rates jumped 58 percent after April 2014. Fertility rates decreased by about 12 percent among women. The Flint data was compared to the rest of the state of Michigan from 2008 to 2015. Lead can cause infertility in both men and women. It can also damage a baby’s central nervous system, which could have caused miscarriages and stillbirths in the region.
