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Stephen Chen

A new study finds that prenatal exposure to rare earth elements can raise the risk of low birthweight, with some substances increasing the danger by more than three times.
Researchers tracked 4,891 pregnant women who gave birth at Wuhan Maternal and Child Health Hospital between 2012 and 2014.
They measured the concentration of 13 rare earth elements including cerium, ytterbium, and lanthanum in urine samples collected from the mothers.
After adjusting for confounding factors such as maternal age and body mass index, each 1 microgram per gram increase in a single rare earth element was linked to a 25.6 to 51.4 per cent higher chance of delivering a low birthweight baby.
When the scientists assessed the combined impact of all 13 elements using a weighted quantile sum regression model, the overall risk more than doubled, yielding an odds ratio of 2.004.
Odds ratio indicate how a one‑unit change in an exposure shifts the odds of a health outcome.
Cerium stood out as the dominant contributor, accounting for nearly half of the mixture’s harmful weight.
In several analyses, exposure to certain individual rare earth elements or their mixtures produced odds ratios that soared past 3 or even 4, signalling a three-fold or greater surge in low birthweight risk.
In the study group, the incidence of low birthweight was 0.8 per cent, while 7.9 per cent of newborns were classified as small for their gestational age.


No significant association was found between rare earth exposure and babies being small for their gestational age, the researchers noted.
Rare earths are vital for smartphones, green energy and advanced weaponry, but their extraction and processing have long polluted China’s environment and threatened public health.
For decades, China exported these strategic minerals at rock-bottom prices, fuelling global hi-tech industries and Western militaries while absorbing the environmental and health costs at home.
Recently, Beijing imposed export quotas and restrictions, triggering outcry from affected nations that viewed the move as retaliation in the ongoing trade war with the United States.
Inside China, however, many argue that the price of rare earths must rise to compensate for the damage done to rivers, soil and the bodies of Chinese citizens.
The new study provides a “chilling example” of that damage, showing that even unborn children are paying a price, according to a Beijing-based rare earth expert.
“Why should Chinese newborns suffer so that American fighter jets and missiles can be built cheaply and used in conflicts that kill children in places like Palestine and Iran,” he said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The study’s authors, led by Wang Youjie with Huazhong University of Science and Technology, caution that their findings are based on a single urine sample and need confirmation through more extensive prospective research.
The paper was published in the September 2026 issue of the Journal of Environmental Health, a peer-reviewed publication run by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association.


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Research tracking pregnant women in Wuhan over a two-year period shows link between critical mineral exposure and low baby birthweights


Research tracking pregnant women in Wuhan over a two-year period shows link between critical mineral exposure and low baby birthweights.


Rare earth exposure can triple low birthweight risk: Chinese study

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Research tracking pregnant women in Wuhan over a two-year period shows link between critical mineral exposure and low baby birthweights

Research tracking pregnant women in Wuhan over a two-year period shows link between critical mineral exposure and low baby birthweights