Blood Lead Levels of Pregnant Women in Agricultural and Coastal Area: A SDG’s Indicator for Health and Pollution in Brebes District

Abstract

Maternal mortality is still a severe problem in Indonesia. One of the causes is the blood lead levels. Blood lead levels in pregnant women can increase the risk of preeclampsia which is the cause of high maternal mortality in Indonesia. One of the factors for high blood lead levels is living close to the source of lead pollution. This study determines the differences in blood lead levels in pregnant women in agricultural and coastal areas in Brebes District. The t-test independent is used to analyze the mean differences with SPSS v 21 software with 84 samples. The results show a significant difference in the average blood lead levels in pregnant women in agricultural and coastal areas in Brebes Regency (p-value=0,047). The average blood lead levels are higher in agricultural areas (46.243 µg/dL) than in coastal areas (37.731 µg/dL). It can be implied that the risk of maternal mortality in an agricultural area is higher than in a coastal area.