Committee amends and advances bill to expand lead screening in pregnancy

The committee amended and released Assembly Bill 4848 to expand lead‑exposure screening for pregnant persons. The proposed committee amendment would require health professionals (including physicians, registered nurses, physician assistants and prenatal care providers) to perform lead screening in the first and third trimesters when a pregnant person presents at least one risk factor for lead poisoning.

Dr. Laura Fenster Rothschild, identified in the transcript as a managing director at a community development and environmental organization in Trenton, described research — including a Newark biomonitoring project and work at Rutgers University’s Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute — that found elevated lifetime lead exposure is associated with preeclampsia and related maternal morbidity. She said lead can mobilize from bone stores during pregnancy, increasing blood lead levels and the risk of adverse outcomes.

Committee members asked about which professional societies endorse the protocol and asked for supporting studies and cost data. Dr. Fenster Rothschild said the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently updated guidance recommending lifelong lead‑exposure screening in relevant contexts and that the Newark biomonitoring research informed the proposed policy. She said the blood test is inexpensive and can often be performed using blood already drawn for mandated prenatal labs.

The committee moved the amendment and released the bill; members requested follow‑up materials and data to support the clinical claims before further consideration.

What’s next: The amended bill advances in the legislative process; members asked staff and proponents for clinical references and cost details to be provided to the committee record.