Babies born in areas where tap water is heavily disinfected with chlorine are at twice the risk of heart problems, cleft palate or major brain defects

Babies exposed to chlorinated water at risk of heart problems

Extract from the Telegraph:

"Expectant mothers can expose themselves to the higher risk by drinking the water, swimming in chlorinated water, taking a bath or shower, or even by standing close to a boiling kettle, say researchers.

The finding, based on an analysis of nearly 400,000 infants, is the first that links by-products of water chlorination - chemicals known as trihalomethanes, or THMs - to three specific birth defects.

Exposure to high levels of THMs substantially increased the risk of holes in the heart, cleft palate and anencephalus, which results in the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp."

Best to read the whole of the article in the Telegraph.