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Researchers: Pregnant Women Should Avoid BPA Exposure

New study documents how BPA-related fertility defect can occur

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.Com

June 11, 2009

• Feds Launch New Study of BPA Safety, Industry Critics Blast Consumer Reports Study • Tests Find Wide Range Of BPA In Canned Soups, Juice And More • More Kids' Products Found Containing Unsafe Chemicals • Study: BPA Exposure in Pregnancy May Cause Aggressiveness in Girls • California Senate Votes to Ban BPA In Food Containers • Harvard Study Raises BPA Concerns • Emails Suggest Cozy FDA-BPA Industry Relationship • Chinese Lawsuit Claims Toxins in American Soap, Shampoo • Babies, Bathtime, and Cancer? • Group Raps "Toxic" Bubble Bath • Six Companies Stop Using Bisphenol-A In Bottles • Judge Orders Feds to Stop Sale of Toxin-Laden Toys • Lawsuit Seeks Immediate Ban on Toxic Toys • Advisory Panel Blasts FDA Over Bishphenol-A Stand • Soon-To-Be-Banned Plastic Toys Flooding the Market • States Act On BPA in Baby Bottles • Unstable Furniture Poses Deadly Danger To Children • California Sues Baby Furniture Manufacturers • Study Links BPA with Various Diseases • FDA Again Finds BPA Safe Despite Critics' Concerns • Consumer Advocates Blame Lobbyists for Delays in New Toy Safety Rules • Shower Curtains May Be Hazardous to Your Health • ‘Killer Cribs’ Study Finds Toxins in Common Baby Products • FDA Not Worried About BPA but Critics Demand Moratorium • Wal-Mart Bans BPA, Other Retailers Likely to Follow • War on Plastic Toys Escalates • Plastic War Hits The Toy Industry • Groups Warn Baby Bottles Leach Toxic Substance • Study Warns Chemical In Baby Shampoo May Cause Harm • 'Toxic' Water Bottles Take Top Spot in Dubious Data Awards • Group Hits Apple Over 'Toxic' iPhone • California Bans Plastic-Softening Chemical in Toys • Group Warns of Polluted Air Inside Cars • Watch Out for Hidden Toy Hazards

The body of evidence against the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, appears to be growing.

The chemical, found in a wide range of household items, including beverage and food containers, is believed to to cause a fertility defect in the mother’s offspring in animal studies, and now researchers say they have found how the defect occurs.

Exposure during pregnancy to the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, found in many common plastic household items, is known. The results of the new study will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The study, funded partly by the National Institutes of Health, joins a growing body of animal research showing the toxic health effects of BPA, including reproductive and developmental problems. Last August the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found BPA to be safe as currently used but later said more research on its safety is needed.

BPA is used to make hard polycarbonate plastic, such as for baby bottles, refillable water bottles and food containers, as well as to make the linings of metal food cans. BPA has estrogen-like properties and in pregnant animals has been linked to female infertility.

“The big mystery is how does exposure to this estrogen-like substance during a brief period in pregnancy lead to a change in uterine function,” said study co-author Hugh Taylor, MD, professor and chief of the reproductive endocrinology section at Yale University School of Medicine.

To find the answer to that question, Taylor and his co-workers at Yale injected pregnant mice with a low dose of BPA on pregnancy days 9 to 16. After the mice gave birth, the scientists analyzed the uterus of female offspring and extracted DNA.

They found that BPA exposure during pregnancy had a lasting effect on one of the genes that is responsible for uterine development and subsequent fertility in both mice and humans - HOXA10. Furthermore, these changes in the offspring’s uterine DNA resulted in a permanent increase in estrogen sensitivity. The authors believe that this process causes the over-expression of the HOXA10 gene in adult mice that they found in previous studies.

The permanent DNA changes in the BPA-exposed offspring were not apparent in the offspring of mice that did not receive BPA injection. This finding demonstrates that the fetus is sensitive to BPA in mice and likely also in humans, Taylor said.

“We don’t know what a safe level of BPA is, so pregnant women should avoid BPA exposure,” Taylor said. “There is nothing to lose by avoiding items made with BPA—and maybe a lot to gain.”

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