Many expectant mothers take so many precautions to not consume
anything that could harm the babies they’re carrying.
They avoid alcohol and cigarette smoke, they talk to their doctor
before taking any medication, and even cut back on the kinds of
food they eat while pregnant, all in the hopes their newborns
won’t be exposed to anything harmful while in the womb.
But a new University
of California, San Francisco study reveals the bodies of
virtually all pregnant women in the United States carry multiple
chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s and others used in
common products like non-stick cookware, processed foods and
personal care products.
The study marks the first time that the number of chemicals to
which pregnant women are exposed has been counted.
They then analyzed data for 163 chemicals and detected, in 99 to 100 percent of pregnant women, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), phenols, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and perchlorate.
If those chemicals sound scary, it’s because they are.
PBDEs are compounds used as flame retardants now banned in many states including California. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ( DDT) is an organochlorine pesticide banned in the United States in 1972.
Bisphenol A (BPA), which makes plastic hard and clear, and is found in epoxy resins that are used to line the inside of metal food and beverage cans, was identified in 96 percent of the women surveyed.
Prenatal exposure to BPA has been linked to adverse health outcomes, affecting brain development and increasing susceptibility to cancer later in life.
The study was not designed to identify direct connections to adverse health outcomes, but the findings do have the researchers worried.
"It was surprising and concerning to find so many chemicals in pregnant women without fully knowing the implications for pregnancy," said lead author Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, director of the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.
"Several of these chemicals in pregnant women were at the same concentrations that have been associated with negative effects in children from other studies. In addition, exposure to multiple chemicals that can increase the risk of the same adverse health outcome can have a greater impact than exposure to just one chemical," said Woodruff, who is also an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.
Exposure to chemicals during fetal development has been shown to increase the risk of adverse health consequences, including preterm birth and birth defects, childhood morbidity, and adult disease and mortality according to the research team.
In addition, chemicals can cross the placenta and enter the fetus, and in other studies, a number of chemicals measured in maternal urine and serum have been found in amniotic fluid, cord blood and meconium, they state.
So what can women do? Not much, except try to avoid coming into contact with the items known to contain unsafe chemicals.
Woodruff said their findings indicate several courses of action.
“First, additional research is needed to identify dominant sources of exposure to chemicals and how they influence our health, especially in reproduction. Second, while individuals can take actions in their everyday lives to protect themselves from toxins, significant, long-lasting change only will result from a systemic approach that includes proactive government policies," she said.
Co-authors of the study are Ami R. Zota and Jackie M. Schwartz of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, UCSF Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences.
The study findings were published in Environmental Health Perspectives on Jan. 14.
