Pregnant women are exposed to dozens of harmful chemicals that could cause complications such as early delivery and low birth weight, a new study warns.
Researchers tested urine samples from over 5,000 women who gave birth over a 20-year period and compared a chemical analysis to records of pregnancy outcomes.
On average, the tests found 45 chemicals per sample.
In some samples, there were as many as 64 chemicals.
Many of these chemicals, like phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were associated with pregnancy complications.
“We found that several newer chemicals used to replace toxic ones are also harmful,” said senior researcher Tracey Woodruff, a professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford University School of Medicine and Woods Institute for the Environment.
Harmful chemicals have been linked to a wide variety of chronic diseases and conditions, including obesity, metabolic issues, cancer and reproductive decline.
Reproductive disorders have been linked to exposure to harmful chemicals in a number of other studies, including a recent study that showed phthalates were responsible for around 56,000 preterm births in 2018 alone.
