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Hundred chemicals found in pregnant women—and their newborn

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A typical pregnant woman has 109 chemicals—from pollutants, cooking utensils, cosmetics and food containers—in her body.

A typical pregnant woman has 109 chemicals—from pollutants, cooking utensils, cosmetics and food containers—in her body. They have been discovered in the women’s blood and in the newborn child, which means they are passing through the placenta.

But although it’s very worrying, it’s not clear what damage the chemicals are causing to the mother and child, say researchers from the University of California at San Francisco.

It’s equally worrying that the researchers can’t identify the source of 42 chemicals or what they do, although the researchers are assuming that they are from consumer products and industrial processes.

Of the chemicals that were identified, most are used in food packaging, or in cosmetics, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and fire retardants.

“It’s very concerning that we were unable to identify the uses or sources of so many chemicals,” said researcher Tracey Woodruff.

(Source: Environmental Science & Technology, 2021; doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c05984)

Article Topics: Childbirth, Fetus, pregnancy, source
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