Phthalate Exposure During Pregnancy: How Worried Should You Be?
Simple precautions to protect against potential phthalate damage can’t hurt. (Photo by Getty Images)
Most of us come into contact with chemicals called phthalates every day. They’re used to make plastic items more flexible, are found in packaged foods, and even lurk in personal care products such as lotions, nail polish and deodorants.
In recent years, studies have shown phthalates may also put pregnant women at risk of complications and cause other problems with fetal development. New research from the University of Michigan School of Public Health might explain exactly why phthalates are linked to health issues during pregnancy.
The answer is oxidative stress. Most of the time, when we inhale or ingest these prevalent chemicals, our bodies excrete them as quickly as we took them in. However, this new study reveals a link between the presence of phthalates and higher levels of biomarkers for oxidative stress in pregnant women.
In case you’re not totally sure what oxidative stress is, think of it like this: it’s a state occurring inside the body when there are more damaging free radicals than antioxidants to fight back against them. Studies have linked this harmful imbalance to issues like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Looking into the role of phthalates in oxidative stress is a new endeavor, says study author John Meeker, an associate professor of environmental health sciences at University of Michigan. “Past studies have mostly focused on how phthalates play into endocrine disruption and male reproductive development,” Meeker told Yahoo Health. “We previously saw an association between phthalate exposure and preterm birth, so we wanted to look into what mechanism might explain that relationship.”
Related: How My Miscarriage Changed My Next Pregnancy
The new study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, keys in on the phthalates’ role in oxidative stress. The researchers examined the urine samples of 482 Boston-area women at four different points during the course of their pregnancies. They measured nine phthalate metabolites to determine each woman’s level of exposure to the chemicals, along with two markers of oxidative lipid and DNA damage called 8-isoprostane and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine.
Spikes in phthalate metabolites, showing higher exposure to the chemicals, were associated with significantly increased concentrations of both biomarkers. This indicates the body was undergoing more oxidative stress when exposed to phthalates.
Should you be worried? The research here is still early, and since phthalates are so common, Meeker says they’d be hard to avoid completely. However, you can always reduce how many of these chemicals you consume — especially if you’re pregnant.
“I’d suggest a couple things to help cut back on exposure,” he says. “You can purchase phthalate-free products, and you can also eat more whole foods, since these may have less exposure to phthalates from packaging and processing.”
So, don’t panic. Just remember to check labels, and eat from nature whenever possible. Simple precautions to protect against potential phthalate damage can’t hurt.