Exposure to Plastic Chemicals Phthalates May Shorten Pregnancy, Study Finds

Pregnant women who are exposed to high levels of plastic chemicals called phthalates may give birth earlier than women who are exposed to lower levels of the chemicals, according to a new study.

Researchers from Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health in New York City studied DEHP, also called di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, which is a chemical called a “plasticizer” and used in many plastic and vinyl products to make them flexible and soft.

Previous studies have found a link between phthalate exposure and lower birth weights as well as shorter pregnancies in animals, but the new research hints at a similar effect in humans, according to a Reuters news report.

Widely Used Harmful Chemicals

Phthalates are so widely used in thousands of plastic consumer products that most Americans have at least low levels of DEHP or its chemical by products present in their blood, researchers said. However, elevated levels of the chemicals have been associated with developmental delays and other health complications in children.

The researchers measured DEHP exposure by looking at the levels of four DEHP breakdown products in urine samples collected from the 311 African American or Dominican women aged 18 to 35. All of the women were living in New York City and were in their third trimesters, Reuters reports.

The higher the level of DEHP breakdown products in the mothers’ urine during pregnancy, the earlier the infant was born, the researchers found. Babies with the highest level of exposure were born about five days earlier than those exposed to the lowest levels, according to the study.

This is concerning because premature delivery is a cause of newborn morbidity and death, researchers said.

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