The Toxic Truth: How Everyday Products Threaten Healthy Pregnancies

Web Exclusive
By Erika Schreder and Sharyle Patton
07/19/2010

You can follow the stories of women who are chronicling their struggles with toxins in pregnancy and during breastfeeding on our blog: All Things Mothering.

Amy Ellings knows a lot about being healthy. In fact, she has worked to teach others about health and nutrition for the past ten years. So when she agreed to have her blood and urine tested for toxic chemicals as part of a study by the Washington Toxics Coalition and Commonweal on chemicals in pregnant women, she wasn’t expecting a lot of bad news.

In her own words, “When I found out I was pregnant, my priorities suddenly became all about making sure the baby was healthy. I did a lot of reading on having a healthy pregnancy, and quit drinking coffee, ate a lot of organic foods, ate a healthy diet, exercised, took vitamins, got regular check-ups, and took classes.”

She was in for a surprise. Amy’s test results showed sky-high levels of toxic bisphenol A and phthalates, which can interfere with hormone function. Her body was also contaminated with mercury, which can damage brain development, and other chemicals that build up in our bodies and breast milk.

The study, Earliest Exposures, found that babies enter the world already having been exposed to toxic chemicals. The study was a joint project led by the Washington Toxics Coalition and Commonweal, two organizations that have been on the forefront of testing people for toxic chemicals in their bodies. These kinds of tests have been made possible in the plast decade by major leaps in the abilities of certain specialized laboratories to detect chemicals in people.

For this study, the researchers wanted to look at exposures to toxic chemicals during the very most vulnerable period of life—when a fetus is developing in the womb. Researchers tested nine women from Washington, Oregon, and California who volunteered to donate samples of blood and urine during their second trimester of pregnancy.

The tests measured levels of five chemical groups in the blood and urine of pregnant women. The chemicals include phthalates, mercury, perfluorinated compounds (or “Teflon chemicals”), bisphenol A, and the flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A. Tests also measured levels of thyroid hormones, which are important for a healthy pregnancy.

What our results show is that fetuses develop in an environment that exposes them to known toxic chemicals, with chemicals from everyday products contaminating their mothers’ bodies.

The study detected 11 to 13 chemicals in each of the pregnant women. The chemicals found include:

• phthalates, used in vinyl (PVC) plastic items like shower curtains, floors, and toys;
• bisphenol A (BPA), found in polycarbonate water bottles and food and beverage cans;
• mercury, which contaminates healthy food like fish;
• and “Teflon chemicals,” used to make stain proofing treatments for clothing, carpeting, and food packaging. 

These chemicals can cause reproductive problems and cancer, disrupt hormonal systems such as the thyroid, and impair brain development. For more details on the study, see http://www.watoxics.org/earliestexposures.
 
Exposures before birth are of special concern because the developing fetus is highly vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals. The fetus develops quickly in the womb, and that development is easily derailed by toxic chemicals. The fetus also has a very limited ability to detoxify foreign chemicals.

Amy’s baby was born in good health, and Amy continues to make the same kinds of healthy choices she made during her pregnancy. After learning her results, she is even more careful. “I know it’s difficult to know the sources of the toxic chemicals in my body,” she said, “but once I learned more about some of the products we are using, I got a new shower curtain, non-plastic, just in case the old one was exposing me and my family to phthalates. I am breastfeeding my son, but when I’m at work he drinks from bottles that are BPA-free. Also, I shop for baby personal care products that are free from artificial fragrances or ‘parfum.’” And Amy always looks for baby toys from trusted companies whose products have tested free of toxic chemicals.