New research shows that pregnant people are widely exposed to cancer-causing chemicals found in common household and beauty products.
For this study, the researchers focused on 45 chemicals that are not regularly monitored by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and can be found in products such as hair dyes, plastic dishware, food packaging, tobacco smoke and mascara.
Pregnant people of color were found to have the highest levels of these chemicals.
Chemical exposure
The study, published this week in Chemosphere, is part of a larger project to better understand pregnant women’s chemical exposure.
This is the first US study of its kind.
Some of the most concerning findings were that 100 million pounds of melamine and its byproduct cyanuric acid are produced yearly.
Melamine
Melamine, which can be found in plastics, has been recognized as a kidney toxicant; it is also classified as a carcinogen.
In the mid 2000s, melamine hit headlines after baby formula tainted with the chemical killed babies in China.
Animal studies have also shown that melamine could be neurotoxic, “meaning the offspring could have bad memory or other neuron-related effects,” said Giehae Choi, postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author of the study.
The samples
Researchers measured these chemicals in urine samples of 171 women from states across the country and Puerto Rico.
Another study conducted in Taiwan found that melamine and phthalate exposure (another chemical group) might be associated with early kidney injury in pregnant women.
In the US study, melamine and cyanuric acid were found in practically all participants, but the highest levels were in women of color.
This study was not able to pinpoint where this exposure is coming from for certain populations or why it might be disproportionate.