Chemicals in plastics and cosmetics tied to early births

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Chemicals in plastics and cosmetics tied to early births

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Chemicals called phthalates, found in plastics and cosmetics, may be linked to a raised risk of babies being born early, suggests a new study. Researchers found that women who delivered babies before 37 weeks gestation had higher levels of phthalates in their urine, compared to women who delivered their children at full term, which is 39 weeks. "Preterm birth is a real public health problem," said John Meeker, who led the study. "We're not really sure how to go about preventing it, but this may shed light on environmental factors that people may want to be educated in." Meeker, from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor, added, "We knew that exposure to phthalates was virtually ubiquitous here in the U.S. and possibly worldwide and preterm births increased for unknown reasons over the past several decades." Phthalates are included in products for a variety of reasons, include to make plastic flexible.

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