The study, led by scientist Tracey Woodruff, is said to the be the first time the number of chemicals to which pregnant women are exposed to has been comprehensively counted, but does not take into account the effect the chemicals had on the subjects' health.
The results showed that phthalates, together with chemicals found in other consumer products such as the banned chemical PBDEs, PAHs PCBs and perchlorate all occurred in between 99 and 100 percent of the women tested.
Phthalates are a family of compounds, two of which are commonly used in cosmetic and personal care products to formulate products such as hairspray, nail varnish and fragrances.
Birth defects and infant behavioral problems
A number of studies have claimed that exposure of pregnant women to phthalates can be linked to birth defects and affect infant behaviour, but some critics have said this research cannot be fully substantiated.
But as well as phthalates, the study also found traces of BPA, a chemical used in a resin that coats consumer packaging and known to affect brain development and the incidence of cancer, was also identified in 96 percent of women tested.
The study analyzed the data for 268 pregnant women from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2003 – 2004, which the scientists selected because of the fact it is a nationally representative sample of the US population.
Cocktail of chemicals
“It was surprising and concerning to find so many chemicals in pregnant women without fully knowing the implications for pregnancy,” said Woodruff, PhD, MPH, director of the university’s Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment.
“Several of these chemicals in pregnant women were at the same concentrations that have been associated with negative effects in children from other studies. In addition, exposure to multiple chemicals that can increase the risk of the same adverse health outcome can have a greater impact than exposure to just one chemical,” she said.
Woodruff also noted that a number of the chemicals were said to be at levels that have been associated with adverse health risks including birth defects in previous studies.
"In addition, exposure to multiple chemicals that can increase the risk of the same adverse health outcome can have a greater impact than exposure to just one chemical,” said Woodruff.