Common household chemicals increase miscarriage risk

By Mariam Digges

Common household chemicals increase miscarriage risk
Canned food and heating food in plastic containers may increase a woman’s risk of miscarriage by up to 80 per cent.

A chemical common in household items such as water bottles, sunglass and CD cases may increase a woman’s risk of miscarriage by up to 80 per cent.

Pregnant women should avoid eating anything out of a can, heating food in plastic containers or touching store cash register receipts, researchers from California’s Stanford University have warned.

The team from the prestigious university found that pregnant women with the highest levels of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their blood were 80 per cent more likely to miscarry. By measuring the levels of the chemical after the women were confirmed to be pregnant, lead researcher Dr Ruth Lathie commented:

“Until further studies are performed, women with unexplained miscarriages should avoid BPA exposure in an effort to remove one potential risk factor.

“There are some simple things that people can do, but it’s impossible to avoid it completely.”

Lathie warned against cooking or warming foods in plastics, cautioning that the chemicals “leak” out of the plastic at a higher rate at higher temperatures. Canned foods and touching anything with high BPA resin levels (like cash register receipts which are coded with resin that has BPA in it) should also be avoided.

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