Chemical Exposure During Pregnancy: Why Endocrine Disruptors Matter

Before birth, exposure to endocrine disruptors and microplastics may affect maternal and child health. What pregnant people need to know.

During pregnancy, the fetus may be exposed to invisible chemicals present in everyday products, some of which can interfere with development even before birth.

The endocrine system is a chemical messaging network in the body made up of glands, hormones, and receptors that regulate essential functions such as metabolism, sleep, growth, and reproduction.

During pregnancy, this system plays a particularly critical role. It is one of the most sensitive stages of human life, during which essential biological processes for adult life are “programmed.” The placenta itself acts as an endocrine organ, coordinating hormonal signals between mother and fetus to ensure proper fetal development, maintain a healthy pregnancy, and prepare the body for birth and breastfeeding.

In this context, environmental exposures may interfere with the developing endocrine system and disrupt this delicate biological balance.

What are endocrine disruptors?

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are substances capable of interfering with the normal functions of the hormone system. They may imitate, block, or alter the signal of certain hormones in the body. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are found almost everywhere in everyday products, including plastics, food packaging, cosmetics, and cleaning products. Unfortunately, the science is increasingly clear that pregnant persons and their babies are exposed to these chemicals and that their effects can last far beyond the delivery room

Why pregnancy is a particularly vulnerable period

Pregnancy is one of the most hormonally sensitive periods in human life, thus it is also one of the most vulnerable. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been detected in the placenta, cord blood, and amniotic fluid, showing that they can directly reach the developing fetus. After pregnancy, they can also appear in breast milk. Research has linked prenatal endocrine-disrupting chemicals exposure to a range of health effects in newborns and children such as decreased birth weight, altered growth trajectories, poorer lung function, metabolic syndrome, and even differences in brain development.

Plastics as a major source of chemical exposure

Plastics are one of the most significant sources of endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure in daily life, and they are almost everywhere during pregnancy: food containers, water bottles, the lining of canned foods, and in personal care products that we apply to our skin. Bisphenols, like BPA and BPS, phthalates, and PFAS ("forever chemicals") are among the most studied plastic chemicals known to have endocrine disrupting effects. Heating or blending food in plastic containers accelerates the migration of these substances into food and is associated with higher levels of these chemicals in the body, as well as increased consumption of fast food or prepared food.

The “mixture effect”: understanding real-world exposure

What makes this especially complex is what scientists call ‘the mixture effect’. In real life, we are never exposed to just one endocrine-disrupting chemicals at a time, but rather, we are exposed to dozens or more simultaneously, each arriving from a different source. These chemicals enter our body via inhalation of the air, orally through consumption of food and water, and by dermal absorption when we apply products or wear synthetic fibers. Researchers have specifically studied how multiple combinations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals affect children's health, offering a more realistic picture of actual human exposure. One such analysis found that a mixture of persistent organic pollutants was associated with a greater risk of accelerated BMI gain in children. This is an important finding because rapid increase in BMI is linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes later in adulthood.

What is science doing to understand these risks?

Two major European-funded research projects taking place at ISGlobal and other research institutions across Europe are working to fill critical knowledge gaps:

• ATHLETE — Advancing Tools for Human Early Lifecourse Exposome Research and Translation — aims to better understand and prevent health damage from numerous environmental hazards and their mixtures, starting from the earliest stages of life during pregnancy. The project is building on data from existing exposome cohorts that cover the first 18 years of life. 
• AURORA is the Actionable European Roadmap for Early-life Health Risk Assessment of Micro- and nanoplastics. Its focus is specifically on microplastic and nanoplastic particles in the placenta, an issue of increasing concern given the ubiquity of plastics in the environment. The project investigates plastic exposures and health effects during pregnancy, in utero, and in early life and establishes a framework for plastics research in the future. Researchers have already found microplastics in the placenta and umbilical cord, underscoring the urgency of understanding their impact on reproductive health and infancy.

Together, these projects represent a significant European investment in understanding not just individual chemicals, but the full complexity of what we are all exposed to.

How to reduce exposure during pregnancy

Our health is shaped by many factors, and small steps in daily life can genuinely reduce exposure without uprooting your routine. We don’t have to change everything all at once. We can choose wisely when it's time to buy something new, or avoid daily use of products that we know can be harmful. Some practical choices that matter most during pregnancy:

• Avoid heating food in plastic containers; use glass or ceramic instead. Avoid take-away food as much as possible, or bring your own containers
• Choose glass, stainless steel, or ceramic water bottles and cookware
• Use a water filter at home instead of drinking water from plastic bottles
• Opt for fragrance-free personal care products and check labels for parabens, phthalates, and triclosan, or reduce daily use as much as possible
• Limit processed and canned foods; choose fresh, organic, and locally grown produce whenever possible.
• Ventilate your home regularly (2x per day) and clean dust thoroughly using a wet, cotton cloth as many EDCs and microplastics accumulate in indoor dust
• Choose natural fabrics when possible (cotton, linen, wool) and avoid polyester

Beyond individual choices: a collective approach

Beyond individual choices, systemic change requires collective action. Supporting stricter endocrine-disrupting chemicals regulation and choosing brands with transparent ingredient policies are all ways of supporting systemic change. How we care for pregnant persons and our children contributes to the future of everyone. Extending that care to the everyday choices we make from what we choose to put on our skin, where we source our food, or the products we purchase all matters more than we might think for our daily well being and for future generations. Reducing exposure during pregnancy is not about perfection — it’s about bringing more awareness to our daily habits and protecting the earliest stages of life.