Fetuses do not seem to be protected from everything by their mother’s womb. Indeed, during pregnancy, exposure to phthalates would increase the risk of asthma in future children by 70%, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
The phthalates are everywhere or almost … However, they constitute a real danger for the fetuses. These chemicals present in plastics (shower curtains for example) but also perfumes, deodorants and even certain drinks are extremely harmful to pregnant women because their contact would increase the risk of having a child with asthma.
Phthalates are a risk factor for asthma
Even though the phthalates have been banned since 2009 in products intended for children, the researchers wanted to understand whether the exposure of fetuses to phthalates increased the risk for future children of developing asthma.
Researchers at Columbia University (New York) followed 300 women and analyzed the exposure of these participants and their children to phthalates (precisely 4) using urine tests. Samples were taken from the mother during the third trimester of pregnancy and from children at 3, 5, and 7 years old.
Scientists compared these rates to the development of asthma in children.
The results of the study reveal that 20% of children have breathing problems without being asthmatic and that pregnant women are highly exposed to butylbenzyl phthalate (used in floor coverings) and dibutyl phthalates (used as a plasticizer, or solvent. for varnishes) had children more affected by this disease.
In fact, this exposure increases the risk of suffering from asthma between 5 and 11 years by 72 and 78%.
“These two phthalates add to a set of known risk factors for asthma, such as tobacco smoke, pollution, obesity and a history of allergies” explains the lead author of the study, Dr. Rachel Miller, professor of pediatrics and environmental health at Columbia University.
“If we want to protect children, we must protect pregnant women», Insists the researcher.
