A recent study on the effects of microplastics absorbed during pregnancy found that even small levels of ingested microplastics can cause serious — and possibly fatal — effects for both mothers and fetuses.
What's happening?
The study was conducted on pregnant mice, who were fed varying levels of solutions containing microplastics.
The results found that even low levels of microplastics significantly disrupted the mice's blood glucose metabolism and increased their resistance to insulin, which signified a possible correlation with gestational diabetes mellitus.
Gestational diabetes is often chronic to both mothers and offspring, and it can also be fatal. It's been linked to conditions including preeclampsia, hypertension, and cesarean deliveries.
The mice administered higher doses of microplastics experienced even more severe symptoms, including weight loss, significant tissue damage, liver failure, and even the resorption of fetuses, also known as intrauterine death.
Why are these results so concerning?
Scientists were concerned about the significant impact of even low levels of microplastics on pregnancies. The adverse health effects were observed in group administered microplastics at levels equivalent to "ambient environmental levels" that humans experience.
Microplastics are formed intentionally — such as in cosmetic microbeads — and accidentally, as a result of plastic degradation. Regardless of how they are formed, it's clear that they are everywhere.
These tiny toxic particles are found in coral reefs, kitchen salt, archeological sites, and even human placentas. A single tea bag can contain 12 billion microplastics.
And given how many toiletries and packaged products the average pregnant woman consumes, scientists fear that they may have an even higher average exposure than the mice in this study.
What's being done to protect pregnancies from microplastics?
Microplastics are already rampant, but many scientists and companies are innovating around ways to filter them out of our food, water, and air. From experimenting with plant-based filtration methods to using magnetic adsorbents, combating toxicity with probiotics, and even simply planting more trees to absorb microplastics from the air, several methods could prove helpful in mitigating exposure.
It's also worth limiting plastic usage and demand to prevent the creation of future microplastics. From switching to reusable water bottles and tote bags to using plastic-free beauty and cleaning products, there are many ways you can limit your plastic purchases and create a safer, less microplastic-heavy environment.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet.
Cool Picks
