Microplastics are always present in everyday life – in water, food and soil. Now they are also a fact in utero, according to a new medical report.
In a study of expectant mothers, microplastics were recently detected in the placenta – which connects mother to baby – in four healthy pregnant women. Tests that analyzed only 4% of each individual’s placenta found at least a dozen plastic particles.
“It’s like having a cyborg baby: no longer composed only of human cells, but a mixture of biological and inorganic entities,” said Antonio Ragusa, director of obstetrics and gynecology at San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome.
“The mothers were shocked,” he told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, as first reported in English by the Daily Mail.
Scientists are unsure how microplastic – less than 5 millimeters wide by definition – affects human health. When observed, they seem to pass through the digestive tract with the other stuff we eat. What happens in the meantime remains largely a mystery.
The stakes are significantly higher for pregnant women, which is why it’s so important to understand what plastic does in the human body – at every stage of life. That’s why scientists are calling this new report a “matter of major concern.”
Ragusa and his colleagues, whose findings were published in the journal Environment International, believe this is just a snapshot of the total plastic volume in the average placenta.
The microplastics found were about 10 microns in size – that’s one hundredth of a millimeter – small enough to circulate the bloodstream between cells that are only 2 or 3 microns smaller.
Doctors are concerned that microplastics don’t stop at the placenta and may play a role in a baby’s development.
“Because of the critical role of placenta in supporting fetal development and as an interface with the external environment, the presence of potentially harmful plastic particles is of great concern,” researchers wrote in their report.
The makeup of plastics varies, some containing chemicals known to disrupt hormone regulation or chemicals related to certain cancers. Meanwhile, scientists are discovering plastic in every corner of life, despite newborns. Earlier this year, researchers found that polypropylene baby food bottles emit millions of plastic particles into the nutritional milk every day of use.
Authors of the study urged the research community to continue their research.
“Further studies should be conducted to assess whether the presence of microplastics can trigger immune responses or lead to the release of toxic contaminants, which can lead to damage,” they wrote.