BPA Levels May Increase Risk of Miscarriage

A recent study has linked the chemical bisphenol-A, also known as BPA, to a higher risk of miscarriages. And unfortunately, this chemical can be found in a lot of everyday items.

According to various health officials, they note that levels are usually so low that they do not pose any health risks for individuals. However, the study found that BPA levels can increase the risk of miscarriage. This small study suggests that exposure to BPA could be detrimental and should be limited.

For this study, researcher Dr. Ruth Lathi, a reproductive endocrinologist from Stanford University and colleagues looked at 115 pregnant women who had a history of infertility or miscarriage. From this group of women, 68 of the participants suffered from a miscarriage and 47 had successful live births. The team examined collected blood samples from the newly pregnant women in order to study their BPA levels. The women were then separated info four groups based on the level determined by their BPA.

The research teams calculated that the women in the group with higher levels of exposure had an increased risk of having a miscarriage-some as much as 80 percent. However, researchers note that their study was small and other factors could have determined such a link.

Despite other detrimental factors that might be irrelevant of BPA levels, health officials recommend avoiding unnecessary risk that could raise BPA levels at all costs--including cooking or warming up food in plastic containers, leaving plastic bottles in the sunlight, and reducing the overall use of canned products. 

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More information regarding the study can be found via the American Society for Reproductive Medicine's annual meeting in Boston, Ma.