What to Know About 'Forever Chemicals' if You're Pregnant
Sara Blixt avoided canned tuna – even though it was the food she craved. But tuna meant mercury, a potential threat to her unborn son.
When he was born, she managed to breastfeed for only three months. "I felt like crap," she said.
Three years later, Blixt learned that she and others in her town, Ronneby, Sweden, had extremely high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their blood. The municipal water supply was contaminated by firefighting foam used on a military base for years.
Blixt had likely passed the PFAS to her children through pregnancy and breastfeeding, and again by mixing formula with tap water.
Today, Sara Blixt is grateful – her children are healthy. Yet research increasingly shows that for many others, PFAS may mean harm: Fetal exposure has been linked to a higher risk of birth defects, liver disease, language disorders, and cancer.
Mothers, too, may get pregnancy complications due to PFAS, research suggests – such as high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a serious condition responsible for over 10% of maternal deaths across the globe. And just like Blixt, they may have trouble breastfeeding, and throw in the towel sooner than they would like.
PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," are a class of man-made compounds used in nonstick and waterproof products. They are everywhere: in makeup, cookware, parchment paper, microwaveable popcorn, and rain-proof clothing. We ingest them via contaminated tap water and foods like meat and fish, and we absorb them through the skin.
Our bodies can get rid of PFAS, but slowly: It takes three to five years for the levels of PFOS, a common type of PFAS, to go down by half. "Everyone carries a little bit of PFAS in them," said Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, a reproductive health researcher at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dangers During Pregnancy
PFAS are bad news for everyone, but pregnancy is a particularly vulnerable time. "The fetus is going through a lot of important biological changes that can be interrupted, and that can influence the future baby's health," Woodruff said. For mothers, breasts change to prepare for breastfeeding, breathing rate increases, and blood volume expands.
PFAS get transferred to the fetus via the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the developing baby. "Some toxins sneak through because they're similar in shape and size to things that the fetus might need to grow," said Megan Romano, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. PFAS structurally resemble fatty acids, she said, which could help explain "why they seem to cross the placenta more than some of the other persistent pollutants."
Studies show that depending on the type of PFAS, the fetus receives between 30% and 80% of the mother's blood levels. Over the course of pregnancy, PFAS accumulate in the placenta – so the mother's levels go down after birth. "When you expel the placenta, it takes out a whole bunch of PFAS," Woodruff said. That's good for subsequent children: Several studies have found that the amount of PFAS the baby receives lowers with each birth. (Blood loss during birth also helps clear PFAS from the mother's body.)
PFAS and Lower Birthweight
High prenatal exposure to PFOA, another type of PFAS, has been linked to lower birthweights – studies show reductions of up to 8.8 ounces in babies born to highly exposed mothers.
Low birthweight has been linked to childhood obesity. Romano saw this play out in her research in New Hampshire: Some children who had elevated PFAS exposure were born small, but grew faster than others over the next two to three years, crossing into obese territory. "There may be a metabolic setpoint where your body is like, 'OK, I need to be taking in calories and growing all the time because I'm small and I need to catch up.' And then that doesn't really turn off when you do catch up," Romano said.
Several theories could explain why PFAS may affect birthweight. Animal research shows that forever chemicals interfere with how the mother's body handles fats, which then affects the baby's liver. (Negative effects on liver metabolism have been found in human fetuses, too.) PFAS also throws off maternal blood circulation, potentially affecting the placenta, the baby's nutrition center. "More than likely, it's all of the above," Romano said.
More Dangers: Cancer, Immunity, Brain Development
The negative effects of PFAS don't end with birth. A 2024 Finnish study showed that if a mother has elevated blood levels of one type of PFAS (found, for example, in some low pile carpets), her children are at a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. A June study found that children exposed to high PFAS levels in the womb have 17% higher risk of high blood pressure as teenagers.
Other research links prenatal PFAS exposure with weaker vaccination response, suggesting children's immune systems may not be working as well as they should. A 2025 study found that babies exposed to PFAS during pregnancy grow up to be infection-prone kids.
Brain development may be affected, too. In Denmark, parents of children who came into contact with PFAS before birth reported more behavioral problems, from restlessness to temper tantrums. In Sweden, researchers found that highly exposed children from Ronneby were more likely to have a developmental language disorder. (This could mean limited vocabulary or challenges understanding spoken language.)
"Language development is a marker of general neural development," said Christel Nielsen, PhD, an epidemiologist at Lund University, Sweden, and one of the study's authors. "It could be a signal that this child might need more support to develop its full potential."
The Breast Milk Connection
Besides the placenta, PFAS can transfer to the infant through breast milk, although less efficiently, Nielsen said. In one study of Norwegian toddlers, the children's PFOS and PFOA levels increased by 3% to 5% per month of breastfeeding.
The milk itself may be less nutritious. Romano's recent study showed that breast milk from women exposed to PFAS contained more saturated fatty acids and n-6 fatty acids – not ideal. The milk also had lower levels of lactose. "On average, if there is a higher lactose content in the milk, it means that you're producing more," Romano said. This could explain why women who were exposed to PFAS during pregnancy are often unable to breastfeed for as long as they'd like.
But breastfeeding parents should not be discouraged, even if they were highly exposed to forever chemicals, both Romano and Nielsen agree. Breast milk boosts the immune system, helps the brain develop, and feeds the friendly gut microflora, potentially offsetting the negative impacts of PFAS.
So How Can You Avoid Forever Chemicals?
Dodging PFAS completely is tough, but you can reduce your exposure. Choose cookware made of "glass, cast iron, stainless steel, non-coated," Woodruff said. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer animal products – meat and fish contain more forever chemicals than do plants. Skip microwave popcorn – which combines PFAS (used in the bag lining) with high temperatures and fat for a particularly unhealthy mix.
PFAS can enter through the skin. So waterproof clothing and flame-retardant textiles can be sources. Go easy on makeup, especially foundation: In one study, people who usually wore it had over 50% higher levels of certain PFAS in their blood.
If you're pregnant, don't paint or remodel that baby room yourself: Some wallpaper, paint, and carpeting contain PFAS – although PFAS-free alternatives exist. "It's better to be safe than sorry," said Woodruff, whose team compiled a list of evidence-based tips.
How can you know if you've been highly exposed? There are U.S. and European water-contamination maps. Some jobs, like firefighters or workers who make or handle PFAS-containing materials, are linked to a higher risk. If you're concerned, you can ask your doctor for a PFAS blood test – though the cost can be high and access to the tests can vary.
One potential hope for those with high PFAS levels is a drug called cholestyramine, which has long been used for lowering cholesterol. Early studies suggest the drug helps the body recognize PFAS as a harmful substance and prevents it from being reabsorbed in the liver. A clinical trial found that it may decrease PFAS blood levels by 15% to 60%. The results are "promising," said Nielsen, and targeting highly exposed women before their first child "would be a top priority." But more research is needed before scientists can recommend the drug to the general population.
Above all, women shouldn't blame themselves for PFAS, Woodruff said. "This problem was made by the chemical manufacturing industry." What we now need is for the government to step in and regulate PFAS as a class, she said: Otherwise, we may drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out ways to avoid these chemicals. And the last thing parents-to-be need is more stress – which, by the way, is not best for the baby, either.
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Wall Street Journal
7 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
The U.S. Has a ‘Forever Chemicals' Problem. A French Company Is Cleaning It Up.
Drinking water in Delaware is now being cleaned by one of the largest 'forever chemicals' treatment centers in the country. Veolia, a French waste-management giant and the largest private water operator in the U.S., launched the facility on Wednesday. Boasting almost the same size as a hockey rink, it is the company's largest plant yet to clean PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—more commonly known as forever chemicals. PFAS linger in the environment for years, permeating the environment, including drinking water. Veolia already has 34 facilities on a much smaller scale dotted around the country. But the Stanton plant is now processing 30 million gallons of water a day and serving 100,000 residents. The company wants to expand to about 100 such sites in the next few years. Veolia said its revenue for PFAS cleanup grew to €205 million in 2024, just two years after launching the efforts. The tides are turning on some PFAS requirements, however. The Environmental Protection Agency in 2023 set in motion the first federal limits on PFAS in drinking water, which would have mandated municipalities to filter out the chemicals. But in May, under the Trump administration, the agency said it is looking to delay or roll back the Biden administration standards. While environmental and health advocates balked at the shift, some industry groups have said postponements—from a 2029 to a 2031 deadline—would help with preparations. The loosening of Biden-era limits on forever chemicals is surprising given that EPA administrator Lee Zeldin previously broke with many Republicans to support a bill that would have reduced the use of PFAS contamination. The EPA aims to unwind limits on four kinds of PFAS, meaning that only those known as PFOA and PFOS would be regulated going forward. Aside from drinking water, PFAS can also be found in a range of consumer products from food packaging to textiles and cosmetics. Research has linked PFAS exposure to a range of health problems, from cancer to low birth weight in newborns. The chemicals get into the water and soil when they are used for manufacturing, or even from firefighting foam at airports, for example. 'PFAS contamination poses a serious threat to public health, and addressing it at the source is essential,' Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer said. The cleaning technology Veolia uses in its water plants depends on the type of PFAS, but the company uses granular activated carbon in large tanks, for example, which is a common treatment method to filter out the chemicals. The Delaware facility has 42 large tanks filled with activated carbon. The PFAS molecules stick to the carbon by grabbing onto tiny crevices that give them a large surface area to attach to. The amount of water flooding into the tanks is monitored to give the molecules enough time to bond. The carbon has to be replaced once it has reached its absorption capacity and then collected by a vendor who can perform a chemical removal process so the carbon could be reused in the tanks. Activated carbon 'is one of the most widely used and effective methods for treating PFAS' said Vasilis Vasiliou, chair of the environmental health sciences department at Yale. But it is 'not a universal solution and has important limitations depending on the PFAS type and treatment goals,' he said. The pros are that it is extensively studied and regulated for drinking water treatment plants, but the cons are that the chemicals are captured rather than broken down, so there is a future contamination risk during disposal. The company worked to make the technology affordable so that communities across the U.S. would be able to invest in it, said Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia's CEO. 'We're not here to be the luxury goods of water treatment,' Brachlianoff said. Public anxiety about PFAS continues to brew as the scale of the problem has come to light. About 45% of tap water contains one or more PFAS, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, the science arm of the Interior Department. Companies also face a patchwork of state rules to phase out forever chemicals. Recently, Florida and Virginia enacted PFAS cleanup targets for drinking water. And a further wave of states have proposed a variety of drinking water standards for forever chemicals. To complicate matters, the standards of acceptable chemical levels are far from uniform. In Delaware—a state represented by Joe Biden for decades—there is a bill pending that would put water utilities on notice if PFAS exceed certain limits. The water utilities would then have to notify their customers. 'Clean water should be the baseline,' said David Andrews, acting chief science officer at the Environmental Working Group, a consumer research nonprofit, on its website. 'Making water safer begins with ending the unnecessary use of PFAS and holding polluters accountable for cleanup.' The EPA has alluded to holding polluters accountable, but hasn't provided further details at this time. Write to Clara Hudson at
WebMD
9 hours ago
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What to Know About 'Forever Chemicals' if You're Pregnant
Sara Blixt avoided canned tuna – even though it was the food she craved. But tuna meant mercury, a potential threat to her unborn son. When he was born, she managed to breastfeed for only three months. "I felt like crap," she said. Three years later, Blixt learned that she and others in her town, Ronneby, Sweden, had extremely high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their blood. The municipal water supply was contaminated by firefighting foam used on a military base for years. Blixt had likely passed the PFAS to her children through pregnancy and breastfeeding, and again by mixing formula with tap water. Today, Sara Blixt is grateful – her children are healthy. Yet research increasingly shows that for many others, PFAS may mean harm: Fetal exposure has been linked to a higher risk of birth defects, liver disease, language disorders, and cancer. Mothers, too, may get pregnancy complications due to PFAS, research suggests – such as high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a serious condition responsible for over 10% of maternal deaths across the globe. And just like Blixt, they may have trouble breastfeeding, and throw in the towel sooner than they would like. PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," are a class of man-made compounds used in nonstick and waterproof products. They are everywhere: in makeup, cookware, parchment paper, microwaveable popcorn, and rain-proof clothing. We ingest them via contaminated tap water and foods like meat and fish, and we absorb them through the skin. Our bodies can get rid of PFAS, but slowly: It takes three to five years for the levels of PFOS, a common type of PFAS, to go down by half. "Everyone carries a little bit of PFAS in them," said Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, a reproductive health researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. Dangers During Pregnancy PFAS are bad news for everyone, but pregnancy is a particularly vulnerable time. "The fetus is going through a lot of important biological changes that can be interrupted, and that can influence the future baby's health," Woodruff said. For mothers, breasts change to prepare for breastfeeding, breathing rate increases, and blood volume expands. PFAS get transferred to the fetus via the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the developing baby. "Some toxins sneak through because they're similar in shape and size to things that the fetus might need to grow," said Megan Romano, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. PFAS structurally resemble fatty acids, she said, which could help explain "why they seem to cross the placenta more than some of the other persistent pollutants." Studies show that depending on the type of PFAS, the fetus receives between 30% and 80% of the mother's blood levels. Over the course of pregnancy, PFAS accumulate in the placenta – so the mother's levels go down after birth. "When you expel the placenta, it takes out a whole bunch of PFAS," Woodruff said. That's good for subsequent children: Several studies have found that the amount of PFAS the baby receives lowers with each birth. (Blood loss during birth also helps clear PFAS from the mother's body.) PFAS and Lower Birthweight High prenatal exposure to PFOA, another type of PFAS, has been linked to lower birthweights – studies show reductions of up to 8.8 ounces in babies born to highly exposed mothers. Low birthweight has been linked to childhood obesity. Romano saw this play out in her research in New Hampshire: Some children who had elevated PFAS exposure were born small, but grew faster than others over the next two to three years, crossing into obese territory. "There may be a metabolic setpoint where your body is like, 'OK, I need to be taking in calories and growing all the time because I'm small and I need to catch up.' And then that doesn't really turn off when you do catch up," Romano said. Several theories could explain why PFAS may affect birthweight. Animal research shows that forever chemicals interfere with how the mother's body handles fats, which then affects the baby's liver. (Negative effects on liver metabolism have been found in human fetuses, too.) PFAS also throws off maternal blood circulation, potentially affecting the placenta, the baby's nutrition center. "More than likely, it's all of the above," Romano said. More Dangers: Cancer, Immunity, Brain Development The negative effects of PFAS don't end with birth. A 2024 Finnish study showed that if a mother has elevated blood levels of one type of PFAS (found, for example, in some low pile carpets), her children are at a higher risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. A June study found that children exposed to high PFAS levels in the womb have 17% higher risk of high blood pressure as teenagers. Other research links prenatal PFAS exposure with weaker vaccination response, suggesting children's immune systems may not be working as well as they should. A 2025 study found that babies exposed to PFAS during pregnancy grow up to be infection-prone kids. Brain development may be affected, too. In Denmark, parents of children who came into contact with PFAS before birth reported more behavioral problems, from restlessness to temper tantrums. In Sweden, researchers found that highly exposed children from Ronneby were more likely to have a developmental language disorder. (This could mean limited vocabulary or challenges understanding spoken language.) "Language development is a marker of general neural development," said Christel Nielsen, PhD, an epidemiologist at Lund University, Sweden, and one of the study's authors. "It could be a signal that this child might need more support to develop its full potential." The Breast Milk Connection Besides the placenta, PFAS can transfer to the infant through breast milk, although less efficiently, Nielsen said. In one study of Norwegian toddlers, the children's PFOS and PFOA levels increased by 3% to 5% per month of breastfeeding. The milk itself may be less nutritious. Romano's recent study showed that breast milk from women exposed to PFAS contained more saturated fatty acids and n-6 fatty acids – not ideal. The milk also had lower levels of lactose. "On average, if there is a higher lactose content in the milk, it means that you're producing more," Romano said. This could explain why women who were exposed to PFAS during pregnancy are often unable to breastfeed for as long as they'd like. But breastfeeding parents should not be discouraged, even if they were highly exposed to forever chemicals, both Romano and Nielsen agree. Breast milk boosts the immune system, helps the brain develop, and feeds the friendly gut microflora, potentially offsetting the negative impacts of PFAS. So How Can You Avoid Forever Chemicals? Dodging PFAS completely is tough, but you can reduce your exposure. Choose cookware made of "glass, cast iron, stainless steel, non-coated," Woodruff said. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer animal products – meat and fish contain more forever chemicals than do plants. Skip microwave popcorn – which combines PFAS (used in the bag lining) with high temperatures and fat for a particularly unhealthy mix. PFAS can enter through the skin. So waterproof clothing and flame-retardant textiles can be sources. Go easy on makeup, especially foundation: In one study, people who usually wore it had over 50% higher levels of certain PFAS in their blood. If you're pregnant, don't paint or remodel that baby room yourself: Some wallpaper, paint, and carpeting contain PFAS – although PFAS-free alternatives exist. "It's better to be safe than sorry," said Woodruff, whose team compiled a list of evidence-based tips. How can you know if you've been highly exposed? There are U.S. and European water-contamination maps. Some jobs, like firefighters or workers who make or handle PFAS-containing materials, are linked to a higher risk. If you're concerned, you can ask your doctor for a PFAS blood test – though the cost can be high and access to the tests can vary. One potential hope for those with high PFAS levels is a drug called cholestyramine, which has long been used for lowering cholesterol. Early studies suggest the drug helps the body recognize PFAS as a harmful substance and prevents it from being reabsorbed in the liver. A clinical trial found that it may decrease PFAS blood levels by 15% to 60%. The results are "promising," said Nielsen, and targeting highly exposed women before their first child "would be a top priority." But more research is needed before scientists can recommend the drug to the general population. Above all, women shouldn't blame themselves for PFAS, Woodruff said. "This problem was made by the chemical manufacturing industry." What we now need is for the government to step in and regulate PFAS as a class, she said: Otherwise, we may drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out ways to avoid these chemicals. And the last thing parents-to-be need is more stress – which, by the way, is not best for the baby, either.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Researchers make concerning discovery in blood of firefighters and health care workers: 'Potential sources of exposure remain unclear'
There are heroes who put their lives and health on the line to protect others every day. We want those brave and selfless people to be celebrated and protected as much as possible, so it's a huge problem to discover that they're more at risk than we previously knew. Unfortunately, it turns out that firefighters and health care workers have above-average levels of toxic PFAS in their bodies, and we're not sure why, reported the University of Arizona. A recent study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology looked at the levels of multiple perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the blood of various essential workers. It found that firefighters and health care workers had elevated levels of certain PFAS compared with other groups. The study had 1,960 participants, including 280 firefighters, 787 health care workers, and 734 other essential workers. It took place over three years. During that time, the overall level of PFAS in the blood samples studied declined but was still significant. "Our study reinforces previous research showing elevated PFAS levels among firefighters and suggests that health care workers may have unique sources of PFAS exposure as well," said senior author Kate Ellingson, a professor at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, per the University of Arizona. "Our findings underscore the need to understand occupational exposure pathways for PFAS among different types of workers." PFAS are toxic substances also known as "forever chemicals" because they essentially never break down in the environment or the body. Instead, they build up. PFAS are used in a wide range of products, especially ones that are water- or stain-resistant. They pollute our water and soil and cause a wide range of serious health effects. "Almost all adults in the U.S. have detectable levels of certain PFAS, and people in occupations with more frequent exposure to PFAS-containing materials have been shown to exhibit higher serum concentrations of some PFAS," said co-author Jeff Burgess, a professor and the director of the Center for Firefighter Health Collaborative Research at the Zuckerman College of Public Health, per the University of Arizona. "Research into occupational exposure to PFAS is vital to reduce the health risks associated with PFAS, including but not limited to increases in rates of certain cancers, increases in cholesterol levels, lower antibody response to certain immunizations, and increased rates of certain adverse reproductive outcomes." Identifying the issue is the first step in addressing it. "To date, PFAS exposure in health care settings has not been widely studied, and the potential sources of exposure remain unclear," said Ellingson. "Therefore, it's important to further examine specific exposure routes and health consequences for firefighters and health care workers." Scientists are also working on ways to destroy PFAS. Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
