BPA in pregnant women

A new study of BPA levels of pregnant women found that those who ate canned vegetables daily, were cashiers, or who were exposed to tobacco smoke had high concentrations of Bisphenol-A (BPA) in their systems.

BPA was found in detectable levels in more than 90% of the women, but these particular groups had above-average concentrations.

Pregnant women are considered to be a population vulnerable to BPA levels because BPA has been associated with health effects such as miscarriage, down’s syndrome, reproductive development and brain development.

The report, released in Environmental Health News points out that mothers and pregnant women have worked hard to pressure industry to get BPA out of products like baby bottles and sippy cups, but that women still are exposed to BPA during the critical fetal development period.

Cashiers are particularly vulnerable to BPA because of a coating that is found in many register receipts, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group this year. Populations like cashiers who work with receipts every day are exposed to high levels of BPA. Pregnant cashiers averaged 55% higher BPA levels than pregnant teachers (a population that tends to have low BPA levels).

Women who ate canned vegetables at least once a day had 44% more BPA in their urine than those who did not. This is because BPA is found in the lining of many canned foods.

The canned food industry is beginning to hear the message: Consumers want BPA away from our food. A new report by Green Century gave grades to major food companies based on their plan to remove BPA from their cans. According to the report, Hain Celstial, ConAgra and HJ Heinz all received high grades based on their movement toward BPA-free cans. Other companies like Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and Unilever received failing grades for not having a plan to phase out BPA.

While the federal government has failed to take steps to ban BPA on a national level, seven states have stepped in and banned it from children’s products.