Phthalates not only plasticize countless everyday products but also the brains of babies born to moms using these products. Phthalates are added to so many different cosmetics and personal care products from daily life. These included detergents, shampoos, soaps, besides various plastic wrappings. This study looked at whether such phthalates exposures could affect a baby’s health as much as other research indicates it affects women’s health.
As the paper describes, phthalates have been around since their invention in 1907, building to a 10-billion-dollar market for the principal precursor to produce the many forms. Studies reveal that nearly everyone has some exposure to these ubiquitous chemicals whether through skin absorption, dust inhalation, or inadvertent ingestion. Other studies support a significant endocrine disrupting effect. Other studies also demonstrate neurodevelopmental changes in children as well as effects on Apgar scores 5 minutes after birth (a pediatricians scoring system measuring newborn distress signs). These researchers wanted to add more understanding to the literature in terms of how these chemicals affect a newborn’s metabolome (metabolic processes).
By looking at a number of different phthalates and a number of different key metabolic processes during infant development, they demonstrated that multiple metabolic pathways were impacted by phthalate exposures in mom during pregnancy . Excellent graphs in the paper connect the dots visually, showing a variety of impacted processes. Several vitamins were impacted, such as vitamin K, B6, B6, B3, and E. Also impacted were the metabolic pathways of tyrosine which leads to our catecholamine neurotransmitters and tryptophan which leads to serotonin and melatonin. Changes in any of these pathways could obviously adversely affect an infant’s health and development.
To help determine if these metabolic changes had any actual effects on infant development, they used a subset of participants with further neurodevelopment testing. From this group, they found that higher levels of certain phthalates correlated with lower levels of attention measurements.
Several future lines of study were mentioned building on this study. The potential synergism of toxicity between phthalates and other known toxins like nicotine and pesticides should be studied. Potential links with gut microbiome markers were also noted. This further research could explain differences in neurologic outcomes between children with similar phthalate exposures.
As we help parents guide their children to healthier, more abundant lives, we work to lower exposures to toxins like these in children. Between lowering exposures and optimizing our bodies’ detoxification system, we can lessen the impact of such toxins on children’s developing brains and bodies. We also take advantage of helping future moms lower their prenatal exposures so that their newborns don’t have to face these toxins from the beginning. Hopefully, more and more parents will take this threat seriously over the coming years.
Get started with Sanctuary today!
Click below to schedule your first conversation with our Patient Support Team.
Original Article:
Hoffman, S.S., Tang, Z., Dunlop, A. et al. Impact of prenatal phthalate exposure on newborn metabolome and infant neurodevelopment. Nat Commun, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57273-z
Thanks to Science Daily:
Emory University. “Using everyday products during pregnancy can affect newborn’s metabolism, study finds.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 April 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250402122025.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Dr. Eric Potter graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School and then went on to specialize in internal medicine (adult) and pediatric care, spending significant time and effort in growing his medical understanding while caring for patients from all walks of life.
