Plastics in Mom Gives Baby Anxiety
We live in a plastic world that is increasingly swallowed by anxiety. Could there be link between plastic chemical exposures in pregnancy with anxious behaviors in children years later? This study suggests that possibility. Keep reading to see if you want to limit plastic exposure during childbearing years to help your children face life with less anxiety.
We should always be careful of fear tactics from motivated groups when we read about how we should be afraid of all the industrial chemicals in our environment. Discernment is always necessary. However, this study was presented and ENDO 2026, held by the Endocrine Society, a very mainstream medical society. Even the non-crunchy, non-functional medicine world is catching on to this problem.
The Study
Of course, this study was not performed in humans as intentional exposure would be unethical, not to mention how long it would take to get results. Instead, they exposed rats to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), a very common plasticize additive that makes plastics more flexible. It show up across the globe, in toys, raincoats, medical devices, and more.
Knowing from prior research that this DEHP could degrade into multiple other chemicals that affect animal health, they measured the behavior of rats born to mothers exposed during pregnancy. By 70 days of age, the rats were tested in a standardized maze experiment for levels of anxiety behavior. Those exposed to DEHP exhibited more freezing, less exploratory behaviors, and delayed actions longer on average.
To further understand how DEHP might affect anxiety related behaviors, they tested rats with either GABA agonists or testosterone before the maze experiment. The addition of testosterone and of GABA (a neurotransmitter associated with calming effects) reduced or eliminated the higher rates of anxiety behaviors. This success suggests that the DEHP had affected these emotion pathways in the rat brains.
Going Farther
In helping our patients and their families go beyond taking GABA or testosterone (not wrong answers, but incomplete), we go on to helping them think about how to avoid these exposures in the first place. Optimizing women for healthy pregnancies requires removing these toxins from their lives and bodies while being sure they have all the nutrients their bodies need for fertility.
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Thanks to Science Daily:
The Endocrine Society. “Common plastic chemical linked to lifelong anxiety in new study.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 June 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260616102221.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.
