A new study has provided good evidence that flame retardants may harm pregnant women and their infants. The study has shown that exposure to PDBE flame retardants results in a lower concentration of thyroid hormones during pregnancy, which can harm the health of both the mother and the developing child. The director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has reacted to the study in a press release by the NIEHS and an interview with Environmental Health News.

“Clearly it is something that should be looked at further,” Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said in an interview with Environmental Health News. “I think the change [in the women’s hormones] is probably real. It’s in agreement with other human studies in other [non-pregnant] adults and it’s the first study showing a pretty significant effect.”

Hyperthyroidism and other conditions are potential complications of lower TSH levels, which is what the researchers detected in the study of over 270 pregnant women.

PDBE’s are present in many flame retardant products in common household use, including sofa coverings such as Scotchguard.

Tags: pdbe hyperthyroid, pdbe pregnant woman study, pdbe study

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