Bisphenol A, more commonly known as BPA, is a chemical pollutant that is known to have many serious health implications. Now, new research has revealed that it may also be responsible for pre-term births.

A recent study conducted by Ramkumar Menon, an assistant professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, together with collaborators from Winthrop University Hospital and Kaiser Permanente Southern California, has found that moms-to-be who had higher concentrations of BPA in their bloodstream were more likely to give birth early compared to pregnant women who had lower concentrations of BPA in their blood, indicating that BPA may be a contributing factor in premature births.

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For the study, which recently appeared in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, the researchers analyzed blood samples taken from expectant women as they were admitted into hospital during labor, as well as from fetal amniotic fluid samples collected during the birth. BPA is a widespread environmental contaminant that is widely used in the manufacture of plastic food containers and beverage bottles, as well as plastic linings in tins used to package canned foods. BPA can leach into food packaged in these containers, and this release can be increased when packaged food is heated in a microwave oven or other heat source. BPA can also leach out of plastic beverage bottles when exposed to heat (including sunlight) during transportation and preparation, compromising products that are considered healthy, such as bottled water for example. Because it is so widely used, women are continually exposed to the contaminant.

"In fact, BPA is so widely used that nearly all women have some level of exposure," said Menon.

BPA is similar in structure to the hormone estrogen, which it mimics within the female body, binding to estrogen receptors, including receptors that control inflammation. This can result in abnormal inflammation, which can increase the risk of complications associated with pregnancy, including water breaking earlier than expected and premature birth. This study is the first to investigate the role of high BPA concentrations in the blood to increased risk of premature birth.

"Widespread use of BPA in materials of our daily life and our findings that all patients have some level of exposure suggests that contact with these materials is unavoidable," Menon said. "This suggests that a better understanding of how BPA may alter maternal physiology is needed to minimize the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes."

The researchers are now busy conducting studies on cells taken from fetal membranes and the uteruses of pregnant women to determine the molecular pathways and to identify potential targets that can be used for medical intervention.

Journal Reference: Faranak Behnia, Morgan Peltier, Darios Getahun, Cheryl Watson, George Saade, Ramkumar Menon. High bisphenol A (BPA) concentration in the maternal, but not fetal, compartment increases the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 2016; 1 DOI: 10.3109/14767058.2016.1139570