Chemicals commonly found in sunscreen, makeup and other personal care products could be putting pregnancies at risk. Results of a new study published August 14 in the journal ‘Environmental Health Perspectives,’ found that phenols and parabens in the beauty products increase a pregnant woman’s risk of high blood pressure by 57 per cent, particularly at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation. Study lead researcher Julia Varshavsky said, “We found chemicals in everyday soaps, lotions, makeup, sunscreen and other personal care products and consumer products [that] increased risk of hypertension” among a study group of more than 1,000 pre gnant women in Puerto Rico.
Varshavsky is an assistant professor of health sciences at Northeaster n University in Boston. Phenols and parabens are used as UV filters in sunscreens, and to prevent the growth of harmful mould and bacteria in makeup and cosmetics, researchers said. Parabens alone are used in about 80 per cent of personal care products, the research team said in background notes, reported the ‘SciTechDaily’.
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