Are BPA and plastics safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about BPA and plastics during pregnancy?

1. Most daily human BPA exposure comes from its presence in food and beverages, and BPA crosses the placenta, with the fetus less able to clear it because of low metabolic maturity. 1
2. BPA is used in polycarbonate products and in the epoxy resins that line the inside of many food and beverage cans, and it is a non-persistent chemical with a short half-life, which makes exposure hard to measure accurately. 2
3. Across one review, 80 percent of the studies examined reported a correlation between maternal BPA exposure and later behavioral differences in children, while 16 percent found no significant relationship. 1
4. In a prospective analysis of 3,619 mother-infant pairs across 11 US cohorts, bisphenol A showed no significant association with birth outcomes, while third-trimester bisphenol S was linked to a small-for-gestational-age birth (odds ratio 1.52). 3
5. Reviewers describe the human neurodevelopment evidence as limited and inconsistent across different studies, test batteries and child age groups, rather than as an established effect. 2

Is BPA and plastics safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. If you want to change habits, changing them now costs nothing and saves later second-guessing. The simplest swap is heating and storing food in glass or ceramic instead of plastic.
• Second trimester. Canned foods are a bigger contributor than water bottles, since the epoxy resin lining many cans contains BPA. Dried and frozen versions of the same foods sidestep it without changing your diet.
• Third trimester. One review found the neurodevelopment signal was strongest for third-trimester exposure in male infants, though a large US analysis found no association between BPA and birth outcomes at all. Both findings are real and neither is the final word.