Perfume of pregnant women affects the brain of their children

American scientists from the University of Illinois have found that the use of perfume and plastic dishes during pregnancy adversely affects the brain of the unborn child.

To such conclusions, scientists came in the experiments on laboratory rats. The women were fed a biscuit with phthalates throughout the pregnancy and another 10 days after that in a concentration approximately corresponding to the active use of a man's perfume and plastic utensils. The offspring born throughout the year underwent various tests.

It turned out that phthalates do not have any negative impact on the mother's body. In rats, during the first 90 days of their life (the equivalent of 20 years of age), there were also no abnormalities.

However, at an older age, it turned out that the cognitive abilities of the offspring were affected, which was exposed to phthalates even in the womb. During the tests in the labyrinth, such rats needed more time to solve the problem than the offspring of the control group who received normal food. They also significantly adapted to the changes in the labyrinth.

Scientists emphasize that they are surprised by the scale of the effect of phthalates. Analysis of brain tissue in rats showed that in the anterior part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex, in animals whose mothers were fed phthalates, fewer compounds between neurons than in healthy rats. Namely, this area of ​​the brain is responsible for attention, ability to plan, coordination, etc.

Researchers recommend pregnant women for the time of bearing a child to refuse perfume and air fresheners, and also not to warm food in plastic containers in a microwave oven. This should minimize the effect of phthalates on the fetus. "We pay the price for convenience, but sometimes this price is too high," said the lead author of the study, Professor Janice Juraska.

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