Microplastics May Promote Postpartum Depression Endocrine disrupting chemicals can affect hormonal shifts during pregnancy and also contribute to postpartum depression, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Endocrine Society Metabolism..

Postpartum depression is a serious and common mental disorder that affects up to 1 in 5 women of childbearing age. The cause of postpartum depression is not fully understood, but hormonal changes during pregnancy have been found to be an important factor.. Harmful chemicals such as bisphenols and phthalates found in plastics and personal care products are known to affect sex hormones.

“We found that phthalate exposure was associated with lower progesterone levels during pregnancy and a greater likelihood of developing postpartum depression,” said study author Melanie Jacobson, M.D., Langone Medical Center, NYU in New York..

Researchers measured levels of bisphenols and phthalates in urine samples and sex hormones in blood samples from 139 pregnant women. They assessed these women four months after giving birth using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and found that women with higher urinary phthalate levels were more likely to develop postpartum depression.. Women also had lower levels of progesterone, a hormone that plays an important role in the menstrual cycle, in maintaining early pregnancy, and in changing mood..

“These results should be interpreted with caution as this is the first study to look at these chemicals for postpartum depression and our sample size was small,” Jacobson said..

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