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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics and the Placenta: A Call to Action for Perinatal Research
ClearMicroplastics in the Perinatal Period: Emerging Evidence on Maternal Exposure, Placental Transfer, and Fetal Health Outcomes
This review summarizes emerging evidence that microplastics can cross the placenta and reach developing babies, having been detected in maternal blood, placental tissue, amniotic fluid, cord blood, and breast milk. The tiny plastic particles may damage the placenta, disrupt hormones, alter immune responses, and potentially affect fetal growth and brain development. While more research is needed, the findings raise serious concerns about microplastic exposure during pregnancy and its implications for infant health.
Impact of Microplastics on Pregnancy and Fetal Development: A Systematic Review
A systematic review of 12 studies confirmed the presence of microplastics ranging from 2.1 to 100 micrometers in human placentas and fetal tissue. Microplastic levels correlated with reduced birthweight, affected gestational age, diminished microbiome diversity, and impaired fetal growth and development, with lifestyle choices influencing placental microplastic burden.
Editorial: Maternal-fetal interface: new insight in placenta research, volume II
This editorial compiles research showing that microplastics have been detected in human placental tissue and induce cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and metabolic disturbances in placental explants. The collection of studies underscores that environmental contaminants including microplastics represent a significant and urgent threat to placental function and fetal development.
Assessing microplastics as a novel threat to maternal-fetal health: Placental barrier penetration and fetal developmental consequences
This review addressed how microplastics cross the placental barrier and affect fetal development, covering cellular responses in placental tissue, animal model findings, and limited human study data. The authors concluded that transplacental microplastic transfer is a plausible mechanism for intergenerational health effects.
Health Implications of Microplastic Exposure in Pregnancy and Early Childhood: A Systematic Review
This systematic review summarizes existing research on how microplastic exposure during pregnancy and early childhood may affect health. The evidence shows that microplastics can reach the placenta and may cause oxidative stress and inflammation, raising concerns about potential effects on fetal development and infant health during these vulnerable life stages.
Microplastics: A threat to Fetoplacental unit and Reproductive systems
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics may harm the placenta and reproductive system, particularly during pregnancy. The authors highlight that these tiny plastic particles have been found in placental tissue and may interfere with fetal development, though they note that much more research is needed to understand the full risks to mothers and babies.
The Invisible Threat: Microplastics in Human Blood and Placenta
This review summarized current evidence on microplastic detection in human blood and placenta, discussing what is known about how these particles enter the bloodstream and reach fetal tissue. The authors highlight the potential implications for maternal and fetal health.
Microplastic Exposure During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Risks to Maternal and Fetal Health
This systematic review summarizes existing research on how microplastic exposure during pregnancy may affect mothers and developing babies. Studies suggest microplastics can cross the placental barrier, raising concerns about potential effects on fetal development, though more human research is needed to confirm specific risks.
Placental Exposure to Nanoplastics Threatening the Maternal and Fetal Health
This review examines how nanoplastics reaching the placenta threaten maternal and fetal health, summarizing evidence from animal and in vitro studies showing that placental nanoplastic accumulation disrupts nutrient transport, immune function, and fetal development.
Microplastics exposure: implications for human fertility, pregnancy and child health
This review examines growing evidence that microplastics accumulate in the human placenta and may affect pregnancy outcomes and child development. Given that exposure during pregnancy can program lifelong health in offspring, the presence of these tiny plastic particles in reproductive tissues raises important concerns about fertility, pregnancy complications, and children's health.
Micro- and Nanoplastics and Fetal Health: Challenges in Assessment and Evidence from Epidemiological Studies
This review examines the emerging evidence that micro- and nanoplastics can reach the developing fetus during pregnancy, with animal studies showing potential effects on neurological development and placental blood flow. The study also highlights major challenges in accurately detecting and measuring these tiny particles in biological tissues from mothers and babies. The authors call for standardized methods and more human studies to better understand the risks of prenatal microplastic exposure.
Impact of prenatal micro/nanoplastics exposure on intrauterine development and growth: a systematic review
This systematic review examines how exposure to micro- and nanoplastics during pregnancy may affect fetal development and growth. The research gathered evidence showing that tiny plastic particles can reach the placenta and potentially disrupt normal intrauterine development. While more research is needed, these findings raise important questions about protecting pregnant women from microplastic exposure through food, water, and air.
Year 116 of the plastic age: a Pandora’s box as a time bomb for pregnancy? Review of clinical and fundamental data on prenatal exposure to plastics
This review examined evidence for micro- and nanoplastic presence in the human placenta and assessed implications for pregnancy outcomes, synthesizing in vitro, ex vivo, and epidemiological data. Multiple plastic types were detected in placental tissue from the basal plate to fetal membranes, and the authors raised concerns about placental dysfunction and fetal developmental risk.
Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta
In a landmark study, researchers detected microplastics in human placental tissue for the first time, finding 12 plastic fragments in placentas from four out of six women with healthy pregnancies. The particles were identified as polypropylene and dyed plastics likely from packaging or cosmetics, raising concerns about potential effects on fetal development and pregnancy.
The Impact of Maternal Nanoplastic and Microplastic Particle Exposure on Mammal’s Offspring
This review summarizes research on how a mother's exposure to nanoplastics and microplastics during pregnancy can affect her developing baby. Studies show that these tiny plastic particles can cross the placenta and reach the fetus, potentially harming brain development, the reproductive system, metabolism, and the immune system of offspring. The review calls for more research using realistic exposure levels to better understand the risks of prenatal microplastic exposure to human babies.
Placental Micro- and Nanoplastic Contamination: A Systematic Review of Eco-Exposome Pathways to Preterm Birth and Neonatal Outcomes
This systematic review examined evidence that micro- and nanoplastics have been found in human placentas and may be linked to preterm birth. The particles appear to cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of placental function through multiple molecular pathways, raising concerns about the impact of plastic pollution on pregnancy outcomes and newborn health.
Experimental human placental models for studying uptake, transport and toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics
This review describes experimental human placental models available for studying how micro- and nanoplastics cross the maternal-fetal barrier, including cell cultures, organ-on-chip devices, and tissue perfusion systems. Researchers note that while microplastics have been detected in human placenta, the potential effects on pregnancy and fetal development remain largely unexplored. The study identifies key knowledge gaps and calls for urgent research into the reproductive health risks of plastic particle exposure.
Microplastics in maternal blood, fetal appendages, and umbilical vein blood
Researchers detected 16 different types of microplastics in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and fetal tissues (placenta, amniotic fluid, fetal membrane, and umbilical cord) from 12 pregnant women who delivered by cesarean section. The most common plastics found were polyamide and polyurethane, and microplastic levels in amniotic fluid increased with maternal age and pre-pregnancy body weight, confirming that these particles can pass from mother to fetus.
A Systematic Review of the Placental Translocation of Micro- and Nanoplastics
Nine out of eleven studies confirmed that micro- and nanoplastics can cross the placental barrier, with translocation depending on particle size, charge, chemical modification, and protein corona formation. Animal and in vitro studies showed emerging evidence of placental and fetal toxicity from plastic particle exposure.
A review on micro- and nanoplastics in humans: Implication for their translocation of barriers and potential health effects
This review compiles evidence showing that micro- and nanoplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, placenta, and other organs, and can cross protective barriers including the blood-brain and placental barriers. The accumulated evidence links these particles to inflammation, oxidative stress, hormone disruption, and potential effects on reproduction and brain health, though more research is needed to determine exact risk levels.
Micro- and nanoplastic inhalation during pregnancy: Impacts on uteroplacental function and offspring health
This review examined evidence that inhaled micro- and nanoplastics during pregnancy accumulate in placental and fetal tissues, impair uteroplacental blood flow and immune function, and are associated with adverse developmental outcomes in offspring, identifying inhalation as a critical but understudied exposure route.
Exposure to micro- and nanoplastics and human reproductive outcomes: a systematic review
This systematic review summarizes existing research on whether micro and nanoplastics affect human fertility and pregnancy outcomes. While the evidence is still emerging, the review found that these particles have been detected in placenta and fetal tissue, raising important questions about potential effects on reproductive health that warrant further study.
Microplastics in Human Tissues: Sources, Distribution, Toxicological Effects, and Health Implications
Researchers reviewed the growing body of evidence that microplastics accumulate in human tissues — including lung, blood, placenta, breast milk, and heart tissue — where they can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell death. The review highlights urgent knowledge gaps around how plastic particles move through the body and what their long-term health effects may be.
Abstracts
The AURORA project — a European interdisciplinary study — is developing analytical tools to measure microplastics in pregnant women and newborns, a period of heightened vulnerability to environmental contaminants. Early results already confirm microplastics are present in the placenta, can cross into placental cells, and carry complex chemical profiles, underscoring the urgency of understanding whether prenatal plastic exposure affects child development.