Plastics and hormones: the surprisingly creepy impact of plastics on female fertility

Written by Vicky Beckett, 5th November 2024

Your hormones are all over the place at the moment. Is it your sleep? Your diet? Alcohol? Stress? One factor missing from your health brainstorm might be your toothbrush and your takeaway box. 

Everyday plastics are great at sneaking into your bloodstream, cosying up to your hormones, and making themselves at home in your reproductive system. If you’re watching your health, hoping to improve your athletic performance, watch your weight or wanting to become mother, plastics can be like that weird ex who keeps appearing, messing things up, and somehow getting invited to family gatherings.

The secret life of endocrine disruptors

Plastic is largely composed of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, a term that might sound like a great band name but actually refers to compounds that confuse your body’s hormone signalling. These chemicals – bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates being the star players – mimic oestrogen. These are sometimes called “forever chemicals”. (To really creep yourself out, watch the 2019 film Dark Waters with Mark Ruffalo). Unlike actual oestrogen, which your body tightly regulates, these imposters dance through the bloodstream with no boundaries, free-riding their way into your ovaries and other organs.

https://www.instagram.com/esoterica.au/p/CuEmRBxgOhg/?locale=zh-hans&hl=am-et

If you’re trying to start a family or just want to reduce your PMS symptoms, you don’t need your takeout container gate-crashing your hormones.

A 2013 study published in Fertility and Sterility found that women with higher levels of BPA in their systems had 23% fewer eggs retrieved during in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments². A 23% drop in anything that’s in limited supply – eggs, money or WiFi – is a lot. Even if you’re not trying to have kids, it speaks volumes for the impact these chemicals are having on your hormonal health. Another study found that of 239 women undergoing IVF, 17% of those with the highest exposure to BPAs had a baby, compared to 54% of women with the lowest exposure³.