Plastic chemical can affect parenting behaviour: study

Parents, take note! Exposure to a chemical found in plastic bottles and cash register receipts may negatively affect parenting behaviour, a new study has claimed.
Researchers at the University of Missouri have used the monogamous, biparental California mouse species to prove that offspring born to parents who are exposed to widely prevalent endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as Bisphenol-A receive decreased parental care by both the mother and father.
Scientists believe results could have relevance to human parenting as well.
The California mouse is used as a model for examining parental behaviours because they are monogamous and, much like humans, both male and female partners contribute to child-rearing.

Male partners exhibit cooperative care of the pups from birth to weaning by cleaning, grooming and providing warmth by huddling over their young when females leave the nest.
Impaired care could lead to adverse consequences for the young and, since brain regions and hormones regulating biparental behaviours appear to be similar across species, this study may have human implications.

"Endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA mimic the steroid hormones that establish the 'circuitry' for the adult female brain during early development, but little was known about how this chemical might affect the father's behaviour," said Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at MU.

"Our study set out to address this critical void by exposing both males and females to the endocrine-disrupting chemicals BPA and Ethinyl estardiol (EE), the main active component of birth control pills, and examine the repercussions of rearing offspring," said Rosenfeld.
Researchers developmentally exposed female California mice to one of three diets.
One contained BPA, the second contained concentrations of EE and the third was free of endocrine disruptors. Likewise, males were developmentally exposed to the same three diets.
Then, the male and female mice were randomly paired. Since California mice are monogamous, one male was paired with a single female for the duration of the study.

"We found that females who were exposed early on to BPA spent less time nursing, so the pups likely did not receive the normal health benefits ascribed to nursing," said Rosenfeld.
"Likewise, we found that developmental exposure of males and females to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals resulted in their spending more time out of the nest and away from their pups, further suggesting that biparental care was reduced," Rosenfeld added.