A new study has revealed that pregnant women and fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds may face potential health risks.
Benny Pycke from Arizona State University (ASU) said that they looked at the exposure of pregnant women and their fetuses to triclosan and triclocarban, two of the most commonly used germ-killers in soaps and other everyday products and found triclosan in all of the urine samples from the pregnant women.
The researchers said that they also detected triclosan in about half of the umbilical cord blood samples they took, which means it transfers to fetuses and the additives could contribute to antibiotic resistance, a growing public health problem.
The compounds are used in more than 2,000 everyday products marketed as antimicrobial, including toothpastes, soaps, detergents, carpets, paints, school supplies and toys.
