Study Finds BPA Babies More Aggressive

Canada – Babies, whose mothers were exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) whilst pregnant, have recently been found to show aggressive and hyperactive behaviours as two-year-olds, a new study shows.

The BPA study, conducted by students at the University of North Carolina and British Columbia's Simon Fraser University is the first to scrutinise the connection between prenatal BPA exposure and behavioural issues in babies and young children.
The results from the Canadian study showed that girls whose mothers had been exposed to BPA during pregnancy demonstrated much more "externalised" behaviour than average two-year-old girls. This essentially means that the children studied showed more aggressive tendencies and hyperactivity.

The study calculated BPA levels in urine samples taken from 249 pregnant women in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 16 and 26 weeks of pregnancy, then again at birth. The children were assessed for behavioural problems at the age of two through a series of questionnaires that were completed by parents.

While there was a measurable increase in aggressive behaviour among girls, the study also showed some evidence of increased depression and anxiousness among BPA-exposed boys.

Last October, Canada became the first country to formally declare BPA hazardous to human health, and to officially inform the baby-product industry it would no longer be able to use the chemical in baby bottles.