Research at Karlstad University shows that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and adverse life events during pregnancy can influence children's behavior and brain development.
“We know that exposures during this period can have lasting effects,” says Marlene Stratmann.

“My dissertation ‘The importance of prenatal environment for children’s neurodevelopment: Epidemiological studies on endocrine disrupting chemicals and stress’ shows that mixtures of endocrine-disrupting substances found in everyday products can be associated with behavioral problems in children at seven years of age, and that boys and girls were affected in slightly different ways,” says Marlene Stratmann, PhD student in Public Health Science at Karlstad University in Sweden. These endocrine-disrupting substances can pass through the placenta and reach the fetus during critical developmental phases for the brain.

The results come from the large Swedish SELMA study, where more than 2,000 mother-child pairs from Värmland, Sweden, have been followed from early pregnancy up to seven years of age. The SELMA study investigates how early environmental and stress factors can shape children's health and development.

Responsibility lies higher up
“It is unreasonable to place the entire responsibility on pregnant women to avoid these substances. Many substances are found in products that people use daily and cannot choose to avoid themselves,” says Marlene Stratmann. Here, both industry and policymakers need to take responsibility and ensure that harmful substances are not used in products and environments where pregnant women are exposed.

Research also indicates that psychological stress and adverse life events events during pregnancy are linked to behavioral outcomes later in childhood, suggesting that both chemical and psychological factors in the prenatal stage affect children's development.
“We know that brain development begins early in fetal life and that exposures during this period can have lasting effects,” says Marlene Stratmann. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can affect the hormonal system that governs brain development, and our research shows that this may be linked to behavioral problems in children later in life.

Children's health in focus
Research also shows that the mother’s hormonal status, particularly thyroid hormones, may be a possible biological mechanism mediating the effects of chemical exposure on the child’s brain development.
“Identifying associations is an important first step, but we also need to act on the knowledge we have. To improve children's future health, regulations and product development must be designed with the child’s best interests in focus,” says Stratmann.

Another piece of the puzzle is children's play. Researchers observed that the way children play was linked to their behavior, suggesting that early environmental factors can leave traces both in how children act and how they interact socially.
“Now it’s about putting this knowledge into practice. To give children the best possible start, clear regulations and safer products are needed,” says Marlene Stratmann.