Lower Egg Counts in Women Due to Chemicals

Birth rates are decreasing worldwide due to industrial Chemicals. In Many European countries, they’re even dropping below population replacement levels, which refers to the number of children needed per woman to keep a population stable. While this decreases can be due to many adults postponing when they have their first child or actively choosing not to have children an increasing number of studies suggests these don’t fully explain decreasing fertility is a major contributing factor in this decline

The decreased fertility is the presence of Chemicals found in our environment. Much is known about the impact of these on male fertility, but little research has looked into how they affect Women. We found that exposure to common chemical contaminants was associated with reduced Egg counts in the ovaries of reproductive-aged Women.

Many have been banned, they were once used in household products like flame retardants and mosquito sprays, and are still present in the environment and foods like fatty fish. Researchers measured the levels of 31 common industrial Chemicals, such as HCB and DDT, in the blood of 60 Women. Researchers measured the number of immature Egg they had in their ovaries by counting them in ovarian tissue samples using a microscope. The ovaries are located inside the body and would require surgery to access, so we chose pregnant Women who were having a caesarean section, as this made it possible to access tissue samples without additional surgery.

The number of industrial Chemicals, as well as their abundance in the environment, has steadily increased since the 1940s with devastating effects on ecosystems, wildlife and even human fertility. Many were introduced to the market with little testing for safety. This has led to a situation where humans and the environment are exposed to an extensive soup.