What does PFAS Exposure Mean to Pregnant Mothers?

​At various events around Camas such as the Farmer’s Market or during our recent Community Conversations series, I have had several discussions with mothers and grandmothers concerned about the effects of PFAS on pregnant mothers during prenatal and postnatal periods. Until recently, the amount of research on prenatal conditions seemed limited in searches, so most of the conversations shifted to postnatal. One article from Harvard University cited increased concentrations of PFAS by up to 30% per month (see: Breastfeeding as an Exposure Pathway for Perfluorinated Alkylates). The research in this area of postnatal effects continues to grow.

In one of the newsfeeds Camas Earth Day Society monitors (The PFAS Pulse Podcast) the newsroom team shared a new article titled: “Forever Chemicals, Lasting Effects: Prenatal PFAS Exposure Shapes Baby Immunity” where researchers detail some of the connections to decreased immunity in prenatal infants leading to “more challenges in fighting infections and establishing long-term memory to vaccines.” While there is more work to do to follow these T-cell imbalances into later life stages, the research is starting to uncover just how these forever chemicals affect our autoimmune systems especially.

The research emerging across many age cohorts for the effects of PFAS continues to signal just why these chemicals are so dangerous to humans and their persistence in the environment. The state of Washington has still not embraced the EPA’s national drinking water standard for PFAS, settling for a simple notification for its residents when levels reach nearly 4 times EPA’s standard (for PFOS as one example). It's time our state legislators push for safer drinking water for all, but especially our most vulnerable populations – our young pre-and post-natal infants.

We are urging you to write to your state legislative members to let them know where you stand on these dangerous chemicals and call for adoption of EPA's drinking water standards for PFAS compounds.