Pregnant Moms Asked To Skip The Hairspray To Prevent Birth Defects
Pregnant women are being asked to go 'au natural' amid fears that some cosmetics could lead to birth defects.
The move follows the publication of a study which found that women exposed to high levels of hairspray during pregnancy were twice as likely to have babies born with hypospadias, a condition in which the urinary tract grows on the underside of the penis.
These findings have led to calls for a new EU-wide cosmetics labelling system.
High levels of phthalates, also used to soften plastics such as PVC, have been found to affect hormone levels, while parabens have been the subject of concern since 2004, when a study claimed to have detected parabens from deodorants in cancerous breast tissue.
The French government announced last week that the country's health authorities were considering a labelling system for cosmetics that would indicate whether or not products were safe for pregnant women.
But the UK government said that the EU should address the issue as a whole, adding it to a range of changes currently being made to the European Cosmetics Directive.
North American officials haven't discussed whether or not they have plans to follow suit with special labelling.
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