"Plastic Chemical Linked to Female Aggression"

"A new study adds to the growing concern that prenatal exposure to the chemical bisphenol A could harm children's development.

In the study of 249 pregnant women, the first to examine the effects of BPA on children's behavior, researchers found that girls whose mothers had the highest levels of BPA during pregnancy were more aggressive and hyperactive at age 2 than other girls. Findings appear today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Girls were more likely to be aggressive if their mothers had high levels of BPA -- an estrogen-like chemical used in many consumer products -- early in pregnancy or at about 16 weeks, the study says. A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks."

Liz Szabo reports for USA TODAY Octover 6, 2009.

See Also:

"BPA in the Womb Shows Link to Kids' Behavior" (Science News)