Can These Household Chemicals Crush Your Son's Masculinity?

Elevated levels of two plastic-softening chemicals in pregnant women's urine are linked to less-masculine play behavior by their sons several years later, according to a study published in the International Journal of Andrology. Phthalates, which are used in everything from vinyl floors to plastic tubing and soaps and lotions, are pervasive in the environment and have increasingly become associated with changes in development of the male brain as well as with genital defects, metabolic abnormalities and reduced testosterone in babies and adults. Obviously pregnant women as well as all of us, need to become more health conscious and avoid the use of plastics and chemicals. To read more, International Journal of Andrology November 16, 2009 [Epub Ahead of Print]