Chemical used to make this might harm your baby

PREGNANT?
Then you may want to take extra care with how you cook your food and what you have at home. Two studies published in the past month suggest that a chemical used in everyday items like non-stick pans, fast-food containers,carpets and furniture are slowing babies growth and brain development, reported The Independent yesterday.
The studies from the US and Demark found that babies with higher levels of the chemical in their umbilical cords were born smaller with reduced head sizes
The differences are small, but reductions in weight and brain development at birth have been associated with health problems throughout life, said the report.
COMMONLY FOUND CHEMICAL
The chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), is used all over the world. It is even in rain and water supplies. The second study done in the US and Demark had similar findings for birth weight.
The Studies were published in the prestigious journal Enviromental Health Perspevtives.
They are important because the suggest that PFOA is damaging at much lower levels in the blood than had been realised. Previous studies on rats showed that the chemical affects birth size only at levels many thousands of times higher.
The results are bound to cause controversy over the chemical used to make non-stick pans and stain-resistant coating for fabrics.
It has previously been highlighted as a possible cause of cancers, but this is the most damning evidence of damage to date, said The Indepentant
Non-Stick Pans left on cookers and in ovens to heat up without food in them are known to give off the chemical at high tempertures.
Dupont, the only US manufacturer of PFOA, has announced plans to phase it out, but not until 2015.
The Company claims that there are no human health effects known to be caused by PFOA.