In the first study of its kind, researchers in Taiwan find that phthalates can pass from pregnant women to their unborn babies and affect reproductive development in their daughters.
The paper reports an association between two types of the ubiquitous chemicals and permanent changes to the newborns' genitals that point to hormonal interference.  Overall, the results provide more evidence that human exposure to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals before birth can alter how reproductive systems form.

Phthalates are a class of endocrine disrupting chemicals used extensively in PVC plastics, cosmetics, food packaging and medical devices. The chemicals pollute the environment and are found in the urine of 95 percent of US residents.