Phthalates linked with high blood pressure in pregnant women

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Phthalates linked with high blood pressure in pregnant women

Karen Feldscher

August 18, 2026

Personal care products on store shelf — JackF / iStock

Phthalates—chemicals used in scented personal care products, plastics, and other consumer goods—may contribute to high blood pressure among pregnant women, according to a study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study was published July 13 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Researchers measured phthalate exposure and blood pressure in 338 pregnant women participating in The Environmental Reproductive and Glucose Outcomes (ERGO) Study, which examines the role of environmental chemical exposures on maternal and child health, at three points during pregnancy. The study found that women with higher urinary concentrations of certain phthalates—particularly those in personal care products such as shampoo, lotion, and perfumes—tended to have higher blood pressure later in pregnancy, and some had increased risk of developing a pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorder such as preeclampsia. The study also looked at phthalate replacement chemicals (those used in place of phthalates and marketed as safer) and found similar associations with higher blood pressure.

Previous research has found that phthalates can interfere with the body’s natural hormones, which may be a factor in alterations in blood pressure during pregnancy, according to the authors.

The new study doesn’t prove cause and effect—only association. But, in an Aug. 10 Endocrine Society article, lead author Kimberly Parra said that “it suggests that reducing exposure to this class of chemicals by limiting personal care products containing these ingredients, particularly those with fragrance, may be a way to address high blood pressure in pregnancy and improve pregnancy health.”

Parra is a consultant in the Environmental Reproductive Justice Lab, led by Tamarra James-Todd, professor of environmental reproductive epidemiology and co-senior author of the study. Other Harvard Chan co-authors included Emma Preston, Marlee Quinn, Paige Williams, Michele Hacker, and Thomas McElrath.

Read the study: Associations of urinary phthalate metabolite and replacement chemical concentrations with gestational blood pressure

Read the Endocrine Society article: Endocrine disrupting chemical exposure may be linked to high blood pressure during pregnancy

Read a Tech Times article: Fragrance Chemicals in Shampoo and Lotion Tied to Higher Blood Pressure in Pregnancy

About The Author

Karen Feldscher

Associate Director for News in the Office of Communications

Last Updated

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Tamarra James-Todd

Professor of Environmental Reproductive Epidemiology

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Phthalates linked with high blood pressure in pregnant women