Risks to your future child from the personal-care products you use now

Serena Williams signed a five-year endorsement deal with Nike. American Ballet Theater prima ballerina Misty Copeland landed an Under Armour deal (we’re thinking because under that grace is pure steel). These top athletes dodged one of the unrecognized risks of endorsements: touting products that turn out to be, well, potentially toxic! Plenty of Hollywood stars -- think about who’s endorsing those luscious lips, locks and looks -- haven’t accomplished that smart move.

It turns out, a whole bushelful of personal-care products, from shampoos and soaps to makeup and other cosmetics, can interfere with healthy fetal development and a healthy birth.

According to a new study, women with higher blood levels of butyl paraben (a preservative in cosmetics) were more likely to have babies of lower birth weight. That puts a child at risk in later life for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome and obesity. Those women also were more likely to have premature babies at risk for breathing, heart, brain, gastrointestinal, metabolic and immune system problems. High levels of the antimicrobial triclocarban (in antibacterial soaps) were associated with shorter gestational age at birth. And propyl paraben, found in lotions and soaps, was associated with decreased body length at birth.

So, moms-to-be (even if it’s years away), here’s one more reason to READ LABELS on every personal-care item you’re buying and just say no to ingredients that the researchers say are part of a “growing body of evidence showing that endocrine-disrupting compounds can lead to developmental and reproductive problems.”

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com.

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Risks to your future child from the personal-care products you use now."