Everyday levels of a pregnant woman’s exposure to mixtures of endocrine-disrupting chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), put their child at an increased risk of delayed language development, according to new research. Because hormones regulate much of human development, endocrine-disrupting chemicals—which disrupt hormone activity—can create developmental problems. In the study, published today in Science, researchers determined that more than half of the pregnant women studied were exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals at a level that raises concerns about their child’s development. “It’s very disconcerting,” Barbara Demeneix, a professor at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and an author on the study, told EHN. Widespread exposure Demeneix and her collaborators used data from more than 2,000 pregnant women from Sweden to identify a mixture of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that was associated with a subsequent delay in the child’s language development. They then exposed tadpoles, zebrafish, and …