Millions of preterm births and thousands of infant deaths linked to plastic chemical | CNN

Two chemicals used to make plastic more flexible are linked to nearly 2 million premature births and the deaths of 74,000 newborns worldwide in 2018, according to a new study. A baby is considered premature when it is born before the 37th week of pregnancy. About 1 in 10 infants in the US was born premature in 2024, according to the 2025 March of Dimes Report Card. “Babies who survive may have breathing problems, feeding difficulties, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, vision problems, and hearing problems,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The two chemicals in the study — Di-2-ethylhexylphthalate, or DEHP, and its cousin diisononyl phthalate, or DiNP — are part of a family of synthetic chemicals called phthalates. Phthalates are known to interfere with the body’s mechanism for hormone production, known as the endocrine system, and are “linked with developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems,” according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Even small hormonal disruptions can cause “significant developmental and biological effects,” the institute says. “This is a dangerous class of chemica