Pregnant Mothers’ Microplastic Intake Linked to Weakened Fetal Immune Systems
- Seoyoung Kang
- Nov 19
- 1 min read
Nov 19, 2025
Seoyoung Kang
Dr. DaYong Lee’s research team at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience found out that when a pregnant woman eats particular food that consists of microplastics, it disturbs the unborn child’s immune system. The team conducted this experiment by using mice.
During the experiment, researchers attempted to feed pregnant mice microplastics, which were then passed to the baby in her stomach through breast milk. These microplastics are commonly found in everyday life, in the shape of vinyl packages, plastic bags, and plastic cups. The key problem was that these plastics accumulated in mom's and baby’s bodies.
When applied to human beings, it also results in a negative situation. If the fetus keeps amassing a small amount of microplastics, that leads to immune cells working unbalanced. Finally, fetuses are at high risk of infectious diseases.
Dr. Lee Dayong said, "This is the first scientifically proven case that microplastics can disrupt the immune system across generations," and added, "Social efforts to reduce plastic use and minimize exposure to microplastics in everyday life, such as in food and water, are urgently needed."
