Is that your baby or a blob of microplastic? New research alarms parents

Babies are full of tiny microplastics, finds an alarming new study from the U.S.

While we’re all aware of human exposure to microplastics (MPs), the research claims that babies have 15 times more microplastics in their bodies than adults.

From cosmetics, biotechnology, washing products to drug capsules, microplastics can come from many industries. MPs are basically specks of synthetic material measuring less than 5 millimetres and you can find them on the highest of mountains to the bottom of the ocean.

SEE MORE What are microplastics and can they be harmful?

They can be created from day to day activities like washing clothes in the machine or a degrading plastic bag.

In the case of babies, scientists believe that babies are gobbling microplastics through chew toys and by crawling around on carpets that contain microplastics. Additionally, infant formula prepared in PP bottles and baby foods packaged in plastic containers may constitute another source of exposure in one-year-old infants.

SEE MORE Microplastics found in unborn babies' placentas: study

To study microplastic presence, scientists studied poop samples of 10 adults and six babies in America. They found at least one type of microplastic in every sample. So, even though adults bodies were also polluted with plastic, babies have at least 10 times more of the stuff, found the study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

SEE MORE The microplastics flooding the Arctic may be from your laundry

While the research on how microplastics affect human health is limited, some animal studies have found that microplastics can cross cell membranes and enter our bloodstream. This may cause cell death, inflammation and metabolic disorders.