Infertility is everywhere these days. The instance of fertility-enhancing treatments such as IVF have skyrocketed and it seems that everyone from your cousins and coworkers to the fictional characters of your favorite TV shows are having trouble in all matters reproductive. While the causes of this widespread difficulty are unknown (and indications of an epidemic or trend are not even clear), there is an increasing body of evidence that suggests many causes may be environmental.

Recently, scientists from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) established that neonatal exposure to bisphenol A - a compound that is commonly found in rigid plastics and resin linings - caused uterine abnormalities in middle-aged mice. There is strong evidence that the same is true for female humans, 20-50% of whom suffer from ovarian fibroids (to say nothing of endocrine cancers, endometriosis and other reproductive tract ailments!)

In the 1940s, polymer scientists discovered that bisphenol A was useful in the formation of rigid plastics. These plastics have been used primarily as containers: they are found in commercial beverage and baby bottles, in the lining of canned goods and sodas and even in the tooth coatings used by dentists to prevent the creation of cavities. Frankly, if you live in a developed or rapidly developing country, you have a biologically active accumulation of this chemical in your fatty tissue.

Bisphenol-A enters the body through ingestion and binds to a cell's DNA, changing it to resemble the genetic makeup of a hormone cell. This is why it is called an estrogen mimicker: it literally mimics an estrogen cell. In doing so, it disrupts the balance of reproductive hormones in your body, potentially causing any number of the endocrine-related ailments mentioned above.

The newborn mice were either injected or fed orally with amounts of bisphenol A that correspond to the amount that human babies are exposed to. The mice were then dissected in middle age (at 18 months). The four groups were exposed to 0, 10, 100, and 1,000 parts per billion of bisphenol A, dissolved in vegetable oil. At the time of dissection, strangely, those exposed to 100 ppb had the worst results: they had twice as high an instance of cystic ovaries as any of the other groups and the highest instance of stromal poyps (tumors of the uteral tissue). All treated groups suffered from a variety of other reproductive ailments, such as the aforementioned fibroids, ovarian cysts and endometrial hyperplasia.

Sound scary? It is, but it's not hopeless. While those of us in current generations may suffer the effects of bisphenol A exposure, future generations can be saved from the estrogen mimicker if we work to eradicate bisphenol A now. While legislation was put forth in California to ban bisphenol A in all products intended for infants and children, it did not pass with the bisphenol A clause (the law is continuing on to prohibit phthalates), and so we need added pressure to impose a ban on bisphenol A products. In the meantime, we can speak with our dollars: stop drinking from a Nalgene and buy a steel water container like the Kleen Kanteen or a water-based resin lined aluminum container like the Sigg. If you have an infant, try to use glass baby bottles. While it may be difficult to eradicate canned products from your life, try to find jarred alternatives. The good news is that we can get rid of this scourge in one or two generations by simply keeping young children from it - the alternatives are already out there.