Welcome to PRHE

Our mission is to create a healthier environment for human reproduction and development through advancing scientific inquiry, clinical care and health policies that prevent exposures to harmful chemicals in our homes, workplaces, and communities.

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Turning our science into action

Research

PRHE conducts groundbreaking, multi-disciplinary research that answers important questions of how chemicals and contaminants in our homes and environment affect fertility, pregnancy, and fetal and child development.

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Policy

PRHE identifies and communicates how science should be used in policymaking to protect health and is a leading scientific voice on EPA’s problematic implementation of the updated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

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Education and Communications

PRHE is a leader in connecting the environment to pregnancy, prenatal health, and women’s health and works with major medical organizations to issue guidance on reducing chemical use and preventing harmful exposures.

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Latest News

Person's hands crossed over pregnant belly

Clothing dye raises diabetes risk in pregnant women

The New LedeJune 29, 2025News

Pregnant women exposed to a harmful clothing dye have a higher risk for gestational diabetes when they are carrying a male fetus, according to a new study. Gestational diabetes, which afflicts roughly 8% of pregnant women in the US each year, increases the odds of a baby being born too large and suffering from low blood sugar, obesity and diabetes.

Do corporations actually have more control over your health than you?

New ScientistJune 02, 2025News

The aisles seem to go on forever as you push your shopping trolley towards the cereal section. You arrive, only to be met with an anxiety-inducing dilemma: do you buy the granola with low sugar or the one that is fortified with protein and vitamins? Or maybe the one with those delicious little chocolate chunks?

Health advocates applaud MAHA report for calling out chemical harms, but say it falls short

The New LedeMay 22, 2025News

Exposures to pesticides and other chemicals, ultra-processed foods and over-prescription of medications are among the factors contributing to an epidemic of chronic disease in America’s children, according to a government report issued Thursday by the Trump administration’s controversial “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission.

Kennedy and Trump Paint Bleak Picture of Chronic Disease in U.S. Children

The New York TimesMay 22, 2025News

President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, set forth their vision on Thursday for how to “make America healthy again” with the release of an expansive report on a crisis of chronic disease in children.

Black and Latina Women Are Heavy Users of Beauty Products Linked to Cancer

Everyday HeatlhMay 09, 2025News

More than half of Black and Latina women may regularly use beauty products that contain a chemical heavily implicated in uterine cancer, a small study suggests. For the new survey, researchers asked 70 Black and Latina women in Los Angeles to log each use of all their personal-care products for one week and take pictures of the labels to document the ingredients.

A New Study Raises Alarms About Plastics and Heart Disease. Here’s What to Know.

The New York TimesApril 29, 2025News

The news made for an alarming headline this week: Research showed that common chemicals in plastics were associated with 350,000 heart disease deaths across the world in 2018.

What Are Microplastics Doing to Our Bodies? This Lab Is Racing to Find Out.

The New York TimesApril 08, 2025News

In a basement laboratory at the University of New Mexico, Marcus Garcia rummaged through a bin full of plastic waste. He picked past bottles, chunks of fishing net, a toothbrush, a cup with a Pokemon character and a G.I. Joe. “Yes!” he exclaimed, holding up a discarded pipette tip. “Found it.”

As Chemical Industry Seeks Exemption From Pollution Limits, Residents See Assault on Their Lives

Inside Climate NewsApril 07, 2025News

Robert Taylor fought for years for stronger limits on the toxic chemical released by a neoprene factory in his Louisiana parish. Last year, the Biden administration finally delivered some relief, publishing a rule to reduce hazardous air pollutants from petrochemical plants.

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