This call was hosted by CHE- Fertility & Reproductive Health Working Group.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic chemical added to plastics to improve their performance. In the body, it is an endocrine disrupting compound, mimicking the effects of estrogen. Recent studies have found an association between BPA exposure and poor in vitro fertilization outcomes. Dr. Victor Fujimoto, from UCSF, and Dr. Michael S. Bloom, from SUNY-Albany, presented the results of their recent study on the effects of BPA on in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Data show that as blood BPA levels rise, the quality of oocytes from women undergoing in vitro fertilization declines. As blood levels of BPA doubled, the percentage of eggs that fertilized normally declined by 50 percent. The results indicate a negative effect of BPA on reproduction and fertility that may carry over to the general population. Dr. Valerie Baker from Stanford University led a discussion on the translation of research into practice, describing how research findings such as this can be used when counseling infertility patients.
Featured Speakers
Victor Y. Fujimoto MD
Dr. Fujimoto is a Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and served as the Director of the UCSF In Vitro Fertilization Program from 2000 - 2009. His research interests include environmental contaminants and reproduction within the IVF model research, oxidative stress markers and oocyte quality research, high density lipoprotein metabolism and oocyte quality research, and health disparities and reproduction research. He is currently co-PI of the SMART study with Dr. Bloom which is focused on various environmental contaminant effects during the periconception period.
Michael S. Bloom, PhD 
Dr. Bloom is an Assistant Professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health, State University of New York, Albany in the Departments of Environmental Health Sciences and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research interests include the effects of environmental pollutants on human endocrine function, fecundity and fertility. Oxidative stress and the role that environmental pollutants may have on assisted reproductive technologies are also of interest.
Valerie Baker, MD
Dr. Baker is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Stanford University, and the Medical Director of the Stanford Fertility and Reproductive Medicine Center. She is also the Director of Stanford’s Primary Ovarian Insufficiency Program, Chair of the Research Committee for the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, and a member of the Board of Directors at the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Dr. Baker’s clinical specialties include reproductive endocrinology and infertility, primary ovarian insufficiency, and assisted reproductive technology.
The call was moderated by Karin Russ, National Coordinator, CHE- Fertility & Reproductive Health Working Group, and recorded.