Can BPA from pacifiers affect your baby's hormones?

What's actually in it

Pacifiers are made from silicone or latex, but many contain trace amounts of bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is an industrial chemical used in plastics and resins. It's an endocrine disruptor, meaning it mimics estrogen and can mess with your body's hormone signals.

Babies chew and suck on pacifiers for hours a day. The heat and moisture in their mouths pull BPA out of the material and into their saliva. Because babies weigh so little, the dose per pound of body weight can be surprisingly high.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Environ Sci Pollut Res Int tested pacifiers bought from regular stores and measured how much BPA leached out under conditions that mimic a baby's mouth. They found detectable BPA in multiple brands, with some releasing enough to push infant exposure above safety thresholds.

The researchers calculated daily exposure for infants and toddlers based on how long kids typically use pacifiers. Infants under 6 months had the highest estimated exposure because they weigh less and use pacifiers more often.

BPA is already banned in baby bottles in many countries, but pacifiers don't always get the same scrutiny. The study found that even pacifiers sold as "BPA-free" aren't always free of bisphenol chemicals. Some contained BPS or BPF, which are replacement chemicals that behave similarly to BPA in the body.