Rafika Aprilianti (wearing a light brown hijab) and Sofi Azilan Aini (wearing a black hijab), two microplastic researchers from Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (Ecoton), inside the Ecoton Microplastics Laboratory (Monday, 23 February 2026).
Microplastics
have contaminated the amniotic fluid, the fetal membrane. This finding raises
alarms that even newborns may be inheriting plastic contamination.
In the delivery room of a hospital in Gresik Regency, East Java, nothing seemed out of place during the birth process. The first cry erupted, and the family expressed gratitude. However, long before that cry was heard, a disturbing discovery was made: the amniotic fluid, previously believed to be sterile and safe for the fetus, was contaminated with microplastics. These findings come from two distinct, mutually reinforcing lines of research. The first is research by Nabilatun Nasaroh, Dinda Auliyatus Saidah, and Paksi Samudro from Malang State University, published in the latest 2026 edition of the Environmental Pollution Journal .


