Research Report : Alarm from Microplastics in Amniotic Fluids of Women in Gresik

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 .

In a cross-sectional study of 15 samples of amniotic fluid from mothers giving birth in Gresik, all samples, or 100 percent, were detected to contain microplastic particles. Of the 158 particles found, there was an average of about 11 particles per sample, or 0.38 particles per milliliter of amniotic fluid. The most dominant type was fiber, a fine filament commonly found in synthetic clothing, household dust, and plastic degradation. Ninety-eight percent of the particles were fibers, with the remainder consisting of films or thin sheets of plastic. This study confirms that microplastics can penetrate biological barriers and reach environments that are supposed to be sterile for the fetus," the researchers wrote. This means that the plastic particles we throw into rivers, burn in our yards, or use once and then throw away are now reaching the uterus. The latest findings come from collaborative research by the environmental research institute Ecoton and the Faculty of Medicine, Airlangga University. In this research, Ecoton stated that it tested 42 samples of amniotic fluid from mothers giving birth in Gresik, and all of them contained microplastics. This study confirms that microplastics are able to penetrate biological barriers and reach environments that should be sterile for the fetus.

In this study, the research team also found that 100 percent of women's blood samples in Gresik contained microplastics, with concentrations of 2-18 particles per milliliter. The dominant type was polyethylene (PE), a common raw material for beverage bottles, plastic bags, and food packaging.

"Microplastic infiltration into the blood is the most concerning threat to Indonesia's future health," said Sofi Azilan Aini, a microplastic researcher at Ecoton. This is because microplastics entering the bloodstream have the potential to settle in vital organs and cause cell damage.

Microplastics

Ecoton Microplastics Laboratory Head Rafika Aprilianti called this situation a sign of the arrival of the "microplastic era." "The womb, which is the safest place for humans, is now contaminated with microplastics," she said. The dominant polymer found in amniotic fluid is polyethylene, which comes from bottled water bottles, clear plastic containers for hot food, plastic bags, and plastic cups. "The discovery of microplastics in amniotic fluid (is feared) to impact the baby's growth and development," said Rafika.Her team found a correlation between the presence of microplastics and increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of oxidative stress and inflammation. Chronic inflammation during pregnancy has the potential to disrupt the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. These findings align with various international studies. A 2021 study by Antonio Ragusa in Environment International first reported the presence of microplastics in human placentas. Subsequent research in various countries has found plastic particles in placentas, umbilical cord blood, and amniotic fluid.

In fact, in 2025, collaborative research by Greenpeace and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, reported the detection of microplastics in human brain tissue. This referenced a study at the University of New Mexico that showed the accumulation of microplastics and nanoplastics in the brain at much higher concentrations than in the liver and kidneys. This means that microplastics are no longer just an environmental issue. They have become a reproductive health and intergenerational issue. A study by a team of researchers from China showed that microplastic particles were detected not only in the placenta, but also in meconium, the first stool passed after a baby is born. This research, written by Shaojie Liu of Fudan University's School of Public Health in the journal Environmental Science & Technology in 2022, marks the first evidence in humans that babies are exposed to microplastics before birth.

The presence of microplastics in meconium indicates that the particles were in the baby's digestive tract before the baby consumed anything after birth. In fact, a 2025 report in the journal Nature revealed that plastic contains more than 16,000 types of chemicals, more than 4,200 of which are potentially harmful to humans and the environment. The report, titled “Mapping the Chemical Complexity of Plastics,” sheds light on the global chemical map of plastics, which the industry has long kept hidden.

Originating from a polluted environment

An Ecotn Laboratory Technician uses FTIR Agilent to Identify Plastic
Polymers in Human Amnion Tissue (November, 2025) 

The presence of microplastic contamination in the amniotic fluid of mothers in Gresik is just the tip of the iceberg. Research by a Cornell University team in Environmental Science & Technology (2024) shows that Indonesia ranks among the world's top consumers of microplastics from contaminated food and beverages, with 15 grams of microplastics per capita per month. This cannot be separated from the high amount of waste thrown into the environment, in addition to direct consumption through food and drinks contaminated with microplastics.

Data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) indicates that national waste accumulation reached 31.9 million tons in 2023, with 7.8 million tons being plastic. Some of this waste is managed through open burning, landfilling, or improper disposal, practices that accelerate the fragmentation of plastic into microparticles that are easily inhaled and swallowed.

Every February 21, Indonesia commemorates National Waste Awareness Day, remembering the tragedy of the Leuwigajah landfill landslide in Cimahi in 2005 which killed 157 people.

Two decades on, the waste crisis remains unresolved. The impact now includes not only mountains of landslides, but also invisible particles circulating in the blood and amniotic fluid.

How do these particles enter the body? The pathways are diverse: consumption of seafood and bottled water, inhalation of household dust and textile fibers, and skin contact with cosmetic products and synthetic clothing. Because of their extremely small size, ranging from under 5 millimeters to nanometers, microplastics can cross biological barriers, including the placenta.

Science doesn't yet fully understand the long-term effects. However, warning signs have emerged, including oxidative stress, inflammation, impaired placental function, and possible impacts on the child's future neurological and metabolic development.

"Ecoton's microplastic research, conducted since 2017, has detected microplastics in feces, breast milk, urine, amniotic fluid, and women's blood. This is like a curse resulting from our wasteful plastic waste," said Sofi Azilan Aini, an Ecoton microplastic researcher.

He emphasized that plastic discarded without proper management ultimately ends up back in the human body. Microplastic contamination in the body is a reflection of the environmental crisis we ourselves created. The question is no longer whether microplastics have entered the human body. Evidence suggests they are already present there, in the blood, in the amniotic fluid, and even in the brain.

The question is how quickly we are willing to change before the next generation increasingly inherits not only a polluted Earth, but also bodies that have been exposed from the start.

translated from: https://www.kompas.id/artikel/alarm-dari-mikroplastik-dalam-ketuban-perempuan-di-gresik