From an article published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (please see citation below).

Key Points

• Compounds that contain phosphorous are widely applied to polyurethane foams used in furniture, baby products, electronics, textiles, and building materials used for home improvement.
• Because they are not chemically bound to the foam used in these products, they slowly migrate into the air in our homes, then into dust, and eventually move into our bodies.
• Studies suggest that these kinds of chemicals are toxic, including to babies before and after they are born.

Chemical compounds that contain phosphorous (in this case they're called organophosphate esters - OPEs) have been increasingly used as "safer" alternatives to flame retardants that contain bromine because they appear to stay in our bodies for less time. Unfortunately, these phosphorous-based compounds are also toxic and scientific studies indicate that they can be move from a mother to her fetus. The period time when a baby is growing in the womb is known to be one of the most sensitive and important periods of development for our children. These kinds of scenarios highlight the importance of simply going beyond isolated chemical restrictions and "free-from" products. It's one of the reasons companies need to have comprehensive ingredient safety policies and practices in place.

In our homes, we try to limit our exposures to these kinds of chemicals by choosing products that have trustworthy ingredient safety certifications like EWG VERIFIED and Made Safe, avoiding carpet padding made from polyurethane foam (particularly "re-bonded" or recycled padding, and choosing furniture and mattresses from companies that have a comprehensive and precautionary approach to ingredient safety. Ingredient safety is a big part of our company ratings, so looking for products made by companies that are rated as "Recommended" is also a good option.

Jiwon Oh, Jessie P. Buckley, Xuan Li, Kennedy K. Gachigi, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Wenjie Lyu, Jennifer L. Ames, Emily S. Barrett, Theresa M. Bastain, Carrie V. Breton, Claudia Buss, Lisa A. Croen, Anne L. Dunlop, Assiamira Ferrara, Akhgar Ghassabian, Julie B. Herbstman, Ixel Hernandez-Castro, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Linda G. Kahn, Margaret R. Karagas, Jordan R. Kuiper, Cindy T. McEvoy, John D. Meeker, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Amy M. Padula, Megan E. Romano, Sheela Sathyanarayana, Susan Schantz, Rebecca J. Schmidt, Hyagriv Simhan, Anne P. Starling, Frances A. Tylavsky, Heather E. Volk, Tracey J. Woodruff, Yeyi Zhu,Deborah H. Bennett, and program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes 2024. Associations of Organophosphate Ester Flame Retardant Exposures during Pregnancy with Gestational Duration and Fetal Growth: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Environmental Health Perspectives 132:1 CID: 017004 https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13182