-by Newsbreak's Taresh Harreeparshad.

Women across South Africa have been thrown into a seas of uncertainty- after a University of Free State study shows that certain sanitary pads and panty liners may contain harmful endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as parabens, phthalates, and bisphenols. These EDCs are linked to health complications such as hormonal imbalance, infertility, endometriosis, and cancer. The study titled "The presence of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in sanitary pads: A study done in South Africa" revealed bisphenols were present in 100% of sanitary pads and 75% of pantyliners. It flagged parabens in over 81% of pads. Phthalates were present in all pantyliners and 50% of pads used in the study.

This has raised a huge question about the use of pads in South Africa.

We discussed this with Professor Deon Visser from the UFS, Phetho Ntaba from the National Consumer Commission Valerie Naidoo from the Wireless Female Network.