In Consumer Reports' 2020 study, Boxed Water Is Better had no detectable PFAS, and Just Water and Evian stayed below 1 ppt. But filtered tap water costs less and avoids microplastics. If you're relying on bottled water during pregnancy, favor brands with published low results.
Pregnant women are told to avoid tap water in dozens of US cities – but most don't realize bottled water isn't necessarily safer. The FDA doesn't currently require PFAS testing for bottled water. Spring water and source water can pick up forever chemicals from contaminated watersheds. And the plastic bottles themselves introduce microplastics that weren't part of the original water source.
According to Consumer Reports' 2020 bottled water investigation, 43 of the 47 waters tested had detectable PFAS, and nine measured above 1 part per trillion of total PFAS. The EPA's 2024 maximum contaminant level for PFOA and PFOS is 4 ppt, but during pregnancy even trace exposure to forever chemicals is a concern. Federal health agencies link prenatal PFAS exposure to reduced birth weight and altered immune function in newborns.
The assumption that bottled equals clean is wrong. Spring water flows through the same contaminated geology that affects municipal systems. Some bottling plants are located near industrial sites or military bases where PFAS contamination is documented. The International Bottled Water Association doesn't mandate PFAS disclosure, so most brands don't publish results.
In EPA's UCMR5 testing, PFAS was detected in about one in three public water systems, and a USGS study estimated at least one PFAS in about 45% of US tap water samples. That's why so many pregnant women switch to bottled water. But if you're going to make that switch, you need to know which brands have actually been tested.
Detection limits determine what counts as clean. Consumer Reports used 1 ppt of total PFAS as its benchmark for the 2020 bottled water study, and its lab could detect PFAS below that level. A result "below 1 ppt" means PFAS may be present in trace amounts; "non-detect" means the lab found none at all.
The EPA's enforceable limits are 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS individually. But the agency acknowledges that lower levels may still pose health risks, especially during fetal development. Environmental Working Group recommends a 1 ppt guideline for PFAS in drinking water, which aligns with Consumer Reports' benchmark.
"Below detection limit" doesn't mean zero. It means the concentration is too low for the lab equipment to measure. A brand testing below 1 ppt could still have a few tenths of a part per trillion. But either way, it's lower than the EPA's enforceable standard and far below the levels associated with health effects in epidemiological studies.
Some brands publish their own test results. When evaluating those, check who performed the testing (independent lab or in-house), what the detection limit was, and when the sample was taken. A 2019 test result isn't necessarily valid in 2026 – bottling sources can change, and contamination can migrate through aquifers over time.
We compared published test data from Consumer Reports (2020) and other public testing. Here's what tested clean, what showed detectable PFAS, and what hasn't been tested at all.
Mountain Valley Spring Water – Glass bottle option available. Not part of Consumer Reports' 2020 test, but the brand's own water quality report lists the PFAS it screens for as not detected. Sourced from a protected spring in Arkansas. Price: $2-3 per bottle. Its appeal for pregnancy is the glass packaging, which eliminates microplastic exposure from the bottle. Search Mountain Valley glass bottles on Amazon.
Boxed Water Is Better – Paper carton with plant-based lining. No detectable PFAS in Consumer Reports 2020. Sourced from Michigan springs. Price: $1.50-2 per carton. Good alternative if glass isn't practical. Carton packaging avoids PET plastic. Find Boxed Water on Amazon.
Just Water – Paper carton, spring-sourced. Trace PFAS below 1 ppt in Consumer Reports 2020. Gloversville, New York source. Price: $2-2.50 per bottle. Founded by Jaden Smith; markets heavily on sustainability and purity claims, which align with published test results.
Acqua Panna – Italian spring water, glass bottle option. Not part of Consumer Reports' 2020 test, so ask the brand for current PFAS results. Tuscany source. Price: $2.50-4 per bottle (750ml glass).
Evian – French Alps source. Tested below 1 ppt in Consumer Reports 2020. Widely available. Price: $1.50-2 per liter. Plastic bottle (PET) so microplastic exposure is a separate consideration, but PFAS levels were low.
Niagara Bottling brands (various store brands) – Niagara Natural Purified Water had trace PFAS below 1 ppt in Consumer Reports 2020. The company bottles for many store-brand labels, so check the bottler code.
Tourmaline Spring and Deer Park – The only still waters above 1 ppt total PFAS in Consumer Reports 2020 (4.64 ppt and 1.21 ppt). Deer Park's maker said later testing found no detectable PFAS.
Penta Ultra-Purified Water – Trace PFAS below 1 ppt in Consumer Reports 2020.
Crystal Geyser – Trace PFAS below 1 ppt in Consumer Reports 2020, but the brand bottles from several springs, and other springs have faced contamination issues historically. The brand bottles from multiple springs, so one bottle of Crystal Geyser isn't the same as another.
Smartwater (Coca-Cola) – Tested low in Consumer Reports 2020 (below 1 ppt). Vapor-distilled, electrolyte-added. Price: $1-1.50 per liter. Clean in published testing, but PET plastic packaging.
Aquafina (PepsiCo) – Reverse osmosis treated tap water. Consumer Reports 2020 found low levels (below 1 ppt). Not spring water – it's municipal water that's been filtered. Price: $1-1.50 per liter. If you're filtering tap anyway, Aquafina is just someone else's filtered tap.
Dasani (Coca-Cola) – Also filtered municipal water. Mixed history in Mamavation testing – some rounds detected trace PFAS, others didn't. Like Aquafina, this is tap water that's been processed. You can do the same thing at home with a good filter.
Fiji Water – Tested low (below 1 ppt) in Consumer Reports 2020. Fiji sources from an aquifer in Fiji. Price: $2-3 per liter. Expensive for what amounts to similar PFAS levels as cheaper brands.
Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ice Mountain (BlueTriton/Nestlé) – In Consumer Reports' 2020 study, Poland Spring and Ice Mountain still waters were below 1 ppt, Deer Park was 1.21 ppt, and Poland Spring's sparkling lime water was 1.66 ppt. BlueTriton bottles from dozens of springs across the US, so even within one brand name, the source varies by region.
Contact the manufacturer directly and request PFAS test results. Some companies will provide lab reports if you ask. Look for results from an independent lab (not in-house testing), a detection limit of 1 ppt or lower, and a test date within the past 12 months.
If the company won't provide results, that's a red flag. Brands that have tested clean tend to publish those results – it's a selling point. Brands that won't share data may not have tested, or may have tested and didn't like what they found.
The math doesn't work for bottled water as a long-term solution. A pregnant woman drinking the recommended 8-10 glasses per day (64-80 oz) would need roughly four 16.9 oz bottles daily. At $1.50 per bottle, that's $6 per day, $180 per month, $2,160 over a nine-month pregnancy.
A reverse osmosis filter costs $200-400 upfront and filters PFAS, lead, and other contaminants for years. A countertop carbon filter like AquaTru costs $300-500 and removes PFAS effectively. Our water filter guide for PFAS removal breaks down which filters work and which don't.
Beyond cost, PET plastic bottles shed microplastics into the water. A 2018 study in Frontiers in Chemistry found an average of 325 microplastic particles per liter in bottled water – 10-100 times higher than tap water. During pregnancy, microplastic exposure is an additional concern that filtered tap water avoids entirely.
The environmental footprint matters too. According to the Pacific Institute, producing the plastic for bottled water consumed in the US requires 17 million barrels of oil per year – enough to fuel 1 million cars. If you care about the world your child will grow up in, filtered tap is the better choice.
We're not saying bottled water is never justified. If your tap water tests above EPA limits for PFAS or lead and you can't install a filter right away, bottled is a reasonable short-term option. But as a nine-month-long solution, it's expensive, wasteful, and introduces microplastic exposure that filtered tap doesn't.
Some situations genuinely require bottled water. If you're traveling, staying somewhere without kitchen access, or your tap water has contamination that can't wait for a filter installation, here's the ranking:
Avoid brands that measured above 1 ppt in past testing (Tourmaline Spring, plus several sparkling waters such as Topo Chico and Polar). Skip brands that won't provide test results. And if you're choosing between a plastic-bottled brand that tested clean and a glass-bottled brand that tested clean, go with glass.
The International Bottled Water Association requires members to test for certain contaminants, but PFAS isn't currently on the mandatory list. Some states (California, for example) require bottled water companies to disclose contaminant levels on their websites, but enforcement is inconsistent.
If your preferred brand publishes water quality reports, look for: - PFAS testing results with specific compounds listed (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, etc.) - Detection limits – 1 ppt is good, 5 ppt is less useful - Test date – results from 2019 aren't necessarily valid in 2026 - Independent lab certification – NSF, UL, or other accredited labs
If the brand doesn't publish this information, email their customer service and ask directly. A legitimate brand will either provide results or explain why they don't test (e.g. municipal source that's already monitored). A brand that deflects or won't answer probably doesn't have clean results to share.
You can also check the EPA's UCMR5 data for the city where the bottled water is sourced. If a brand says "sourced from Springfield, Ohio municipal water" and Springfield has high PFAS levels in EPA data, that's useful context. Our tap water quality checker pulls this data automatically by zip code – type in the brand's source location to see what contaminants are in that area.
PFAS crosses the placenta. Biomonitoring studies detect PFAS in nearly all umbilical cord blood samples, reflecting how widely these chemicals reach the developing fetus. The primary exposure routes are drinking water, food packaging, and household dust. During pregnancy, minimizing water-based exposure is one of the few controllable factors.
The CDC's ATSDR PFAS toxicological profile notes that prenatal exposure is associated with reduced birth weight, altered immune function, and potential neurodevelopmental effects. The dose-response relationship isn't fully characterized – we don't know the "safe" threshold because there may not be one. That's why aiming for the lowest detectable level makes sense during pregnancy.
Lead is the other major water contaminant that matters during pregnancy. It affects fetal brain development at any level – there's no safe dose. Most bottled water brands don't test positive for lead because they're not sourcing from old municipal systems with lead pipes. But if you're choosing bottled water specifically to avoid lead, check whether the brand tests for it. Consumer Reports' 2020 study tested for lead and other heavy metals and found all still waters well below federal limits, with one spring water close to the arsenic limit.
You can read more about pregnancy-specific PFAS risks in our PFAS and pregnancy guide and why forever chemicals during pregnancy matter for fetal development.
Bottled water isn't automatically safer than tap. If you're going to rely on it during pregnancy, choose brands that have been tested by independent labs and showed non-detect results at 1 ppt or lower.
Mountain Valley Spring Water in glass bottles avoids plastic entirely, and while it wasn't in Consumer Reports' test, its own water quality report lists PFAS as not detected. Boxed Water (no detectable PFAS) and Just Water (below 1 ppt) are strong picks if glass isn't practical. Evian and Smartwater stayed below 1 ppt but use plastic bottles, so you're trading one exposure for another.
The better long-term solution: install a reverse osmosis or carbon block filter and drink filtered tap water. It costs less, removes the same contaminants, and avoids microplastics entirely. If you're renting or can't install a filter, a countertop unit works just as well.
Want to know what's in your specific tap water? Check your zip code for free PFAS and lead data, or get a detailed PDF report with neighborhood-level contamination breakdowns. We also have a pregnancy water safety hub with filter recommendations, testing guides, and what to do if your water fails EPA limits.
Editorial note: This article was reviewed against Consumer Reports' 2020 bottled water study. We don't include AggregateRating schema because we're comparing published test results, not aggregating user reviews. Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this article use our Amazon affiliate tag. If you buy through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our disclosure policy.
What is the safest bottled water for pregnant women? In Consumer Reports' 2020 study, Boxed Water Is Better had no detectable PFAS, and Just Water and Evian stayed below 1 ppt. Boxed Water and Just Water also use paper cartons that cut plastic exposure. Mountain Valley, in glass, wasn't in that test, but its own water quality report lists PFAS as not detected.
Does bottled water contain PFAS? Some bottled water brands contain detectable PFAS. Consumer Reports' 2020 test of 47 waters found nine with total PFAS above 1 part per trillion, including Tourmaline Spring, Deer Park and sparkling brands like Topo Chico. Spring water can pick up forever chemicals from contaminated watersheds, and the FDA doesn't require PFAS testing for bottled water.
Is Aquafina safe for pregnancy? Aquafina tested low for PFAS (below 1 ppt) in Consumer Reports' 2020 study. It's reverse osmosis treated municipal tap water, so it's filtered before bottling. The PFAS levels are safe, but you're essentially paying for filtered tap water. Installing your own RO filter would give you the same result for less money long-term.
Should I drink filtered tap or bottled water while pregnant? Filtered tap water is better for most pregnancies. A good reverse osmosis or carbon block filter removes PFAS, lead, and other contaminants while avoiding the microplastics that leach from plastic bottles. It costs $200-500 upfront versus $2,000+ for nine months of bottled water. Bottled water makes sense only if your tap tests above EPA limits and you can't install a filter immediately.
How can I check if my bottled water has been tested for PFAS? Contact the manufacturer and request PFAS test results from an independent lab. Look for a detection limit of 1 ppt or lower and a test date within the past year. If the brand publishes water quality reports online, check for specific PFAS compounds (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS). California requires bottled water companies to disclose contaminant testing, so brands sold there often have public results.