Toxic Baby Bottles

Townie · Toxic Baby Bottles

Toxic Baby Bottles. Safe alternatives to plastic baby bottles are flying off store shelves across Canada after Environmental Defence released a report showing a toxic chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), leaches from brand name bottles. Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor and suspected carcinogen, and children are most vulnerable to the toxic effects.

The study tested Avent, Playtex and Gerber plastic baby bottles. Lab results showed the highest level of leaching from the Avent brand baby bottles. Playtex brand baby bottles had the lowest level of leaching.

Significantly, levels of bisphenol A leaching increased exponentially when the plastic bottles were heated, with the Avent brand bottles showing the highest concentration.

Baby bottles that don’t contain bisphenol A are available. Check out Environmental Defence’s Toxic Nation Guide to Toxic Baby Bottles for a list of safer alternatives.

You can also download the full Toxic Baby Bottle report for free on the Toxic Nation web site.

Environmental Defence is calling on the federal government to ban bisphenol A in all food and beverage containers, including baby bottles. Sign our online petition supporting the ban.

http://www.toxicnation.ca/go-toxic-free/toxicnation-guides

Villagefarm

How about the other safe alternative to plastic baby bottles - breastfeeding!

I think there are glass baby bottles available in the UK.

Scary though isn't it - and that's before you start thinking about the really scary stuff in formula milk.

Townie

Absolutely..

I wonder if the same risks apply for the trainer cups with the wee spouts?

nichep

I breastfed but with my second baby it took over a week for my milk to come in and i used Avent during this time...

How scary

Sassinak

My daughter breastfed her 3 older babies until they were a year old.
But the twins needed much more milk than she was producing and she had to top them up with bottles after the first few weeks.
It is not necessarily a personal choice to bottle feed your baby. Presumably even breast fed babies who are given some feeds using expressed milk are still at risk.

Villagefarm

I agree, presumably it doesn't matter what is in the bottle, if it is the bottle that is the problem.

BTW, wasn't meaning to offend anyone who bottlefed - it's just one of the (very) few things that I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about - I think there is an awful lot of risk associated with bottle feeding which just isn't publicised - obviously because the publicity machine is paid for by the formula manufacturers.

The 'choice' between breastfeeding and bottle feeding is often seen as just a different way of 'delivering' the food. As I am sure you all know, the two things are worlds apart, and breastfeeding provides much more than just food. There are still, unfortunately lots of people who think that breastfeeding should only be done behind (your own) closed doors if at all, which makes it much more difficult to persist with, particularly if you are bothered with others opinions. I remember one mum at playgroup telling me that she had tried breastfeeding for a few days, but it wasn't for her, as it just isn't normal!! She was telling me this whilst I was feeding my middle daughter, who was only a few months old at the time. Another mum piped up that she reckoned that you would cause more psychological damage than provide any benefit if you breastfed past six months!! What!!

Well done to your daughter for breastfeeding her five, especially twins! Snap on that one - no twins in our lot, but currently feeding numbers four and five.

Sorry, rant over!!

wildgarlic

There are many reasons why mums may not be able to breastfeed - I for one had to express my milk and feed using a bottle. There are bisphenol free bottles... and indeed trainer cups.... and they don't necessarily cost any more than the 'regular' bottles.

Esther.R

I applaud anyone who breastfeeds and desperately tried to feed Beth myself but wouldn't as my milk just never came in properly, everyone told me this was not possible but in fact I later discovered that it is in fact possible and was caused by my (undiagnosed at the time) underactive thyriod. I fed Beth myself for the foirst week and with breast and bottle for the first 6 weeks but even offering breast first and then expressing at every feed with a hospital breast pump I couldn't get my milk up enough to feed her.

Thanks for the info.