Toxic baby bottles - a warning

[missjennipenni]

news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91251-1303191,00.html

Parents who put warm milk in plastic baby bottles could be exposing their children to dangerous pollutants, scientists warn.
A study has shown that a toxin leaks from plastic bottles when they are heated or filled with hot liquids.

Bisphenol A has been linked to fertility problems, diabetes, breast cancer, hyperactivity and early puberty in girls. Babies are thought to be particularly vulnerable to its effects.

It is one of the most common 'gender-bender' chemicals in the home and is found in food containers, water bottles and the lining of food cans.

The US findings will concern parents who submerge plastic bottles in hot water, mix infant formula with hot water and boil or steam bottles to sterilise them.

[oranges]

that's okay - I wash my bottles in snow and make up formula from the water in puddles.

[DarrellRivers]

oranges

[missjennipenni]

lol! Your kids will be ok then

[missjennipenni]

What does "gender bender chemical" mean, btw? anyone know?

[missjennipenni]

become a transvestite?

[chibi]

could you get glass bottles? this is probably not practical for other reasons. i seem to remember that bisphenol-a (what sky are referring to as 'gender-bender') is only present in hard transparent plastics. perhaps it isn't present in opaque/translucent ones?

considering how many people use bottles to feed regularly - when you include mix feeders and people giving ebm - this story should stir up a lot of outrage. i hope it gets the publicity it deserves but i think it may sink like a stone [cynical emoticon}

[missjennipenni]

People dont like to think they are doing their babies any harm, and this could add extra guilt on those who bottle feed. I bet it gets mostly ignored.

[Lulumama]

Parents who put warm milk in plastic baby bottles could be exposing their children to dangerous pollutants, scientists warn.
A study has shown that a toxin leaks from plastic bottles when they are heated or filled with hot liquids>>

'could be exposing'

'a study'

i'd like to see a lot more information in this before i freak out

[missjennipenni]

I hope no-one does freak out thats not what i intednded, i just wanted to high-light the possibilty

[missjennipenni]

Some do though, i know friends who wanted to, couldnt and felt tremendous guilt. I think this kind of thing would just make them feel worse

[chibi]

gender bender is a stupid term.

the chemical in question is a hormone mimic, i think an oestrogen mimic. it does not have to present in large quantities to have an impact, hormones work in miniscule doses. they work as signals to the body if you like, eg the hormones associated with the menstrual cycle signal things like 'uterus, thicken up your lining' and 'egg, burst out of the ovary'.

i don't know if there are any studies done on the specific effects of oestrogenic chemicals in the body but can imagine possible dire consequences from early onset of puberty in females (with knock on physical effects, i think this has been shown to affect age at which menopause begins, possibly also may affect the rate of incidence of some cancers) to decreased fertility in males.

the more i speculate the madder i get, especially as this is not a new story. i first remember hearing this when i was about 17ish. i'm 32 now.

[kekouan]

Hmm... very suspicious of this. Guess it heavily depends on the kind of plastic used - it wouldn't necessarily be all clear plastics--- labs use plastic test tubes for analytical purposes, and they certainly wouldn't have chemicals leaching out of the plastic when heated.

bugger all I could do about it if the story was true - what am I supposed to do, feed DS out of a china cup?

[Lulumama]

i don;t think the OP is one that is terribly comforting.

i am not going to freak out, as i am not that way inclined

but i am wary of information like this , as it is potentially worthwhile and true, but one study does not neccesarily prove anything incontrovertibly.

[Lulumama]

also, as the new government guidelines re making up feeds advises using boiling water cooled for 30 minutes, this sort of thing could put people off making up feeds as advised and sterilising as advised.

so potentially damamging information

[FAQ]

"People dont like to think they are doing their babies any harm, and this could add extra guilt on those who bottle feed."

of course this is all about the Formula fed babies isn't it.........never mind the 1000's of breastfed babies who are frequently given expressed milk in a bottle.......

Agree with lulumama "could" be exposing, "a" study -

"The US findings will concern parents who submerge plastic bottles in hot water, mix infant formula with hot water and boil or steam bottles to sterilise them."

ermm - that would be everyone that uses bottles whether it's for FF or BM..........

[missjennipenni]

Apparently, there are glass or safe-plastic alternatives

[missjennipenni]

and bowls and spoons used in weaning i presume?

[Lulumama]

do you have a link to the safe alternatives or just the scary news report?

[kekouan]

why aren't all bottles made of the 'safe-plastic' alternative then?

confused

[chibi]

[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080130.wlbottle30/BNStory/specialScienceandHea lth/ link to Canadian newspaper article]

[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070406.Bisphenol_graphic/PhotoGall ery01?slot=1 results of tests on lab animals from same newspaper]

i am canadian hence the links. there are 55 articles in this newspaper between 2000 and tioday, but you need to be a subscriber to access some of them.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez results of a search on PubMed a database of scientific papers for 'bisphenol-a and infant']

i am getting more fecked off as i type.

[FAQ]

[chibi]

lth/ link to Canadian newspaper article

ery01?slot=1 results of tests on lab animals from same newspaper

results of a search on PubMed a database of scientific papers for 'bisphenol-a and infant'

sorry for rubbish linking

[missjennipenni]

FAQ - as for my qoute "People dont like to think they are doing their babies any harm, and this could add extra guilt on those who bottle feed." IME mums who FF are often the ones who feel the most guilt about the way they feed their babies. Im sorry if you disagree, but this is how it is in my social circle. I know it isnt all, i have never suggested that.