"Warming baby's bottle could release 'gender-bending' chemicals" - but don't take headlines at face value

[hunkermunker]

This is irresponsible reporting from the DM.

There's no mention of WHY formula needs to be warmed - because it's unsterile and using water at no less than 70 degrees to make it up kills the salmonella and enterobacter sakazakii it potentially contains.

I tried to comment, but it wouldn't let me. What does "gender-bending" even mean ffs?

Gender-bending

Shit, isn't it?

Oh FGS. It's such a rag. Big shouty headline and no reference to "gender bending" whatever the fck that is, in the article. Just "fertility problems, diabetes, breast cancer, hyperactivity and early puberty in girls".

Useless shower of knobs.

bah feck and arse.

Have we had a Breastfeeding and Feminism thread yet?

I havn't read the whole article.

I disagree whole heartedly with the use of that digusting phrase which I shall not repeat.

I offer (I hope) some explaination of what is behind the phrase.

Bisphenol A, the chemical mentioned, I believe is a xeno-oestrogen. Meaning it interfers with the normal action of oestrogens which affects the sexuality of both males and females. In males I believe it has been associated with rediuced fertility and in males and I have seen documentary footage about the environmental impact of waterways contaminated with xeno-oestrogens. Basically there were crocs & alligators that were getting smaller & smaller penis' and some were even a-tahllic IIRC. It stays quite vividly in my mind.

It also has effects on female fertility - and in particular xeno-oestrogens are believed to be one cause of breast cancer in a patient sub-group.

Incidently many common plastics also contain (or at least used to contain) similar chemicals - ling film is of note, and is the reason I never wrap cheese in cling film (fatty foods aid the leaching process I believe). I don't think they are used in cling film any more but could be wrong and have got used to foil for cheese anyway.

wikipedia on Bisphenol A, incluing a table of reported effects at given doses. Not that they are all effects on reproductive tissues/sexuality type traits.

SMS, this isn't new knowledge, is it, so not sure why the DM have seen fit to publish it now, and in such an ill-considered way.

There's been mutterings about bottle material for ages now - when I had DS1, Lansinoh bags or glass bottles were what I stored bmilk in because of this.

The recent furore over Vicki Scott had MNers asking about Avent's use of these plastics as well. She didn't answer. Oooooooooh, what's happened to her, btw? Campaign over, I guess. Wonder whether Avent thought it a success?

Is the study that the report is based on a new one? I have seen this reported elsewhere in the last couple of days.

I wasn't aware of a link in baby bottles until recently (I don't think, maybe I was just a careless mother and didn't 'care' about it???).

As far as I could see my googling BPA was banned in products for under 3's in 2006 (in Europe at least).....so the concern in hte UK is rather odd and absolutley unwarranted if that really is the case. Not necessarily true in US though where there is not a ban in all states.

Think I looked it up and found that old scratched bottles were poss more likely to do it than new ones. In same way, scratched plastic cups and plates can do it with older children. I got the impression that it wasn't much anyway, and hardly anything with new bottles.

I try to avoid clingfilm, and microwaving or heating ready meals in plastic, but then most milk comes in plastic bottles, and I think tetrapak type containers are covered in a thin layer of it - it's impossible to avoid.

The Guardian article on this says the original study is in the latest edition of the journal Toxicology Letters.

Just had a look at the abstract quoted in the DM and it seems that the 'novel finding' dragging this out of the woodwork is that heat enhances leaching.

Ah, I didn't read the DM article properly - they give the source too, then.

Bisphenol-A is used in polycarbonate which is the hard glass like plastic (Avent and some Tommee tippee bottles), some manufacturers use polypropylene (MAM, Born free, Babasil and Bibi) which does not contain BPA and is usually a milky or transluscent plastic. If you look on some cups/bottles if it has a 7 in the triangle thingy it's polycarbonate and if it has a 5 it's polypropylene.

The thing that winds me up is the bottle manufacturers don't label their bottles (if you look at things like microwave dishes/plastic storage boxes they normally have a number on the bottom.), which means if you want to make an informed choice you have to contact them direct.

This really concerns me. I've changed to the Born Free bottles and they are great. Can anyone recommend any polypropylene feeding pots (DD just going onto solids)

MAM Ultivent bottles do not have Bisphenol A, Golden Fleece.

I tried to question the woman from Avent about this but she knew nothing and sent me to the Avent website which only had an arse covering statement saying that the bottles were legal or suchlike.

Message withdrawn

i am pro breastfeeding. very anti bottle feeding.
this 'report' just sounds like scaremongering. ignore it. your baby will be fine on heated formula. make it up as per instructions of course. very irresopnsible reporting this is.

oh yes hunker. she said she would be back after christmas, then there was the link to that awful video she made. we tore it to shreds and nothing else. think that made her scarper for good.