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.

obv noone else thinks so tho

I have seen loads on this on US sites. I posted about it on an Irish site and got about 2 responses! I did worry about it as although I did bf all the boys, they frequently got EBM in bottles, although I don't think the bottles were ever heated to boiling point which btw according to new guidelines is what you are supposed to do with formula in order to kill the bugs so if ff it seems you can't win, either you risk giving the baby food poisoning or you risk poisoning them with chemical.
If you go The Soft Landing Blog, everything on there is Bisphenol free. There are a lot of products under the name Sassy which are the same as MAM in the UK. ( I think) I am tempted to get the Adiri Natural Nurser for dc4 but mainly because ds3 refused to take a bottle at all and that one is the most boob-like!

Oh for heaven's sake.........

Aren't baby bottles BPA free these days?

Yes Madmonkeys that's what I thought - all bottles I've seen state they are BPA free...

All bottles I ever bought, medela/asda own/ tomee tipee have all stated BPA free.

old thread restarted by someone making recomendations, I am too lazy to see if they are new to the site.

all bottles that can be bought in the uk now have to be bpa free as far as i am aware, this is something i researched a bit as well.

a bottle of mineral water left in sun will have same effect - read somewhere some cancer specialists dont go near plastics where they can help it in all foods - mircowaving food in plastic packets etc etc etc....

Everything I have bought for dd since she was born to do with eating and drinking has been clearly labled BPa free. Tbh I had no idea what it was but I know that most products to do with babies and toddlers like to tell me it's not included. There really is no need to worry about this.

Poster who resurrected this thread is linking to the Mercola site so I'd taken whatever they have to say with a grain of salt...

have just bought some tommee tippee bottles and they are not made with bisphenol-a.

A lot of the bottles you buy are marked "BPA free". I know the bog standard Philips Avent ones I had for DD were two years ago. DH is a chemist and he just checked they had BPA free on them.

This is really an old scare!

Apparently my last message on here ws deemed to be inappropriate, so apologies for that.

The objective of restarting this thread was to continue to highlight the very factual and real dangers of using plastic bottles to feed our children. There has been a lot of new research outcomes recently and unfortunately being "BPA free" does not mean safe, despite what the product leaders may want us all the think. This is not scaremongering in any shape or form, merely the wish to highlight these new facts to unsuspecting mums.

Taxicat, if you want to highlight real dangers of using plastic bottles, then why resurrect a thread talking about a substance (Bisphenol A)which has now been banned from baby bottles?

Simply because the title of the thread is: "Toxic baby bottles - a warning" and is related to all toxins that leach from plastic bottles, not simply a single substance. All parents need to be aware of all the dangers related to choosing how they feed their children so they can make an informed decision based on facts and not marketing. It is completely understandable that some parents will dismiss the dangers and live with the potential risks, but at least they are making an informed choice.

So, again, Taxicat, given that the only toxin specifically mentioned in the OP is the now banned Bisphenol A, why resurrect this thread?

If there are other substances you think parents should be aware of, why not start a new thread discussing those? You say that there are "very factual and real dangers of using plastic bottles", but you haven't provided any factual information / links to research in your posts to back up your opinion.

To be fair, does it really matter which thread its on? What's the point of a petty discussion on this thread or that thread. At least on this one, people have the benefit of previous discussion on the topic of toxins related to plastic bottles.

Slightly strange that you seem so protective of "thread integrity". Should we rather focus on the wider issue?

I see you're ignoring the point about how you haven't provided any factual information / links to research to back up your opinion.

This in particular is making it difficult for me to focus on the wider issue.

Quite aside from the point where someone may open the thread, look at the OP, think "But the bottles I've bought say they're Bisphenol A free", look at the date of the OP, think "Oh, this is from 4 and a half years ago" and then not read the rest of the thread, including your recent comments. Which is why I was suggesting a new thread. Although perhaps I should have expressed my reasoning more clearly in the first place.

@StroemGlass - Ok, lets make this easy. Thanks for your suggestion, but I chose not to create a new thread as I feel that this one is relevant enough for me. If someone chooses not to read it then so be it - hopefully that's the end of that.

On topic - In terms of factual information, there are thousands of examples of studies by reputable institutions and people, that are proving daily that there are other toxins besides BPA (with BPA only being highlighted because is the most known about) that can be harmful e.g. PVC, phthalates, lead, BPS etc etc. How long is it before another chemical arises to the fore and plastic bottle companies rush around printing 'free-from' labels just to satisfy the general public. Lets not even get into the discussion around how harmful plastic is to our environment.

Put simply, the point is that parents should be aware of all the evidence to able to make an informed decision - not simply because plastic bottles say its ok on the packaging. I don't see ANY plastic baby bottles claiming to be totally toxin free - do you?

Links (just a couple):
ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1003220#Supplemental%20Material) or articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/20/bpa-free-plastic-still-toxic.aspx)

Personally, I can totally understand the concerns about plastic baby bottles - the issues around the chemicals in plastic drinking bottles have been known about for ages and as someone who has been involved in academic research about hormonal pollutants in the environment, I know the concerns are real.

For that reason, we've bought glass bottles for when our twins arrive - they were on the same shelf as the plastic ones and it just seemed like the obvious choice really.

It's an American brand (Dr. Browns) and we live in the Middle East, so I'm not sure the same choices are available in the UK.

And yes I do drink out of plastic bottles myself, in fact all the time (drinking water, milk etc). I am more concerned about babies because they are at such an important stage in their lives, developmentally speaking.

Hi feesh, have you considered using stainless steel bottles? We have been using a new brand for sometime and they are amazing. My kids like to through things, so glass bottles weren't really an option and also these bottles convert from a baby bottle into a sippy cup as your baby grows.