What Do You Think Of The Latest News That Plastic Baby Feeding Bottles Are Deadly Killers?
maybe it is ancient news and i am as usual late receiving it 
anyway, they say now that the plastic in most if not all baby bottles contains BPA, a terrible chemical that causes just about anything and everything terrible u can reckon of… i hear people are switching to glass… did u switch already?
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I have heard tidbits about this, but I am not concerned about it because I breastfeed my baby.
“Deadly killers” is certainly an overstatement, but it’s certainly a concern. Now I’m reading that infant formula containers are lined with the same type of plastic.
Since my kids primarily nurse straight from the tap, I’m not overly concerned.
i havnt heard this. but i have heard that any plastic you heat up will give off terrible chemicals. therefor if you are heating up your babys bottle i would recomend glass.
March 31, 2003—A chemical used in plastic baby bottles—and many other food and beverage containers—causes genetic hurt in mice, a new study suggests. But the plastics industry says there is no cause for alarm.
The hurt is seen in egg cells of female mice. When these cells try to divide, their chromosomes don’t line up right. In humans this results in spontaneous abortion, birth defects, or mental retardation, says genetic abnormalities expert Patricia A. Hunt, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
In studies published in the April issue of the journal Current Biology, Hunt and colleagues showed that very low doses of a common plastics ingredient may cause these effects. They also found that perilous amounts of the chemical—known as BPA—can seep out of used plastic bottles.
“The effect we saw is pretty dramatic,” Hunt tells WebMD. “We were stunned by how low a dose it took. I am becoming pretty convinced there are significant effects [of BPA] at pretty low exposures. I can’t say how frightened you should be because our studies don’t say anything about humans. But that’s why we study animals. We assume the processes are pretty well the same in humans.”
The chemical is known as bisphenol A or BPA. It’s found in all kinds of common products, mostly polycarbonate plastics. Nearly all plastic baby bottles in the U.S. are made of this kind. So are many common food containers, water storage bottles, aluminum can linings, and even some kinds of dental sealants.
Other animal studies have linked BPA to low sperm count, hyperactivity, early puberty, obesity, small testes size, and enlarged prostates. But Hunt’s is the first study to suggest that BPA can affect future generations.
Frederick S. vom Saal, PhD, professor of biology at the University of Missouri in Columbia, has studied BPA for many years. He says that some 40 studies show that polycarbonate plastics are perilous. Hunt’s findings scare him most of all.
“What is so vital about this finding is we are talking about something that causes spontaneous abortions of babies,” vom Saal tells WebMD. “And then there is the horrifying fact that babies are born with these chromosomal abnormities. … This is a higher level of concern, a major new finding of a really profound adverse effect of this chemical in mice that were just drinking out of ancient baby bottles.”
The findings also frighten vom Saal’s colleague, reproductive endocrinologist Wade V. Welshons, PhD.
“We found terrible effects of fetal exposure to BPA, but that is something a pregnant woman can avoid. When my wife was pregnant, we did try to avoid it,” Welshons tells WebMD. “But Hunt’s study shows exposure may be unavoidable. It is shocking.”
Hunt didn’t intend to study BPA. She was studying egg development in mice. Suddenly, she started finding genetic defects in eggs from mice that were supposed to be normal. Nearly a year’s work was ruined. Finally, she found the cause. The mice were housed in polycarbonate plastic cages. They drank from polycarbonate bottles. Both had accidentally been washed in a floor cleaner that made them degrade quicker.
When Hunt’s research team exposed new plastic bottles to floor cleaner, they gave off lots of BPA. Sure enough, they found, BPA by itself caused the genetic changes. But then they found that the bottles gave off BPA much more easily than they’d suspected.
“No, it doesn’t take washing the bottle with floor soap,” Hunt says. “As these products get reused, they start to leach BPA. The part that will make your hair stand on end is baby bottles. They are made of polycarbonate plastic. People who use them say that after just washing them in the dishwasher they see these same changes in the bottles. When we see bottles start to turn cloudy, they are leaching. And when they get sticky, they are giving off a lot of this stuff.”
The plastics industry says there is nothing to be alarmed about. Large studies of BPA show no effects on animals or on their offspring, says Steven Hentges, PhD, executive director of the polycarbonate business unit of the American Plastics Council. Hentges represents the makers of polycarbonate and BPA.
Hentges says there are three things to know about the Hunt study:
It doesn’t really demonstrate any health hazard. It only looked at the genetic effects of BPA on mice, and not at whether it caused reproductive problems or deformed embryos.
COMMENT*: That is because the impact of these genetic effects on fetal survivorship birth outcome are quite severe and very well established.
The techniques used in the study don’t necessarily predict actual harm in animals or humans.
COMMENT: Right in the strictest scientific sense, but highly misleading. That is like claiming that you should not stand underneath a falling pile of bricks because Newtons observations about apples did not prove the theory of gravity.
The study does not show that the effects seen are relevant to humans.
COMMENT: As Hunt et al. note in their research paper, the process of cell division is extremely similar across a wide diversity of organisms. Aneuploidy in mice is highly relevant to aneuploidy in people.
“There has been a lot of research on the subject of BPA,” Hentges tells WebMD. “It is very reassuring research. It give us confidence that BPA does not cause reproductive problems. The bottom line is when you look at the whole package of BPA studies, you don’t see any terrible health outcomes. There have been no reproductive problems of the type you might expect from what Hunt and co-workers report.”
COMMENT: This is blatantly untrue and suggests how far industry will go to misrepresent the science. Aneuploidy occurs in 10-20% of all human oocytes and is unquestionably the cause of spontaneous miscarriages and birth defects, including Down Syndrome
That may not be right, say vom Saal and Welshons. People are reaching puberty earlier. Men have lower sperm counts. There’s an epidemic of obesity. Could some of this be related to the millions of tons of BPA generated each year?
“There is already enough environmental exposure to lead to problems in humans,” Welshons says. “In a recent study, fetal umbilical blood shows higher BPA levels than we generated in mice. Human exposure levels are already high.”
“The horrifying thing is that it looks as though these effects in the Hunt study and other studies happen at lower doses than what is really found in human fetal blood—umbilical cord blood,” vom Saal says. “That is pretty stunning. That is an alarm. It needs to be the basis for a very serious re-evaluation of the potential for human harm of BPA.”
Hentges points to large studies—including one published last year by the Research Triangle Institute—that fail to show any effect of BPA on animals, their organs, their genes, or their offspring. Vom Saal and Welshons say that all such studies have been paid for by industry sponsors and all are flawed. Hentges says it is the smaller studies that are flawed.
—-
The Children’s Health Environmental Coalition recommends the following precautions:
* Learn to identify polycarbonate plastic containers so you can avoid them. They are generally clear and rigid, and may have the recycling symbol 7 marked on the bottom.
* Select bottles made of tempered glass or polyethylene or polypropylene (recycling symbols 1, 2 or 5), which do not leach chemicals into formula or breast milk. Evenflo makes bottles and nursers from these safer plastics. Evenflo also makes tempered glass bottles. In addition to EvenFlo, Born Free offers baby bottles, trainer cups, nipples and bottle sterilizers that are BPA-free
* Avoid heating breast milk and infant formula over the stove or in the microwave in plastic; perilous chemicals are more likely to leach when you heat in plastic.
* To avoid bacteria, look for scratches in plastic bottles.
* Avoid plastic bottles that have decorations printed on the inside. These can come off into formula when it’s been heated.
* To avoid shards of glass ending up inside the bottle, glass bottles with cracks and chips should be discarded immediately.
* Avoid disposable nursers if possible, as the plastic bags may leak or burst. There have also been incidents of babies choking on the plastic tab inside.
I use the playtex nursers with the liners so that way I don’t have to use the microwave. That’s what is making them npt safe.
never heard of it, wish i knew more about it.
babies have been drinking out of plastic bottles forever, and this world is full of perfectly healthy people. The media will tell you anything to scare you, anything to cause a stir or make a headline. Don’t believe everything you hear. I have certainly NEVER heard of a baby dying from being fed through a plastic bottle. It’s a bunch of BS.
After researching further into this matter, I found that this was based only on ONE study, so the results are debatable. Everything in our world can be harmful and cause cancer (so they say) so I don’t know what else to do. I found out the other day that the cans that hold formula also have traces of BPA in it. I use Playtex bottles with the liners and hope for the best. After more research, I might convert to glass, but right now I just read up on the studies and discuss my options with my child’s pediatrician. <–He told me not to worry.
*It’s incredible how questions like this will cause the lactivists to place down other moms without knowing their situation. Also, the last time I checked, you could pump breastmilk and place it in bottles. I recall doing that after I returned to work….maybe I was just dreaming it?
***Let me clarify that I support bfing but I don’t support women belittling others for choosing formula.
I haven’t heard of this but I do know that you shouldnt microwave baby bottles because the plastic starts to melt and puts chemicals into the milk.
it’s been mentioned on the news a couple of times, i first heard about it about 3 months ago. they do emphasis that there is still not enough research to know whether or not it has an effect on your baby. if you are concerned about it you should try using disposable liners, there are also plastic bottles out there that do not contain the chemical, called born free, a small more expensive that the average bottle and of course you can try the glass bottle route.
as for them being deadly killers??? i reckon that’s a bit of an exaggeration, no one knows yet what if any effects BPA has on a baby.
I haven’t heard of that . But could you imagine the hurt a glass bottle could cause . I would reckon that would be more perilous
i have heard recently that all plastic bottles with the exception of 2 brands can leak chemicals in the bottle if place in the microwave. i believe AVENT was one brand i cant remember the other.
also in any plastic bottle if any liquid is heated too hot inside the chemicals will be released.
i wish i could find more, but i reckon the research is still ongoing.
I use the AVENT bottle and dont usually warm the milk, my son is fine with room temp. I hope it is ok.
jeez, what next! I bet the next “survey” will determine that glass feeding bottles break when dropped – increasing the likelihood of a baby getting cut by a shard of glass…..
How many people do you know who have had babies die or sickened by BPA (Bisphenol A)? I’m willing to bet “none”.
Despite the media’s problem-of-the-week, the jury is still out on the effects of BPA in small-term use (although BPA is pervasive in our daily use (i.e., not just in baby bottles), no one can say for sure whether a cancer or similar malady’s victim is due to it; yes, animals exposed to massive doses of it get cancer and what-not, but, so what? Expose any land-based animal to excessive water, and it’ll drown! Knee-jerk quick! Ban all water!!! Remember the toothpaste with saccharin scare a few years ago? Guess what? You’d have to consume nearly 1,000 tubes a DAY to get a saccharin-related malady, and it would be more than likely that you’d just throw-up after the second or third tube!).
It has been known for years, that baby bottle nipples (whether rubber or plastic, etc), must be kept clean (not necessarily “sterile”) to avoid contamination, yet very few people I know go through the effort of doing so! A baby is more likely to be hurt by milk contamination on the uncleaned bottle nipple than by BPA!
Keep all food utensils and dishes clean – - baby or otherwise – - and you shouldn’t have any problems, unless you intend on bottle feeding your child his/her entire life!
Read the third and fourth links, below, about “sterilizing” baby bottles and nipples; they may surprise you!
The respected site’s first and second links, below, should assuage any mass media induced fears (not to mention, you, for referring to this as “deadly killers”, perhaps in hopes of stirring up more fears, despite the fact that not a single BPA-related death has been reported); make sure to hit the “next page” button near the bottom right of the second link (you’ll have to scroll down to see it, but you’ll notice it very easily when you read the article!).
Regardless, don’t overreact to what you see and hear in the media, and don’t use inaccurate hyperbole in your Yahoo Q&A, much less in real life, as it only shows your ignorance or that you are maliciously spreading lies, like those computer virus e-mail spam/hoaxes (of course, by “you” I didn’t mean the “asker”, who, I’m sure, is *completely* innocent!).
I heard something about it, but isn’t the microwave that’s causing all the terrible chemicals to come out? Thank God I only used the bottles for the first year for my babies, once they turn 1 I threw the bottle out, I hope that sippy cups are not as terrible. I guess if you boil water in them then the chemicals will come out. What else are we going to find out? We’re all gonna have to go back to basics! like the ancient days
Frankly, I reckon it is a crock. My kids (born in the 60’s) were raised on plastic bottles. They were cheap and lightweight. If plastic bottles are deadly killers, I don’t know how my children have lived to be 40+ in age. And, believe me, if there was something I could have done incorrect as a parent, I did it. Didn’t have the sense God gave a gnat.
no one is saying BPA is a killer. but, it is a hormone and is linked to things like breasts in boys and premature periods in girls. there are a lot of plastic and convenience products out there that do not contain BPA.
also, this is not the same plastic bottle anyone used in the 60s. BPA is a more recent addition to plastics to make them look better- hard and clear without scratching, or make them sturdier.
i BF my son, but occasionally he takes a bottle from dad or babysitter. i store all expressed milk in BPA free Medela bottles and heat in those. i feed from Avent wides b/c they are his fave, even though they are not BPA free.
No worse than the formula that moms are putting in it.
Seriously, why would a mom care about the chemicals in the plastic in bottles when she’s already feeding her baby crap from a can that can be re-called at any time because it itself is perilous?
Ive heard of this, but I also heard that it depends on how ancient the plastic bottle is. So if the bottle is all scratched up or the plastic looks cloudy throw it away. I probably won’t switch to glass, you can now find plastic bottles that don’t have that chemical in it, and I imagine they will soon become simpler to find and cheaper.
PS. EVERYTHING causes something, you have to take it all with a grain of salt.
Just another reason why breastfeeding is such a wonderful and perfect way to feed your child!
This is certainly a serious situation, and those moms who don’t know should read up on it.
The chemical is really only in the type of plastic bottles that are very hard – which is how they become so hard. The types of bottles that are soft and you can push in on them with your fingers, are less likely to have, or have less of the chemical. (Not excellent either, but FYI.)
My breast has no plastic so no worries here =)
Yes, I did switch, but not to glass, I switched to the BornFree bottles, they are BPA free.
And the chemical is not just released by the microwave, it is released from excessive washing and heating (i.e. bottle warmer). The chemical has been known to cause things such as ADD, behavioral problems, early onset of puberty and many more things. And isn’t it right kids today have more attention and behavioral problems then children of 20 or more years ago? Maybe, just maybe it is caused by this BPA chemical? It is something to reckon about! And really, is it something you want to chance? If you could potentially keep your child from having problems, wouldn’t you do it?
never heard this. if that were right there would be alot of sick babies around.
imaging all the dead babies that would be if that is right
I never heard of this.