Breast-feed Without Fear

It's been pretty well established that breast-fed babies get a healthy head start over those raised on formula, in addition to extra emotional bonding. Breast-fed babies have fewer ear infections, common colds and cases of diarrhea and vomiting. They're also less likely to develop allergies, juvenile diabetes and some childhood cancers. There are also benefits for the mother as well, including reduced risk of breast cancer in later life. However, recent reports about toxic chemicals, from dioxins to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), present in breast milk are enough to make any well-intentioned mother think twice about how to feed her baby. "The complicated message about breast-feeding is, yes, these chemicals are in our breast milk, but, no, that doesn't mean you stop breast-feeding," says Lynn Goldman, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Linda S. Birnbaum, director of the EPA's experimental toxicology division and one of the investigators for a November study in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) that found ten times the levels of PBDEs in breast milk of Texas women as compared with Europeans, agrees. Although "the high end of this range is not that far away from where we see developmental harm being caused in animals, babies who nurse do better than babies who don't nurse," Birnbaum says. "We don't want to scare women away from breast-feeding."

Of greater concern, many researchers agree, is that fetuses are being exposed to these chemicals in utero—a far more vulnerable time—long before they ever taste breast milk. A related study in Indiana looked at twelve pairs of maternal and cord blood samples and found that fetuses are exposed to as high levels of PBDEs as their mothers are.

Resources

Mothering Magazine Jan/Feb issue, www.mothering.com

"Perils of Puff," The Green Guide #99

"PBDE Fire Retardants and Health Threats"

Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org