1 Mother 2 Another

Many of you have probably seen baby
bottles and sippy cups in the news recently; several studies have
come out questioning the safety of BPA, a chemical used to make the
polycarbonate plastic that makes up several major bottles and sippy
cups. Last week a medical journal published a study done by 38
scientists who believe BPA poses a “significant” health
risk.


As well, a federal panel of the National Institute of Health
recently said there is “some concern” the chemical
could cause behavioral and neurological problems in young
children.

BPA is used in hard, clear plastic bottles
like Avent and Dr. Brown. Some child health experts are encouraging
that these be thrown away altogether and you find other
alternatives. Medela bottles, though clear, are made of a different
material and thus considered safe. Likewise, any bottle or sippy
cup of opaque plastic is considered safe. Born Free also makes a
safe, clear bottle. Basically, any plastic with a “2”,
“4”, or “5” is safe; those with a
“1”, “3”, “6”, or
“7” are uncertain.


I’ve been following the story for a while, but finally
decided to comment on it when Baby 411, one of my favorite
infant reference books, withdrew their support and urged parents to
throw out their bottles. And rather than try to regurgitate all the
information that’s been reported much better than I could do,
here are several links to give you more information.


Again, this is not a government recall. You decide what to do.
Maddie used them her whole babyhood and seems pretty great, but
I'm going to follow the advice of experts I trust since the
long-term effects won't be known for quite some time. I’m
bummed I’m throwing away fifty bucks worth of Avent bottles,
but believe it’s the right thing for me to do; I encourage
you to talk with your pediatrician and get her advice on the
subject. I guess I’ll be using the Medelas that came with the
pump.


href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-plastic3aug03,0,1828523.story?coll=la-home-nation">
Articles questioning health risks of BPA

href="http://www.windsorpeak.com/baby411/bpa.html">Baby
411 article


href="http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/chemicals/bisphenol/draftBPA_MtgSumm080807.pdf">
NIH study

href="http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/BPAbottles.html">Pictures
of polycarbonate bottles

href="http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/BPAFREEbottles.html">
Pictures of BPA-free bottles



href="http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/05/sippy-cup-showdown-safer-bpa-free- sippy.html">
Pictures of BPA-free sippy cups