- Protecting Your Unborn & Newborn Babies

Two recent articles from the Environmental Working Group, USA. We recommend that you also access the website and read some of the articles that may be of interest to you and your family.

1. EWG's Guide to Infant Formula: Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles & Formula

2. Brain Food : Fish Women Should Avoid When Pregnant
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EWG's Guide to Infant Formula: Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles & Formula

Breast milk is best, but whether you’re feeding breastmilk or formula in a bottle, use this guide to feed your baby safely. Read this report's press release or go to study findings.

EWG's Guide to Infant Formula

Nipple: Start with a clear silicone nipple. Latex rubber nipples can cause allergic reactions and can contain impurities linked to cancer.

Bottle: Use glass. Plastic bottles can leach a toxic chemical called bisphenol A (BPA)
into formula. Avoid clear, hard plastic bottles marked with a 7 or “PC.” These contain phthalates which can be toxic for your child. New evidence indicates it can lead to infertility in male children.

Plastic bottle liners: Don’t use them. The soft plastic liners may leach chemicals into formula, especially when heated.

Water: Tap water in developed countries is safe for babies. or use filtered tap water. If your water is fluoridated, use a reverse osmosis filter to remove fluoride, which the American Dental Association recommends avoiding when reconstituting formula. If you choose bottled water make sure it’s fluoride-free. However, ensure that your baby's formula contains a balance of minerals such as magnesium, zince and other trace minerals that are essential to brain growth and brain health.

Formula: Choose powdered* but not China made products especially with the on-going scare of toxic ingredients being added to milk to thicken it.

* Liquid formulas have a higher level of a toxic chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) can leach from the lining of metal cans and lids. Powdered formula is a better bet. If you're concerned about BPA, click here to tell infant formula manufacturers to remove it from their product packaging.

FORMULA BUYING GUIDE

1. Your first choice should be powdered formula in a can with as little plastic liner as possible

2. Second choice: concentrated liquid formulas

3. Avoid all ready-to-eat liquid formulas in metal cans

More details for bottle-feeding parents:

Breastfeed whenever possible!

Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for babies, and contains essential fatty acids that help bolster babies' bodies against the impacts of toxic chemicals. However, there are many reasons why families rely on formula for some or all of their baby’s diet. Most babies in the US receive some formula during their first year of life, with 70 percent of babies receiving some formula by 3 months of age (CDC 2007). These babies need a safe and healthy source of food, and formula should be manufactured in a way that avoids contamination with hormone disrupting chemicals.

Formula-feeding

Powdered formulas are the best choice for parents who want to avoid bisphenol A in their baby's diet. While powdered formula has not been tested for BPA, it is diluted with much more water than liquid formulas which reduces the amount of BPA that the baby consumes in each feeding. Nestlé has made unsubstantiated claims that they don't use any BPA to line their powdered formula cans. Nestlé, Enfamil and Similac use a mixed metal and cardboard package with less BPA-coating. Second best are Earth's Best Organic and PBM's store-brand powdered formulas that use a fully metal can.

Some liquid formulas are sold in plastic, mostly polyethylene and polypropylene which do not contain any BPA. Avoid any plastic containers that are rigid and transparent, marked with "PC". All liquid formulas sold in metal cans are lined with BPA-epoxy, which has been shown to leach into the product. If you buy formula in metal cans choose the concentrated type which is diluted with water prior to feeding. Avoid ready-to-eat formula in metal cans, which has the highest BPA leaching potential.

Bottle Nipples

Choose bottle nipples made from transparent silicon. They are the most durable and inert options. Latex rubber nipples can cause allergic reactions and can contain impurities linked to cancer (Freishtat 2002; Westin 1990). The same goes for pacifiers. Throw away any nipple or pacifier that is discolored, thinning, tacky or ripped.

Bottles

There has been a lot of attention recently about BPA leaching from baby bottles and sippy cups. It appears, however, that babies fed liquid formula could have much more intense exposure to BPA from the formula itself. Even so, parents should still choose bottles that don't leach any BPA. Glass bottles are an excellent choice. More manufacturers are also making bottles and sippy cups out of safe plastics which are polyethylene, polypropylene or polyamide. Avoid all polycarbonate which are transparent (either clear or tinted) and rigid or inflexible plastic. These bottles may be marked with the letters “PC.” Polycarbonate plastics are sometimes marked with the recycling #7, which is a miscellaneous category, so not all #7 plastics are harmful.

Your pediatrician may recommend plastic bottle liners if your baby is colicky. If not, avoid using them - the manufacture and disposal of plastic liners raise environmental concerns. And never overheat formula in a plastic liner. The soft plastic liners may leach chemicals into formula, especially when heated.

Expressing breast milk

Medela breast pump tubes, shields, and jars are BPA and phthalate free. This is important as pump parts withstand repeated washings in hot water.

Cleaning and sterilizing

Bottles, nipples, pacifiers, breast shields, pump tubing and containers should be sterilized before first use. After that, washing with hot soapy water or the top shelf of the dishwasher should be sufficient. Avoid sterilizing in the microwave or frequent use of boiling water since both will speed the breakdown of the plastic.

Warming a bottle

Warm bottles of formula or breast milk in a bowl of hot water. Do not microwave them or place them in boiling water. In addition to creating a hazard for baby, these extreme heats weather the plastics.

More related content »

Brain Food: Fish Pregnant Women Should Avoid

What Women Should Know About Mercury In Fish

Download this list as a PDF.

EWG’s Fish List

Avoid If Pregnant

Shark
Swordfish
King mackerel
Tilefish
Tuna steaks
Canned tuna
Sea bass
Gulf Coast Oysters
Marlin
Halibut
Pike
Walleye
White croaker
Largemouth bass

Eat No More Than One Serving From This List Per Month

Mahi mahi
Blue mussel
Eastern oyster
Cod
Pollock
Great Lakes salmon
Gulf Coast blue crab
Channel catfish (wild)**
Lake whitefish

Lowest In Mercury

Blue crab (mid-Atlantic)
Croaker
Fish Sticks
Flounder (summer)
Haddock
Trout (farmed)
Salmon (wild Pacific)
Shrimp *

* Shrimp fishing and farming practices have raised serious environmental concerns.
** Farmed catfish have low mercury levels but may contain PCBs in amounts of concern for pregnant women.

How much tuna should you eat? Use the EWG Tuna Calculator to find out.

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