[KoalaMama]

I just read this article on the Globe and Mail site about flame retardant in breastmilk.

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[OwensMa]

"Health Canada concluded that human exposure from sources such as breast milk had not yet reached harmful levels."

Nice to know we're patiently waiting for the danger-zone.

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[julesinottawa]

Scary!

 

[Pam_and_Abigail]

Is there anything a nusring mom can do to avoid or lessen this? How have we managed to screw up so much in such a relatively short amount of time in the history of our planet and our species?

 

[MaryCeleste]

The article goes on to point out that American women have levels *twice* as high as Canadians. (i.e., 10 to 20 times higher than Japan, Germany, etc.) As a Canadian living in the US, I'm not sure which category I fall in, but I'm concerned in any case.

My first thought, after reading the article, was that it might have something to do with the proliferation of "cube farms" in offices. Maybe all that modular furniture isn't just ugly...it's toxic, too.

Or maybe it's related to the number of TVs and computers in our homes, and the huge amounts of time spent watching/using same?

<glances suspiciously at her laptop>

Umm, gotta go.

 

[Stacie]

Sure, there are a few things that can help. Put a plastic - good one - over your mattress so you aren't breathing fumes all night. Make sure the entire mattress is coverd top and bottome. Sears makes a very good "allergy" one. If the baby sleeps in a seperate bed same for his. Also do not use any pajamas. Most baby and toddler pajamas contain flame retardants. In summer we always put kids in long t-shirts and in winter sweats.

I believe the metal is called antimony. Used in fabrics a lot.

wall to wall carpets are loaded. Some drapery is, not sure which fabrics though. Hope that helps.

 

[MamaBug]

Stacie thanks for that advice. I do have covers over all the mattresses and we don't put the kids in regular pjs either. ANy other tips?

 

[Stacie]

Here is a little information on Antimony and some links which may help.

Environmental sources: Antimony oxide is added to furniture, mattresses, pajamas, textiles, carpet, and plastics to prevent them from catching fire. Used medically to treat people infected with parasites. Also found in lead storage batteries, solder, sheet and pipe metal, bearings, castings, pewter, paints, ceramics, fireworks, enamels. In the air, water, and soil near industries including smelters, coal-fired plants, and refuse incinerators.

http://risk.lsd.ornl.gov/tox/profiles/antimony.shtml
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts23.html
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pu...dity/antimony/
http://www.cotlife2000.com
http://www.criblife2000.com
http://chemicallysensitiveliving.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/antimonyandarsenic/

 

[twopeasinpod]

Thank you for posting this.

Maya

 

[chicagomom]

FYI, Ikea sells pbde-free furniture.

Too bad this won't be eliminated in the US anytime soon. It's too convenient and the lobbies are too strong.

It's in absolutely everything - including the food chain. And FYI, formula feeding (esp with cow's milk formula) will not protect a child from exposure.

Quote:

Preliminary evaluations in the United States indicate low levels of PBDEs in a variety of foods. Dr. Arnold Schecter, Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health-Dallas, recently conducted a small-scale market basket study testing 32 samples of several foods. He found large variations in PBDE levels in the sampled foods and that all food of animal origin was contaminated with PBDEs unless fat was removed. Soy infant formula did not contain any measurable PBDEs. However a recent study in the U.K. shows vegan diets to be only about 30 percent lower in PBDEs than an omnivorous diet, thereby indicating non-animal food sources.

http://www.salmonoftheamericas.com/topic_4_04_pbde.html

What makes me absolutely crazy is that breastfeeding advocates were leery of how this information would be presented, and they were all called alarmists. No one is saying you shouldn't breastfeed, the 'experts' said. No one will take this information that way, they said. But, of course, that is exactly what is happening. Moms are switching to formula (esp soy formula, which they are being told is 'safer') out of concern for their children. And they are *not* being told that breastmilk's excellent properties offset environmental hazards all the time, and that the immunity support provided is a far, far greater benefit than the *unknown* risk potentially posed by pbde exposure. All this extreme cautionary language makes me think this whole thing was orchestrated by the soy formula lobby to increase sales. I hate to be paranoid about it, but that's the way it looks to me.

FYI, read this exchange, on USA Today. It blew my socks off:
http://www.usatoday.com/community/ch...-schechter.htm

So, we will avoid pbdes wherever possible. But I will breastfeed my baby. It's still the best food available, and provides lots of things formula will never come close to being able to provide.

For a good perspective on pollutants in breastmilk, see Sandra Steingraber's article in breast cancer action network (she is an environmental toxics specialist and wrote a great book Having Faith)
http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/Search...etter071I.html

Stepping off my soap box now...

 

[KoalaMama]

From the comments below the USA Today article:

Quote:

Raleigh, NC: I didn't breastfeed my 4-year-old, and she hardly ever is sick. She's certainly healthier than most of her friends - and just as smart! With the news of this contamination, how can advocates seriously continue harping on about my putting my next baby at risk by not breast-feeding her? How much better can breastfeeding really be, when you read something like this - and you see my own evidence in the form of a smart healthy child? Arnold Schechter: Interesting point. To date, there have been no studies on humans relating to pbdes and health effects, but we expect to find some at high enough levels in sensitive persons. You make a point which is logical, but most comments have been from breast feeding advocates who were very unhappy with our findings and the publication of it.

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[MaryCeleste]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stacie Here is a little information on Antimony and some links which may help.

Thanks for the antimony information, Stacie. (We're devout mattress-wrappers around here. We even brought our trusty polyethylene sheeting several thousand miles to the grandparents' house!) The original article wasn't about antimony, though. It was about another flame retardant, polybrominated diphenyl ether, aka PBDE.

More info at http://www.sciencenews.org/20031025/bob10.asp.

Calculations performed by Ronald Hites of Indiana University show that body concentrations have been "exponentially increasing, with a doubling time of 4 to 5 years."

 

[flminivanmama]

this is the LLL press release on this
http://www.lalecheleague.org/Release/contaminants.html

unfortunately babies get most of their toxic load from the placenta - we really need to do something to clean up our environment

 

[davmon]

there is a great book on this subject by a woman named sandra steingrabber, called "Having Faith". Her previous book "Living Downstream" changed my life, no exaggeration. Having Faith is an examination of what babies are exposed to in utero and through breastmilk. Disclaimer: it is an *extremely* disturbing book so reader beware. DO NOT give to a pregnant woman to read - I read it while nursing my newborn and it was difficult to get through at times. That said, it is an extremely important book as is Living Downstream. Although Ms. Steingrabber is an ecologist, both books are very readable and no science background is needed to pick up on what she is putting down, if ykwim. Pick it up from the library, or better yet, buy it to support this woman and her fabulous work.

Mona

 

[Leonor]

I thought this was an article about how breastmilk *is* flame retardant.

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[chicagomom]