BPA In Baby Bottles

There is alot of great info on BPA's and pthalates in plastics available at www.safemama.com. I love this site- it gives all the latest information, and safe choices.

Like others, I would rather be safe than sorry. Any heating will release MORE BPA's from the plastic, and who doesn't heat their bottles at some point? BPA's are also found in clear plastic water bottles, and also in the lining of the cans of most baby formulas.

T.
www.shaklee.net/tammybristol

I think it's worth it to switch if your daughter gets more than two bottles a day. I even let my preschoolers use small drinking glasses. My mom is horrified that I don't use plastic ones, but I'd rather clean up a broken glass than have one of them have infertility problems down the line. And to be honest, we've been doing this for 2 years & neither kid has broken one yet.
Think about what one delivered pizza would cost - it's probably the same price as replacing most of your current bottles with the "born free" kind.

I found out about this issue when my second child was an infant and thought "better safe than sorry." I tried switching to the Born Free brand, but they only made wide-mouth bottles at the time. My son was not breastfeeding, so he would only use the standard size nipples. Plus, I really liked having the non-colic venting system in Dr. Brown's. At the time, there was no alternative for me. So I made my own solution...

I bought the the very cheap Gerber bottles (with the pastel colored collars at Walmart. Then, I took all the inner venting system components of my Dr. Brown bottles (with the collar and the nipple) and used them in the el cheapo Gerber bottles! There is no BPA in any of the Dr. Brown components that I know of...it was just the Dr. Brown clear bottle that was the issue. So we've been using this ever since and I didn't have to spend hundreds of $$ on new bottles!

EDIT, SINCE I'VE REC'V A LOT OF QUESTIONS: The bottle I use is the Gerber Nurser Clear View 9oz Reusable Bottle. It comes in a pack of 3 (for around $5, I think.) It is completely BPA-free and is considered safe. Even though the Dr. Brown venting components, nipple and collar fit on the bottle, there can be a tiny bit of leakage...especially when you shake up the bottle.

Gerber is one of the few leading manufacturers which is producing new bottle designs that do not use any type of polycarbonate plastic. The "Clear View," Fashion Tints (also called "Plastic Pastels") and GentleFlow are also safe, without BPA. However, Gerber's Nuk/1st Choice, Preemie, and Comfort Hold are NOT SAFE. Here's more info:

http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/07/z-report-bisphenol-in-p...

Sorry this is so long!!

We cleaned out our cupboards after the recent news.

My kids were not using bottles, but I did end up throwing away all my Dr Brown's bottles and went with Born Free and Thermos (Foogo) sippy cups.

Like the other mom, the risk just wasn't worth it to me.
B.

I used the Avent bottles with my first child and switched to the BPA free bottles for my second. I guess the risk just wasn't worth it to me. The BPA bottles aren't that expensive. I bought the Sassy Mam bottles from Amazon, they are about $12 for 3. I read a lot on the issue and it seems that there are opinions from experts on both sides. Like I said, since no one really knows for sure what the actual deal is, I decided to err on the side of caution. For $30-40 dollars, it didn't seem like that hard of a decision.
Good luck,
S.

T.

BPA - is the abbreviation for Bisphenol A - if you google it you will find lots of info - some of the best info can be found at http://mercola.com

You should never cook food in the microwave in plastic - no plastic wrap - BPA is a hormone disrupter

Study Says Chemicals in Plastics May Harm Unborn Babies
Chemicals in Plastics May Harm Unborn Babies
By Roger Highfield
The Telegraph - UK, July 31, 2007
Straight to the Source

Pregnant women who consume a chemical found in everyday plastic products such as food containers and water bottles could be putting their unborn children at risk of developing cancer and other diseases when they reach adulthood.

Exposure within the womb to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in the production of plastics, caused changes linked with diseases such as obesity, cancer and diabetes, according to studies by a team from Duke University Medical Centre, North Carolina.

The results of the study in the lab of Dr Randy Jirtle, funded by the US National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy, are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper which calls for the risks of the chemicals to be reassessed.

The Duke team studied the response of a strain of rodents known as agouti mice.

Normally, these mice tend to be slender and brown but when the mouse mothers received BPA, the team noted a statistically significant increase in the number of their offspring born with a yellow coat - just over half, compared with 35 per cent of controls.

Previous studies have shown that yellow agouti mice are at a much greater risk for diabetes, obesity and cancer.

"The fact that the mice fed BPA had a yellow coat and likely would grow to be obese as adults demonstrates that this single substance had a system-wide effect," said Dr Dana Dolinoy, one of the team.

Importantly, the team found that when pregnant mothers were also given folic acid, the influence of BPA was counteracted.

For more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/20...

Here are some links from Dr. Mercola's website.... http://mercola.com

New Evidence Linking Toxic Food Containers to Breast Canc...
New studies indicate that even plastic baby bottles used to feed infants could transfer dangerous toxins to your infant.
http://www.mercola.com/2007/jan/11/new-evidence-linking-t...

New Evidence Linking Toxic Food Containers to Breast Canc...
Books | Audio/Video | Electronics | Nutrition Products | Personal Care | Pet Supplies
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/0...

Why Plastics Can Make You Sick 4/27/05
Learn the dangerous truth behind the low-dose effects of bisphenol A, a chemical used to make plastics.
http://www.mercola.com/2005/apr/27/plastics.htm

Why Plastics Can Make You Sick - Articles
Learn the dangerous truth behind the low-dose effects of bisphenol A, a chemical used to make plastics.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/0...

Toxic Products Surround You
Hundreds of household products contain chemicals which can put your children at risk.
http://www.mercola.com/2005/aug/25/toxic_products_surroun...

Toxic Products Surround You - Articles
Books | Audio/Video | Electronics | Nutrition Products | Personal Care | Pet Supplies
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/0...

Blogs 13 pages
Toxic Baby Bottles Still Being Sold
Popular clear, plastic baby bottles are not safe to give to your baby. They leach a toxic hormone-disrupting chemical called bisphenol A into the liquid...
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Toxic-Baby-Bottles...

Toxic Plastics Can Impair Your Baby's Fertility
The evidence keeps mounting, regarding the toxic effects of bisphenol A (BPA), the estrogenic compound used in making plastic food containers, that incr...
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Toxic-Plastics-Can...

Common Plastics May Increase Your Child's Obesity Risks
On the heels of yesterday's warning about the dire effects of bisphenol A on your baby's fertility comes another report that blames endocrine-disrupting...
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Common-Plastics-Ma...
Bisphenol-A Government Safety Report Biased in Favor of I...
A government report on the safety of a controversial ingredient in plastic is biased toward the chemical industry and downplays potential risks to the p...
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/Bisphenol-A-Govern...
Sign in | Join
No question, cheaper, more convenient products made from polycarbonate plastics can exposure your body to all sorts of toxins -- like bisphenol A (BPA) ...
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/New-Evidence-Linki...
New-Evidence-Linking-Toxic-Food-Containers-to-Breast-Canc...
New Evidence Linking Toxic Food Containers to Breast Cancer Risks in the Womb
http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/New-Evidence-Linki...

Hi T.,

having 3 children already when this news came out, and knowing what an obsessive worry-wart i can be, considering i do put my bottles in the microwave (and I really think it's just released when the plastic is heated, not necessarily in the microwave) I decided to not freak out about it. If we really consider the risks we expose ourselves and our kids to, we probably would not vaccinate, or feed lunch meat for fear of listeria. I'm not saying the studies are bogus, but we dont really have enough information to make truly educated decisions. I just heard a report the other day on the news, that they are finding both presription and street drugs in our tap water... albeit trace amounts, they are still there.. makes me wonder what else I put in my son's sippy cup when i put tap water in it...a little Vicoden? Celebrex? Heroin?

That being said... I have recently purchased glass bottles for my 4th baby. I suppose that there is the added benefit that it is BPA free, but my main reason for getting them was the fact they are SOOOOO easy to get really really clean.

They're not that expensive - a 6 pack of 8 oz. bottles is 10 bucks... i haven't had one break yet...

I have decided that we will switch from the Avent bottles to the Gerber Gentle Flow bottles for baby 2 (I mostly breastfeed, but when I'm back at work this will be an issue). It may be nothing and the amount of BPA that make it into the milk may be trivial, but it's not worth the risk IMHO. For what it's worth, the Gerbers seem to be by FAR the most affordable BPA-free bottles - they're only $2-$3 each compared to $8-$10 for the Born-Free and other "natural" brands. Plus (a bonus for me) they are compatible with the Avent nipples and, probably (I havne't tried yet) the Avent breast pump I have.

I switched to BPA Born Free bottles after using Dr. Brown's wide mouth for 2 months for my newbron. Better Safe than Sorry IMO. BPA is released when broken down which occurs when heating or even using in your dishwasher. We hand washed our bottles for a long time and jsut recetly started using the dishwasher. Also, The Dr. Browns' wide mouth nipples and inserts are compatible with Born Free if you like their vent system. AGain I would recommend handwashing those dr. Brown inserts if you decide to use. Just now sure if they're BPA free or not.