Monday, February 25, 2008

Spreading FUD

FUD is Fear, uncertainty and doubt, three feelings any new/expecting parent face. Today's FUD topic is the danger of polycarbonate bottles for babies, since we got two packs last night at the shower, both of which contain the Bisphenol A, the potentially dangerous ingredient that's in a lot of things we use. Time had a recent story on the debate surrounding baby bottles:
When the bottles were heated to 175 degrees F (80 degrees C), every one of them leached bisphenol A at about 5 to 7 parts per billion. The report also suggested that because of the chemical makeup of bisphenol A, it may leach more in fatty or acidic liquids, such as milk or apple juice, than in water.

It's a parent's nightmare. But before you panic, consider this: U.S. and E.U. health and environment authorities still stand behind polycarbonate plastic, putting the safe level of daily bisphenol A exposure at more than 25 times the levels found in baby bottles.
The danger is at exposure to high temps, but the human body expels it differently that animals used in testing (excreted quickly, as opposed to it entering the blood stream in rats). So it may be a case of overprotection. Still, my instinct is to hedge/pay it safe in which concentrate on glass and/or polyethelyne bottles. But we'll have to see what LBA likes as well as how it coordinates with other paraphernalia.

3 comments:

jt said...

Your and Joanne's inner analysts are just going to have to get used to the fact that "what LBA likes" is going to end up having way more sway in most decisions than careful parental analysis. :-)

megan said...

we still sell the bottles at rei- & their stance is there isn't enough research to prove it harmful to humans.

although i have to agree- letting a baby use them is a lot scarier than an adult or myself drinking from one.

Anonymous said...

What the heck are they doing heating baby bottles to 175 degrees anyway? That's way too hot for a baby to drink - remember the old rule? If it feels hot on the inside of your wrist, it's too hot for the baby. Normal human body temp (and thus, of milk straight from the tap) is a cozy 100 degrees or so. No need for it ever to be above that.

In a related note, don't go crazy about heating milk anyway. You may find that LBA likes a tall cool one better than a hot toddy. Taran used to like his milk with the consistency & temperature of a slushy.