Breastmilk is best for newborn babies as it provides them with everything they need to grow and be healthy during the first months of their life and beyond. Babies who are breastfed are generally healthier and achieve optimal growth and development compared to those who are fed formula milk. That’s why it’s scary to even consider the possibility that we may be passing toxins in the breastmilk to our precious baby.
So, the question is “Should You Be Worried about Toxins in Your Breast Milk?”
However, before you even consider stopping feeding your breast milk to your baby, I want to assure you, that according to experts, even though breastmilk can contain traces of toxins, these traces most likely aren’t harmful to your baby.
My intention is not to scare you, but make you aware of the problems that exist that many of us don’t have the time or willingness to acknowledge.
Because we need to raise our awareness of how our current civilization is damaging the environment in which we live in, and destroying our only home – the planet Earth – making it uninhabitable for our children and the our children’s children.
The Problem: Toxins in Breast Milk
There have been a number of studies by medical professionals, government health agencies, environmental health groups, and others that tracked pollutants in breast milk.
Researchers have found that those of us living in developed countries—men, women and children alike—carry around quite a toxic burden in our bodies from the constant exposure to various chemicals in our urban, suburban and even rural environments. If this weren’t alarming enough, the fact that these chemicals end up in breast milk and are in turn passed along to newborns is even more troubling.
According to writer Florence Williams, whose groundbreaking 2005 article in the New York Times Magazine opened many women’s eyes to the environmental health issues with breastfeeding, breast milk tends to attract heavy metals and other contaminants due to its high-fat and protein content. “When we nurse our babies, we feed them not only the fats, sugars and proteins that fire their immune systems, metabolisms and cerebral synapses,” she reports. “We also feed them, albeit in minuscule amounts, paint thinners, dry-cleaning fluids, wood preservatives, toilet deodorizers, cosmetic additives, gasoline byproducts, rocket fuel, termite poisons, fungicides and flame retardants.”
“Along with its antibodies, enzymes and general goodness, breast milk also contains dozens of compounds that have been linked to negative health effects,” reports MOMS, which lists Bisphenol A (BPA, a plastic component), PBDEs (used in flame retardants), perchlorate (used in rocket fuel), perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs, used in floor cleaners and non-stick pans), phthalates (used in plastics), polyvinyl chloride (PVC, commonly known as vinyl) and the heavy metals cadmium, lead and mercury as leading offenders.
When we nurse our babies we feed them minuscule amounts of the same chemicals and volatile organic compounds we are exposed to every day ourselves — from paint thinners and wood preservatives to gasoline byproducts and flame retardants. However, some research shows the toxic load in breast milk to be smaller than that in the air most city dwellers breathe inside their homes. Despite breast milk’s vulnerability to chemical contamination, the benefits of breast feeding – from the nutrition and important enzymes and antibodies it supplies to the mother/child bonding it provides – far outweigh the risks.
Source: Scientific American
What are toxins?
Toxins are poisonous chemicals in the environment. Most often, the toxins we encounter in every-day life are at such levels they are unlikely to affect our health in the long-term. Toxins exist in our food, in every-day products such as cosmetics and certain plastics, and surround us in the air we breathe and the water we drink.
The most common toxins we are exposed to are dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Both of these toxins are persistent organic pollutants, which means they don’t break down. They can survive in the environment for many years, and the small amounts we absorb can build up in our body fat. The tiny levels of toxins in your body fat can pass into the fat in your breastmilk.
Will the toxins in my breastmilk harm my baby?
According to experts, even though breastmilk can contain traces of toxins, these traces won’t harm your baby.
Should I continue breastfeeding?
Yes, by all means, continue to breastfeed your baby. Your breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby during her first six months and beyond. Breastmilk provides a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates which are important in helping your baby grow and develop. It contains antibodies, which help protect your baby against common illnesses such as tummy bugs (gastroenteritis), colds, urinary infections, ear infections,and others. It also contains long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are essential for helping your baby’s brain develop.
So don’t be put off breastfeeding your baby. The benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any potential risks.
Should you be worried about toxins in your breastmilk?
How can I reduce the amount of toxins in my breastmilk?
If you are worried about toxins, there are steps you can take to reduce the levels in your body and your breastmilk:
- Eat a healthy diet so you’re not exposed to toxins from a single source. Wash and peel non-organic fruit and vegetables.
- Eat organic foods if possible. If cost is an issue, focus your budget on buying organic meat and dairy.
- Limit the use of cosmetics and toxic cleaning products in your everyday life.
- Store breast milk in safe containers. Follow guidelines for safe storing and freezing breast milk.
- Even though oily fish is very good for you and will benefit your baby, too, it’s best to limit how much oily fish you eat. Fish, especially those high on the food chain, can contain high levels of toxins. Don’t eat shark, swordfish or marlin, because these contain particularly high levels of toxins. Another problem with fish is that the consumption is causing overfishing – and damage to ocean ecosystems.
- Avoid fish liver oil supplement, such as cod liver oil. Liver is the organ which helps to eliminate waste, so any pollutants are more likely to accumulate there. You can take a fish oil supplement which is made from the flesh of the fish.
- Educate yourself about the environmental issues and start taking action to ensure that today’s babies have a safe home to live – our planet Earth.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Why not add to the conversation in the comment section below! Do you have a tip that you would like to share with the readers of this Pregnancy and Baby Blog. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks!
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