Bottles That Leak Poison into Milk

Without going to find all the research, I believe the chemical is phthalates and apparently are released when food is heated in plastic. It is now recommended that no food of any sort be heated in the plastic. For anyone, not just baby. So now I put things in glass or ceramic containers to heat up and use a paper towel instead of plastic wrap to cover things while heating in the microwave.

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Hi M P,
I got the widely spread email this week about Sheryl Crow and the plastics causing her breast cancer. I have been doing a search on it myself. I'm sure some of these people must have seen this on TV to be giving so much information about the numbers on the bottom of the bottles and things, but I can't find that yet. As a matter of fact I am finding that it is not true that Sheryl Crow ever actually stated that, only that she mentioned something about plastic bottles for water. Here are some sites I just now found on the emails circulating which also speaks of the truth or not of plastics causing cancer:

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.a...

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/d/dioxins.htm

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/petbottles.asp

http://www.lisabarger.com/water_bottles_and_cancer.html

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/medical/a/bottled-water.htm

This is just a few of examples. Do a search yourself, I just now typed in 'plastic baby bottles causing cancer'. Some of the articles were pro and some were con, so once you do your research then maybe you can make the right decision for you and your child. In my mind I know we are all doing things every day that is toxic to us and we can't help it, its the world we live in, but there is so much they keep coming up with saying this is hurtful, or that is hurtful, then they come back and say its not, so if we worried about all the things they come out with, we would live in a bubble and not use or do anything. Its all really a crazy merry-go-round. But you have to choose and do what is best for you and your child. Good luck in your research and in what ever you decide. Also I was glad to get some of the information the ladies have posted to you on here since I was looking into it already. I had not found anything on the numbers on the bottles, that is something I am really interested in now. So thanks for you your post, and all the responses. We can all help each other here.

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http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2008/02/z-report-on-bpa-in-infa...

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It's the very hard plastic ones that are very clear. You can look on most websites for the bottle brand and find if it contains bpa (bisphenol-A), that is considered the "bad" plastic. Polypropylene is okay. You can also look on the bottom of the bottle to see if it has the recycling symbol and in the middle should be a number, it's not good if it shows 3,6, or 7. Any other number should be fine. This goes for other plastic types of containers as well. The Medela website has some helpful info http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/whats-new/23/confuse...

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It's not any particular brand or type of plastic botte. ALL plastice slowly releases a chemical (PCP's maybe?) In general though, the higher the number (in the recycle triangle) on the bottom, the slower it breaks down. Heating or freezing the bottle (jar, dish, anything plastic) hastens the breakdown of the plastic, thereby increasing release of the chemical(s?) into the containers contents. Glass containers are a safer choice in this regard, however, they also break easier, not such a safe choice around babies or toddlers who are apt to drop or throw things! However, mothers milk comes in ready mixed, preheated, pretty, safe, unbreakable containers which also contain antibodies and other good stuff. (.)(.)
After reading the other responses about 3, 6 & 7 being the ones to avoid, I noticed that that was what one tv show said about the dangers of one particular chemical in the plastic, but there are many other dangerous chemicals in plastic too, so the info I had about the higher the #, the more slowly it breaks down, is still accurate, however it seems like the higher #'s like 6 & 7 may contain more lethal chemicals. Convenience comes with a cost, no matter which way you serve it! The advice about heating on the stove and in ceramic or glass is good and valid. However, Dr.s are now saying formula does not have to be heated. Powdered formula or milk can be mixed with room temp water. This is safer than heating it.
M.
mom of 7, grandma of 11... so far!

Hello - I am a soon-to-be new mom (only 4 more weeks!) and have read a lot on this. The chemical in plastics that is in question is Bisphenol-A. While there is no clinical data to indicate that this is unsafe for infants, animal study data suggest a link to endocrine and other developmental problems. The brand of bottle that is Bisphenol-A free is Born Free. They carry glass and Bisphenol-A free plastic. Also, these bottles are supposed to be best for those moms who are breastfeeding because they introduce the least amount of gas into your baby. They have trainer cups as well. Website: www.newbornfree.com. Good luck!

all great info from everyone who responded. I do know that you should never heat the milk in the actual plastic sippy cup or bottle - heat it in a glass first and poor it into the cup or bottle...

Hi MP!

All clear plastic bottles includiong bottled water have a toxin chemical in them. My suggestion is to use disposable bottles. The shell is a hard plastic and the disposable bags are seperate. I used them when my girls were babies and I have encouraged several new Mom's to do the same. I give them for gifts at baby showers. What great about them, if you are a nursing mom you can freeze your milk in the plastic inserts so you can leave your baby with a sitter or family and always have milk on hand.

I hope this is useful to you!
M.

So glad I read this post. DS has plastic #7 bottles, which I am trashing today. I just asked another mommie and Parent's Choice Bottles, which are BPA free and sold at Wal-mart. Hope this helps!

all you have to look for on the bottom of bottles are the #'s 1,2,4, or 5 inside the little arrows. all of those #'s are fine. if it has 3,6,or 7 it's not good. hope this helps.

Hi--the Today Show had a segment on Plastic Bottles last week. I know you need to check the bottom of the bottle, and if there is a 3, 6, or 7 on the bottom it is NOT safe. You check out the Today show website if there is not a number on the bottom of your bottles.

C.

Yes. I am temporarily living in Arizona and we get more nutrition news here than in Tennessee because of the California organic folks. Anyway, I'm a chemistry teacher so I understand the problem. Anything that is used to carry things that we drink should be a hard plastic or glass. The clear, softer containers may leach chemicals. That is why reusing plastic water bottles is not good. Also, milk is better purchased in a carton. Dark, opaque containers are also good. If you can use glass bottles, do.

The thing that I have always thought is that no matter what they (scientists etc.) say about a plastic being safe or not, how do they know for sure? How do they know it won't give chemicals off after it's been used a few times. I have always thought to be safe than sorry and do not put any plastic in the microwave.
Think about all the times scientists have come back years after the public have consumed millions of products of whatever and later said things like "we have just found out that this or that is bad for you or dangerous".
If you are concerned like I am just use glass and transfer it. It helps with keeping the temperature right for the baby also. You do not have to worry about the plastic bottle being hot.

I have done much reading on this subject and the only safe bottles seem to be glass bottles. There is an article online about this very subject at google.com this morning. I was just going to check it out.

Born Free are a safe plastic bottle with no BPA in them. I found a good website yesterday http://www.zrecs.blogspot.com/ this site lists lots of stuff from safe bottles to safe sippy cups and such.
Also know though that formula cans can leach BPA too. The ready to feed in the can is the worst, or brands of powder that come in all metal cans. Companies line the metal parts of any caned item with BPA plastic to help you food not taste like metal.
My family tinks I am crazy because I take things like this serious,.....but hey, I think it is important and am happy to see other moms taking this information seriously too.
If you have any other questions, I am a bit of a reader on this and other type subjects, feel free to send me a message.
T.

It isn't safe to heat any plastic or styrofoam for that matter in the microwave. Numbers 3,6, and 7 should be gotten rid and aren't safe in the microwave especially. If you want to heat your bottle get glass and heat it over the stovetop, heat the milk in a ceramic mug in the microwave or directly heat milk in a pan on stovetop(very low of course-it heats quickly

The big story in the news this past month has been BPA (bisphenol-A) in Nalgene bottles. I listened to a story on NPR (National Public Radio) about a month ago and promptly replaced my Nalgene water bottles. Pretty scary stuff. Then last week, I saw a guy on one of the TV morning shows talking about it again. He said that you should not drink out of bottles with the recycle codes 3,6 and 7.

Both times, I was out on college visit trips with my "baby" who will graduate this year.

Once I heard about the issue with plastic bottles, I switched to the Born Free Brand - they are available on line and at Whole Foods grocery store. They are a little more expensive but I felt it was worth it since the chemicals in the other plastics are harmful. There are several brands now coming out with glass bottles which are also safe. Good luck!

they wouldnt still be on the shelf if it was that big of a risk however if you are that freaked out about it i know dr browns has just come out with glass bottles... however im not a huge fan of giving my baby something glass the throw. I used the plastic dr browns bottles and always washed them by hand. which they say the chemical is released when the bottle gets hot... but you should never give a baby that hot of a bottle anyway and NEVER heat them in the microwave b/c of hot spots that can burn the baby.

I don't know the answer but I am very interested in reading the responses you receive. Can you post this when you receive responses? I'm not sure how that is done, but I've seen other people do it- saying thanks for responses, etc. but it opens the responses up for all to see...

Thanks!

Yes, it's Bisphenol-A, a chemical that is found in most of the major brands of plastic baby bottles and sippy cups. The chemical does leach into the liquid into the container, and they leach more over time with repeated heating. There is disagreement over whether the chemical leaches in sufficient quantity to do harm to babies. I tasted my son's water from one of the common plastic sippy cups once, and it tasted nasty! Plus, we don't like the idea of our son consuming any manufactured chemical, so he drinks from a stainless steel sippy cup now. Tastes fine!

My son drinks from a "Klean Kanteen" now, and my husband and I are about to toss our plastic chemical-leaching Nalgene bottles for these:
http://www.kleankanteen.com/

Here's a good general article (scroll to the bottom for the info about Bisphenol-A)
about plastic bottles, etc:
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/hiddendangers/a/0108_env_c...

Here's a page with links to various reports about Bisphenol-A:
http://www.newbornfree.com/Default.aspx?pid=3417

Here are a couple of websites where you can puchase bottles free of Bisphenol-A.
http://www.newbornfree.com/pics/bornfree/index_bottles.htm

http://www.greentogrow.com/BisphenolAFreeBabyBottles.aspx

As soon as I heard about Bisphenol-A leaking out of bottles I went in search of a new bottle. I am currently using Medela bottles that I purchased at Target. For a breastfeeding mother they work with Medela pumps as well. There are other options out there as well when buying a bottle look for BPA-free on the package.

Hi MP,
To avoid this we poor the water(I use powdered formula) into a mug and heat it in the microwave then poor it into the bottle. You can do the same with pre-mixed formula if that is what you use. No sense in trying to find a plastic bottle that can be microwaved because in a few years they're sure to find something wrong with that one too.
Good luck!
Jennifer

The bottles you are looking for are called Born Free. (BornFree™ Bisphenol-A Free plastic bottles). You can also do a search for bottles that do not contain Bisphenol-A. I think Playtex might have some...I don't remember. Hope this helps.

We use the brand Green to Grow. They're a bit expensive...$10 per bottle, but it's wonderful knowing we can heat them up without toxins being released. Just Google Green to Grow. Happy shopping!

Check out www.thesoftlanding.com They have a large assortment of BPA-free bottles. THey are also a wonderful resource for facts on the subject.

Good Morning America had a segment about that on one of their shows last week. Almost all of the plastic baby bottles are made from that type of plastic. On the bottom of all plastic bottles there is a triangle with a number inside them. The BAD numbers are 3, 6, and ESPECIALLY 7.
If your baby bottle doesn't have a number on them, Good Morning America said to go to the website or call that company and ask them.
They said that it is mostly the really hard, tough, dishwasher safe plastics that are bad... very bad... cancer causing.
Sheryl Crow swares that is what caused her breast cancer. She is standing up and speaking against them now.
They say that the bottles are ok if you don't put them in the dishwasher and you don't use hot water on them and you heat your milk up in a glass and transfer the milk into the bottle.
I hope that helps. Check out their website for more info.

My understanding is that it is only the clear plastic bottles that are a problem (colored and uncolored). The ones that are "frosted" are ok.
A.