In 2003, newspapers around the country carried headlines like this one:
This was after researchers were able to identify perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel, in breastmilk. And undoubtedly, some mothers switched to formula, thinking it was safer. Recent research shows that we are very sensitive to the idea that our milk contains toxins.
Six years later - last week, in fact - the headlines look like this:
"Perchlorate found in infant formula -- CDC" (New York Times, April 3, 2009)
The CDC study found perchlorate in 15 brands of powdered infant formula, before mixed with water. This isn't terribly surprising, since perchlorate has been found in cow's milk, which is used to make some formulas.
The truth is that pollutants are found everywhere in our environment, and neither breastmilk or formula is exempt. But because biomonitoring studies generally look only at loads of pollutants in human milk, and not in formula, it creates a perception that breastmilk is more polluted than formula. But in some cases, the levels in formula are significantly higher than in breastmilk (study).
As Dr. Jack Newman notes, "There are toxins in
formula. Why would everything on earth be polluted, even the far
reaches of the Arctic, but not formula?"
The good people who do biomonitoring studies aren't trying to scare people away from breastfeeding; they're trying to determine what things in our environment are ending up in our systems, so we can set policies to protect ourselves. But if the results are not publicized with care, it can send an unintentional message about what is safe, and what is not. I've read blog posts suggesting that formula was safer than breastmilk, and heard of moms who plan to wean because of fear about pollutants.
In February, I wrote a long post about this issue, pointing out that levels of some of the worst pollutants have been declining dramatically in the last 30 years, that there is no evidence that pollutants in breastmilk cause babies any harm, and that we can make choices - at both the personal and political levels - that reduce the levels of pollutants in our milk.
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