Plastic baby bottles may appear to be a convenient and handy innovation in childcare, but health concerns call into question the wisdom of their use. Alternatives to plastic baby bottles include glass, disposable plastic and plastic bottle liners. The American Chemistry Council reports that bottles made from polycarbonate plastic, the predominant type sold in the United States, contain the controversial and suspect raw material Bisphenol A, also known as BPA.
Cancer
Heating plastic baby bottles causes the chemical Bisphenol A to leach into their contents, according to studies conducted by the Environmental Health Fund in 2008. David Carpenter, a professor at the Albany School of Public Health at the State University of New York, links Bisphenol A to sex hormone development and to cases of female breast cancer. The U.S. National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, concluded that a possible link between BPA and cancer existed in 2008, but the U.S. government has taken no action to ban the substance in baby bottles.
Hyperactivity
Canada banned BPA from baby bottles in April 2008. Canadian Minister of Health Tony Clement noted that the action was based on a review of more than 250 studies conducted around the world. Clement stated that the highest risk involves newborns and young children. Hyperactivity and brain cell damage was linked to BPA in studies performed at the University of Missouri and at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience in 2007.
Early Puberty Onset
Alan Greene, M.D., senior fellow at the San Francisco branch of the University of California and a senior staff pediatrician at Packard Children's Hospital, calls Bisphenol A "a synthetic, estrogen-like substance" and notes that it is linked to early puberty in laboratory animals. Greene also notes that approximately 90 percent of Americans over age 6 show "detectable levels of BPA in their urine."
Obesity and Diabetes
Elmer M. Cranton, M.D. reports that the residues of BPA released in baby bottles increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. The continued exposure "causes insulin resistance at the cell level, which leads to type II diabetes," according to Cranton. The tissues become unable to recognize insulin, and this requires the body to signal the pancreas to increase the supply of insulin. The result is diabetes, according to Cranton. Plastic bottles also contain phthalates that "disrupt hormone pathways" in animal studies. The combination of chemicals leached from plastic bottles increased fat formation in studies done by developmental biologist Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri.
Genetic Damage
A survey done by the University of Missouri Endocrine Disruptor Group in 2006 reviewed 163 studies conducted with government funding, approximately 92 percent of which found immune, developmental and reproductive damage from BPA levels well below the "safe" level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. While long-term generational studies on humans have yet to be conducted, short-term evaluations found chromosomal damage in mice that impacted their ability to carry fetuses to term.
References
- "The Washington Post"; Evaluating the Dangers of Bisphenol A in Plastic Baby Bottles; Nina Shen Rastogi; July 23, 2009
- National Resources Defense Council: Chemicals in Plastic Bottles
- Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: Smart Plastics Guide
- "U.S. News and World Report"; Report Shows Dangerous Chemical Can Leach from Baby Bottles;" Amanda Gardner; Feb. 7, 2008
- "Time Magazine"; Reassessing the Dangers of BPA in Plastics; Alice Park; Nov. 2, 2008
