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Mother's Milk STORY BY

Karen Krakower Kaplan

New moms know that everything they eat, drink—and possibly think—can cross the anatomical street to their babies. Short of being bubble-wrapped, moms are going to inhale, absorb and transmit their living environments to their young.

That possibly includes PBDEs, short for polybrominated diphenyl ether, a chemical used as a flame retardant in common household products like furniture, foam padding, carpet, computer monitors and TVs. Last week, nationwide media reported on two small studies—one with 20 nursing mothers, another with 47—that found PBDEs in breast milk at levels 10-100 times higher than those of women in Europe.

One study, by Environmental Working Group found levels of PBDEs ranging from nine parts per billion (ppb) up to 159 ppb out of 20 samples throughout the U.S. The second study, led by Arnold Schecter, M.D., professor of environmental sciences at The University of Texas School of Public Health regional campus in Dallas, collected milk from two locations only—Dallas and Austin—and found levels from 6.2 to 419 ppb). Other states have reported similar levels in fat tissue samples.

As yet, no one knows the health effects of PBDEs on humans, or even what’s considered a safe level. Studies with rats and mice have found that low concentrations of these brominated fire retardants may cause cognitive and behavioral problems during development.

What We Know,
What We Don't Know

So does this newly discovered ingredient mean that mother’s milk might have to come with a warning label?

Absolutely not, says Michele Curtis, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. “This study just shines a light on what we don’t know about the relationship of and interaction between our bodies and our environment.”

Curtis does agree that nursing moms must be as responsible with their bodies as they were when pregnant. “We know that certain medications, vitamins, nicotine and alcohol all cross over to the baby through breast milk.” And as most moms know, so can double-spicy Buffalo Wings or stuffed jalapenos.

More important are the immune system boosters inherent in breast milk that help shield newborns from contaminants and contagions right when they need protection most. Curtis reassures that though these findings are interesting, they cannot be simply explained nor should they sound a premature alarm. “We seem to become immediately fearful that anything manmade is going to cause cancer or abnormalities.”

Curtis says that breastfeeding is still the healthiest gift a mother can give her infant and herself.

Benefits to Baby

Multiple studies on the advantages of breastfeeding over formula feeding cite high-level postpartum protection from virus, bacteria and other illnesses, thanks to the immunoglobulin-rich colostrums, the serum that precedes the arrival of mother’s milk. Breastfeeding has shown protective properties from:

Benefits to Mother

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) Guidelines on Breastfeeding list the following advantages of nursing:

In the United State, 3,000 people die a year from fire. The Chemical Manufacturers Association estimates nearly a third more would die without the flame-retardant properties of PBDEs. Next year, PBDE bans go into effect in the European Union where flame retardancy standards are not nearly as tough as those of the US. No current federal regulations ban PBDEs in this country, but California will restrict their use starting in 2008.

The risk of fire versus the benefits of nursing has not been assessed formally. What we need to consider, Curtis says, is that just because something “bears more study” does not mean it will prove harmful. “The relationship between these [PBDE] findings and the health of our infants, both short and long term, is completely unknown.”

Until more research has been done on PBDEs in humans, mothers should do what comes naturally and continue to breast-feed without worry.

Last Updated: 9-29-2003