When you take on that confusing undertaking of creating a baby registry for the first time you'll no doubt see many labels on bottles, cups and containers that they are "BPA free." So what is BPA, and why should you avoid exposing your baby to it?
BPA is short for bisphenol A and is a chemical widely used in plastic and other household products. It's somewhat controversial in the sense that plastic manufacturers say it poses no real threat--and other environmental and health groups disagree. According to the Mayo Clinic, the National Toxicology Program at the Department of Health and Human Services says it has "some concern about the possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children." Animal studies have shown BPA can cause reproductive abnormalities by disrupting the endocrine system, and other research has linked BPA to an increased risk of diabetes, cancer and heart arrhythmias.
However, you are also exposed to BPA as an adult--through plastic water bottles, canned foods (because of the liners)--and oddly, cash register receipts, because of a thermal liner used to produce them. HealthDay recently reported on a study soon to be published in Pediatrics. In a study of pregnant moms, it found that 85 percent of moms and more than 96 percent of the children had trace amounts of BPA in their urine. While researchers did not find significant impacts to boys, they did find that "the higher the moms' BPA concentration levels during pregnancy, the more likely their daughters were to have higher scores on measures of anxiety, depression and hyperactivity, and poorer emotional control and inhibition at age 3."
However, it's also worth nothing that "none of the girls' behavior, which was described by their mothers in questionnaires, was out of the range of normal" according to study author Joe Braun, a research fellow in environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health.
The bottom line? The study authors admit that the findings are preliminary and more work needs to be done--so don't freak out about it. However, try to limit your exposure to plastics and canned foods, especially when you're pregnant, and look for that BPA free label when shopping for baby bottles.
BPA is short for bisphenol A and is a chemical widely used in plastic and other household products. It's somewhat controversial in the sense that plastic manufacturers say it poses no real threat--and other environmental and health groups disagree. According to the Mayo Clinic, the National Toxicology Program at the Department of Health and Human Services says it has "some concern about the possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children." Animal studies have shown BPA can cause reproductive abnormalities by disrupting the endocrine system, and other research has linked BPA to an increased risk of diabetes, cancer and heart arrhythmias.
However, you are also exposed to BPA as an adult--through plastic water bottles, canned foods (because of the liners)--and oddly, cash register receipts, because of a thermal liner used to produce them. HealthDay recently reported on a study soon to be published in Pediatrics. In a study of pregnant moms, it found that 85 percent of moms and more than 96 percent of the children had trace amounts of BPA in their urine. While researchers did not find significant impacts to boys, they did find that "the higher the moms' BPA concentration levels during pregnancy, the more likely their daughters were to have higher scores on measures of anxiety, depression and hyperactivity, and poorer emotional control and inhibition at age 3."
However, it's also worth nothing that "none of the girls' behavior, which was described by their mothers in questionnaires, was out of the range of normal" according to study author Joe Braun, a research fellow in environmental health at Harvard School of Public Health.
The bottom line? The study authors admit that the findings are preliminary and more work needs to be done--so don't freak out about it. However, try to limit your exposure to plastics and canned foods, especially when you're pregnant, and look for that BPA free label when shopping for baby bottles.
