Got (toxic) milk?

[jinasphinx]

PDBEs (toxic flame retardands) have been found in breast milk again.

From the Q&A page:

"In recent years, PBDE levels in wildlife, soil samples, and human tissues have been doubling every two to five years, and have reached particularly high concentrations in North America, where the manufacture and use of products with PBDEs has been the most prevalent."

"In one laboratory study, a single oral dose of PBDE-99 at 0.8 parts per million parts body weight in a developing mouse caused permanent behavioral aberrations that worsened as the mice aged. On day 10, the most sensitive time for PBDE exposure, the PBDE-99 concentration in mouse brain tissue was calculated at roughly 12 parts per billion (expressed as mass of PBDE per mass of brain lipid) [Eriksson 2002; Lunder 2003]. In comparison, 14 of the 40 women tested in the Pacific Northwest had more than 12 parts per billion of PBDE-99 in their breast milk fat." [Emphasis mine]

Comments

[cheesepuppet.livejournal.com]

Aiyee! That totally freaks me out.

I want to see comparison numbers

[walkitout]

I have a hard time believing that, say, soy beans or cow's milk, major ingredients in formula alternatives, are all that much lower in PBDEs (or anything else nasty). I understand no one here is trying to discourage breastfeeding, but when these numbers get cited without comparing it to the practical alternatives, one could imagine people making bad decisions.

It turns out that women who are HIV positive who breastfeed exclusively are LESS likely to pass the virus along to their children than HIV positive women who breastfeed and supplement. This was not an expected outcome, needless to say, and given that this is an issue primarily in countries where the water used to assemble formula is so dodgy it'll kill a kid really quick, it's an interesting outcome, and one worth pondering in this context.

As near as I can tell, chemo is the major thing that can happen to mom that should discourage breastfeeding.