News Coverage
Moms should still breast-feed despite chemicals
Published September 21, 2003
Even though fire-retardant chemicals have been found in the breast milk of nursing mothers, breast-feeding is still healthier for infants than bottle-feeding, according to a national environmental group that has drawn attention to the chemical contaminant issue.
"Even women with very high levels of flame retardants in their breast milk should continue to breast-feed their babies," the Environmental Working Group said in its report, "Mother's Milk."
One reason is that the adverse effects on learning and behavior are strongly associated with fetal exposure to persistent pollutants, not with breast-milk exposure, the report said.
The reason scientists test breast milk for the presence of contaminants like fire retardants is because it's a good indicator of the fetus' level of exposure during gestation.
Another reason to continue breast-feeding is that breast milk appears to help babies overcome some of the harmful effects of high fetal exposure to flame retardants and similar chemicals, the report said.