Until there is a ban on Bisphenol A (BPA), the best alternative is to avoid food and beverage containers that contain the chemical. Use glass or stainless steel refillable drinking bottles, instead of hard plastic ones. For juice or other drinks, it’s best to use lined aluminum bottles. Stainless steel bottles are great for water.

For BPA free baby bottles, choose glass or look for companies that make hard plastic bottles without Bisphenol A (BPA), like the Adiri Nurser baby bottles. These are available at our on-line store, at health food stores, organic markets, and some baby stores. BPA free sippy cups can be found in many of the same stores.

To be Bisphenol A (BPA) free, try to avoid eating canned food when you can. Instead of canned vegetables or fruits, choose fresh or frozen ones (they’re healthier for you that way, too!). You can also buy many different kinds of soups and beans in reusable glass jars. And, instead of buying soft drinks in cans, choose glass bottles.

Those most affected by Bisphenol A (BPA) are fetuses, infants and children around puberty. Fetuses are especially sensitive groups as their immature detoxification systems make them more vulnerable and they are at a delicate stage of development.

It seems that Bisphenol A (BPA) is everywhere. Tomorrow we will discuss more ways to minimize exposure.

Bisphenol-A is a hormone-disrupting chemical considered to be potentially harmful to human health and the environment. It has been known that scratched and worn polycarbonate feeding bottles will leach this chemical into liquids.

For the past several years, scientists have increasingly warned manufacturers and consumers about the prospective dangers of bisphenol-A, a plastic softener used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic commonly used in baby bottles due to its durability and clarity. Some companies have responded by developing lines of bottles made with other plastic types; other new companies have sprung up specifically to serve needs some larger companies continue to ignore.

Companies unwilling to change are protected from public scrutiny by the FDA’s unwillingness to study the dangers of BPA regardless of mounting evidence and the lack of any regulatory constraint to even reveal the types of plastics used in their products. to find out whether a specific product they use contains BPA.

Well, I promised a blog on breastfeeding duration, here are some statistics that show improvement in breastfeeding duration. Education and awareness seem to be key factors in the increased population of mothers sustaining breast feeding for longer periods of infancy.

Breastfeeding Duration — Results from the National Immunization Survey

Since July 2001, breastfeeding questions have been asked on the NIS to assess the population’s breastfeeding practices. Children are 19 to 35 months old at the time of the interview.

Rates of breastfeeding by birth year from the National Immunization Survey, United States

Since education campaigns at both the governmental and individual level have been introduced, the number of mothers who continue to breastfeed their babies at 6 months has gone up approximately 6 percent in 5 years.

Breastfeeding and working outside of the home are not concepts that easily go hand in hand. Mom is in one place, baby in another, but just because a mother is going back to work – either full time or on a part time basis – does not mean she has to stop breastfeeding. However, the percentage of working mothers who continue to breastfeed their children is much lower than those who are not employed outside of the home.

In the past 30 years, significant demographic shifts have affected child care and, more specifically, lactation. Coincident with a reduction in family size has been a progressively earlier return of mothers to the workforce, as well as an increased percentage of families headed by women and families in which both parents are employed. These demographic changes have made breastfeeding more difficult to implement. In fact, the most significant obstacle to breastfeeding duration is the mother’s need to return to work.No matter what type of job you have, if you go back to work after having your baby, it should be possible for you to take time to pump your breast milk. You can talk with your employer about why breastfeeding is important, why pumping is necessary, and how you plan to fit pumping into your work schedule. Pumping while away from your baby on the same schedule that he or she breastfeeds ensures that you keep up your milk supply to meet your baby’s needs. If you are staying home to care for your baby, having an effective pump at home is also helpful. You can use it to help relieve engorgement, especially when your milk supply first comes in, or for when you need to be away from your baby for any amount of time, such as an evening out with your partner. If you have to temporarily take medication that may harm your baby, you can pump and discard your milk during this time.

Next week, let’s blog about the dangers bisphenol A baby bottles and what is available to keep our babies healthy.

Research done in two public maternity hospitals in Perth, Australia, between mid-September 2002 and mid-July 2003, studied mothers who express breast milk.

In these hospitals, 93.5% were breastfeeding at discharge. Mothers who expressed breast milk were less likely to discontinue any breastfeeding before six months than those who had never expressed milk.

The expression of breast milk allows a mother to be away intermittently from her infant while continuing to breastfeed. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between expression of breast milk and breastfeeding duration.

The conclusion of the study found that mothers who express breast milk are more likely to breastfeed to six months (any breastfeeding). While further research is required in different cultures to confirm these results, the appropriate use of expressed breast milk may be a means to help mothers to achieve six months of full breastfeeding while giving more lifestyle options.

http://www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/content/1/1/28

Tomorrow, we’ll look at statistics from the average breastfeeding duration.

See you tomorrow.