Toxins and breastmilk
It is a sad fact that our world is polluted with industrial wastes and run-off. These industrial chemicals find their way into the soil, water and air, and become part of the food we eat. They also become part of our bodies.
So what about breastfeeding?
The good news is that breastmilk remains the best nutrition for babies and offers them protection in a polluted world.
The health benefits and immune support breastfeeding provides outweighs the danger of exposure to chemicals that may be found in our bodies, and thus in our breastmilk.
Resource for more info:
Anyone interested in more information will be well served at the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington (BCW) website. BCW collaborated with the Washington Toxics Coalition on a very nice project on this topic. The resulting information-packed brochure, Breastmilk: Protection for Your Baby is available for free download in English and Spanish.
What's the media got to do with it?
One reason people get confused about this complicated topic, is that breastmilk is often used by researchers as the test medium to see how much industrial waste is accumulating in human beings. That's because toxins bio-accumulate in our fat tissues, and breastmilk is the easiest way to get a fat tissue sample.
Sometimes the media has misrepresented scientist's messages about this research, and made breastmilk look like the culprit, when in terms of the study, its the innocent bystander -- the test medium. Alarming and erroneous headlines worry parents unnecessarily.
While we all rightly share concern for the planet our children will inherit, we can also be rest assured that when we nurse our babies, we are protecting, nourishing and loving them. Even when we do it in a polluted world.
