jan 08 
Question by April
Send this post to a friendI've been reading about all this toxic plastic. I've heard #7 is the worst. Here's my problem. I have an ameda breast pump (and a six month old that the baby sitter uses glass bottles only with) while I'm at work. I checked the recylce symbol on the parts that are the hard clear plastic - one side says 7 one says 8. I don't know what the 8 means but the 7 has me freaked. Should I trash it and buy a whole new pump (which is really out of my budget) or am I over reacting? I pump the milk into glass bottles and store in glass bottles when I can though I must use the lanisoh storage bags sometimes. What should I do?
Comments (1) |  |
1. 01/15/2008 03:31:12 PM
You're right to avoid plastic containers, particularly number 7. Polycarbonate plastic, number 7, is made with a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA) which can leach into food or drink, especially when heated. But the average person is probably getting more BPA by eating canned food and drinking canned soda than from drinking out of a polycarbonate beverage container. BPA is used to line the inside of metal food and soda cans and leaches from the can liner into the food, particularly acidic foods like tomato sauces and soda. Even canned infant formula contains BPA (yet another reason breast milk is better!). BPA is an endocrine disruptor that has been associated with reproductive abnormalities in tests on animals, there isn’t much data yet on whether BPA could be causing the same problem in humans. But by avoiding heating and storing your milk in plastic you’ve already taken significant steps to reduce your baby’s exposure to BPA. Particularly if the plastic components on your pump don't come into direct contact with the milk, I wouldn’t worry about it, even if they are polycarbonate plastic.
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