BPA, why is it bad?

I posted this on the Maternal Fourm but everyone was very rude and never answered my question.  I have looked in the past posts and can only find people talking about bottles with BPA but not really an explanation on why it is bad.
I have seen several posts about bottles and BPA and have never even heard of it until coming on this site.  What is BPA and why does everyone think it is so bad?  Thanks!

[BTS1022]

BPA is a chemical in plastic bottles that is believed to cause cancer and other issues in children who used plastic bottles.

It is said that the chemical BPA is only released when the plastic is heated up, and it causes the chemical to mix with the formula of the baby.

I believe it is known to cause cancer, autism and a few other things. Im not ontop of the BPA thing as much as some women on here, but I just wanted to post what I knew of the BPA crisis.

Im not going to worry about BPA or BPA free bottles. My bottles are usually not warmed up enough to cause a big issue. That and my other 2 babies turned out to be prefectly fine using plastic bottles.

I do believe the BPA is only released when the plastic is heated to a certain degree, but I could be wrong.

Hope this helped a bit!

[K1990]

Thanks so much for the response!  It is greatly appreciated.   I think it is kind of weird because I was bottle fed with a plastic bottle and everyone else I know was as well and no cancer.  Well thanks for the response, when I looked it up on google it said it was an organic chemical... weird!  Thanks!

[CYW]

APPARENTLY new researches have been found that BPA isn't AS serious as they made it to be...whether it's true or not.. i don't know.. my son never had a BPA bottle...i think alot of things cause dangers...its like my ex mil said, baby powder should have been banned way before BPA BUT...I use baby powder, always have and i mean it's been a year and hes fine...

[sweetangel7]

"Organic" when used with chemical doesn't have the same meaning as "organic" when used with vegetables etc. It does not mean safe by any degree.  In the 19th century this classification was created to differentiate between things created by living things and non living things.  This was later proved to be inaccurate however the name still exists and is more widely accepted as meaning organic=carbon based and inorganic=compounds such as carbonates, simple oxides of carbon and cyanides, as well as the allotropes of carbon  One American dies of cancer every minute!  I know many of us were raised on plastic bottles, microwave meals and other plastics that we came in contact with BUT there is no other real explanation as to why 1 in three Americans are now being diagnosed with cancer etc.  I'd be leary of the BPA.

[leighanne143]

OMG- not to sound like a jerk but i think the BPA fade is a crock of bull.  we are born with cancer in our bodies and whether or not it is activated is in another fate.  the whole issue with freezing water bottles.  everything they are syaing is dangerous, it is getting out of control.  so we will be drinking from our hangs and eating with our fingers cause all cups and plates etc will be canerous.  i think it is a poor excuse that researchers have some up with to hide the fact that they can not find a cure for cancer.

[smma]

Wow, I am kinda mad. I posted a big reply for you to the "What is BPA and why is it bad" and the entire post is gone now. And people were really rude. But the gist of the situation - again - is that there are a number of studies out there right now on BPA or Bisphenol-A. The main issues are as follows:

1. BPA is considered a hormone disruptor in several other countries. For example, Canada has prohibited use in baby bottles because of its possible effects on the developing brain.

2. Most studies in the united states are industry sponsored, which basically means that the companies that make BPA are the ones doing the testing. They all say that it is safe. Silent Spring anyone?

3. There are relatively few independent studies in the united states, however, those studies show that BPA IS a hormone disruptor and may cause problems.

Basically the idea is that BPA can cause hormone disruption in the body a developing fetus or child. BPA is found in hard clear plastics, baby bottles, water pitchers, also the lining of can goods including soups and soda. It is basically in or on everything we use. It does not have to do with cancer or anything like that.

The real issue is what happens to the developing brain of a boy or girl if you mess around with hormones? Hormones can cause all kinds of developmental problems when used or applied wrong. The fear is that it may trigger character changes or premature puberty. Another really good example is the soy craze that people are on these days. There are a number of children out there who have used soy formula and are experiencing an early onset puberty. The soy bean has estrogen in it.

Here are some links. Check them out for more information, but remember what I said about the industry support. You may want to look for some international sources for more information on testing results.

http://www.factsonplastic.com/?gclid=CL2P3s3nzpUCFQVxFQodVVfPjA

http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A

[JoyRenee]

I don't understand why people were rude. It wasn't a bad question! There are many different viewpoints on the matter. In this day and age, just about anything can be a cause for cancer or learning problems (ADD, for example). You just have to do what is right for you and for each child.

[jesslee83]

yea there were ALOT of just straight out mean answers to K1990's post in M&C, pretty much hollering about check the archives, and how could she possibly not know what it is, or "have you not paid attention to ANYTHING???"(that was my favorite-cr ap idk how to check the archvies, or i get the wrong post replies if i try it).....of course i'm no angel, but i'm not sure i've been that mean, except maybe once lol.....

i'm with leighanne143
when we were kids, it was bottle fed or breastfed....and those of us who got bottles or both, well, it sure took a loooooong time for anyone to determine any cancer, and it's mostly "female" cancers, and soon, they'll start blaming our mothers for certain diseases, b/c we were strictly breastfed(i'm a proud t*tty-baby lol).....idk, i guess to me, it seems like everything is causing cancer these days.....next we'll be hearing about how it's unsafe to put your child into the car until they're such and such age....but then again, it's fairly unsafe for ANYONE to get into a car nowadays lol---esp. since gas costs are killing people all on their own ;)

i'm not worried about things like BPA-----at least, not until they do a study, with the intentional induction of bpa to children/infants of a certain group, and non-bpa products with another group, and then come back in 25 years and see who develops cancer, ADD/ADHD, etc, etc.....ah, if only pregnancy and child rearing was as simple as it was back in the day.....ah the good ole days.....but no personally, until they actually get mothers who are willing to play russian roulette with their chidren's lives, INTENTIONALLY, i really think they need to let these kinds of issues go....if they cannot prove something beyond a fact, then leave it alone.....that's like with the cord-blood banking....yes it is a FANTASTIC idea....but then look at the "proven track record"....blood banking has only helped about 1/2 of the original "estimated cures"....i think they say like, 1 or 2 in 400, but it turns out to be more like 1/1900?????   no offense, but with the money i'd save by NOT banking, my child could have a better childhood.....not only that, i'm not too sure God wanted us doing things like that.....he chooses your fate in advance, only you decide how you're going to get there....then you have idiots, who are drunk and h*gh, thinking "what can we clone today".....or "how can we instill enough fear, to generate more income?"....and to me, that's basically what it boils down to.....

[BTS1022]

wow....My second post got deleted....*shuts mouth* before she is kciked off medhelp lol.


Anyways I hope your question got answered.

[K1990]

Thank you for your responses.  I am not sure why everyone was being so rude on my other post either but oh well, I will no longer be on the Maternal fourm.  You ladies on this fourm are much nicer so it is wonderful to see some new faces that I haven't seen on the other fourm.  I appreciate all the responses, I had no idea what BPA was all about.  Thanks again!

[JoyRenee]

I'm glad you have found friendship here!!! Stick around!

[g8r grl]

I'm surprised that no one has brought this up, but BPA is suspected in causing learning disabilities and other developmental delays in children. It has been PROVEN to alter the brain, so there is more research being completed to figure out exactly how.

I, for one, have decided to not use bottles with BPA in them anymore. I used them with my son and he's Apraxic and has Sensory Integration Dysfunction...there is no known causes for either of these. I did everything right when I was pregnant...no drinking/smoking, ate everything that I was supposed to eat, didn't eat what I was not supposed to eat, took prescription pre-natal vitamins everyday, went to every appointment and had great pre-natal care...and now this?

Think about it.....they STILL don't know what causes developmental delays such as speech/language impairments, Autism, etc....would you really take a chance? What if the BPA bottles are a contributing factor? Take it from me...you would do ANYTHING to make your child perfect and not have to live day in and day out with a child with disabilities. You're taking the vitamins, eating right, etc...why not take out something else that MAY be causing problems?

Ask any parent of a child with delays and I bet that they have decided not to use these bottles anymore. There are HUGE lawsuits in California and Missouri right now against the bottle companies and this has all been brought on by these parents of disabled/delayed children.

I don't think it's "crock of bull" as someone else stated. Wait until you're sitting at your child's IEP meeting in 3 years and see how you feel. Just because they hand that new baby to you and say that they're "perfect" doesn't mean that everything will be rosey in a few years.

[g8r grl]

Please excuse my grammatical errors above...how embarrassing :)

[K1990]

Now when I was pregnant, before my miscarriage, I bought a thing of bottles they were playtex drop ins...  How do you figure out if they have BPA in them or not??

[g8r grl]

Playtex drop-ins do not have BPA in them. Actually, Playtex is sending out free samples of 8oz bottles right now on their website. I made everyone in my family order one so I have a whole set for the next baby :)

I used Dr. Brown's last time and while they worked great, they have BPA in them. I know that they have the new ones without BPA, but I've decided to switch completely. I'm looking forward to only having a couple of pieces to wash! Should be easier next time...

Go to Playtex.com and you can read about how they're BPA free....

Also-I hope you didn't think that my post was rude. It wasn't really directed at you, but to everyone else who thinks BPA is no big deal. I can't tell you how devastating it is to find out your kid has a disibility when they're two years old. It's a touchy subject and I go a little overboard talking about it. I would do anything if I could go back and find out what caused this...

[DaniWants1More]

the drop ins are bpa free.  the plastic you usually have to worry about is the hard plastic bottles.   the liners don't have it.  :)  i use avent nursers which are like drop ins b/c you can sqeeze out the air which gives the baby less gas.  tc  ~d

[K1990]

So I don't have to worry about the drop ins at all?  What about the Playtex Vent air ones?
I didn't think you were rude at all!

[DaniWants1More]

the vent air i don't think are BPA free  tc ~d

[JoyRenee]

I don't think VentAire are BPA free either. There should be a list out there somewhere of safe bottles. I know glass bottles are safe. I use AVENT, which are BPA free now. Born Free also makes BPA free bottles (but they're EXPENSIVE)!

[DaniWants1More]

the born free glass bottle are great but i cracked mine some how heating them up but the have new plastic ones  tc ~d

[Rach1717]

Here is a great website I found that has lists of BPA free bottles, pacifiers and teethers. I think it has more information on BPA and other chemicals.

http://safemama.com/2008/02/10/cheat-sheet-paraben-phthalate-free-baby-care/

Hope this helps

[g8r grl]

You're right...the Born Free are EXPENSIVE and have horrible reviews on Target.com. I'm addicted to reading reviews on baby items just to have the heads up on the best mom-approved items.

I thought of something else that I wanted to add to the conversation. At my son's evaluations with the psychologist and early intervention specialist, they gave me a list of the bottles and toys to completely avoid for my next child. On the top of the avoid list, of course, were the Dr. Brown's bottles...followed by Avent.

Why would they give me this list if they weren't convinced that BPA is causing all of these problems? I work in the school system and the amount of children coming in with disabilities is quite alarming. Some people would guess that we're overdiagnosing and labeling every child, but my son DOES have a problem and I did EVERYTHING right! The "avoid" list was not just included in some handouts or put in a folder, they handed it to me to read while I was sitting at the table with them.

I think this is something serious that everyone should start paying more attention to...

[Rach1717]

oops, sorry posted the wrong links, here are the correct ones ...

http://safemama.com/2007/11/22/bpa-free-bottle-and-sippy-cup-cheat-sheet/

http://safemama.com/2008/01/04/bpa-free-pacifiers-and-teethers-cheat-sheet/

[K1990]

What else was on that list do you know??  That would be a great thing to know.  I absolutely HATE avent and dr. browns bottles anyways so that would.

[K1990]

I'm not sure if anyone has ever used these bottles but Elan made by evenflo...  I love these bottles but I don't know if they are BPA free, sadly I bet not.

[K1990]

So is BPA only bad if heated?  Because I know that everyone drinks out of plastic water bottles and there has never been an issue there...  And if it is just when heated, is heating it up to body temp. really going to matter?

[sweetangel7]

I've heard that even leaving a bottle in the car or outside in the sun can heat it up enough to leach chemicals...

[leighanne143]

ok again not to be rude but when everyone stops using BPA products and their children still have learning disabilities, are we going to be shocked? I'm not.  i know all the comments above about IEP's were geared towards me but really ladies.  it is just another thing for all of us to worry about and go out and buy the latest other products.  I am in no way saying that i am going to purposefully go out there and put hazardeous things near on in my child but just like jesselee said, you have a higer chance of you and your child getting into a major car accident and you still drive a car every day.

i run a group home and take high offense to the IEP comment.  

all i was saying is everyday it is something new that the news tells us to stop doing or to worry us and we all race around and clear out our house and buy new things but ultimately we do more dangerous things everyday and do not think twice.

[mj_mommy_manda]

I agree with sweetangel on the water bottle thing.. My dad was watching a show about the whole BPA thing (not too familiar with it myself but I did notice that the platex drop ins were BPA free so those are the bottles I will be using.. Plus I will be mostly breastfeeding and they have the freezable drop in bags so that will come in handy.) Anyway! My dad WILL NOT let us drink out of water bottles that have been sitting in the car.. (sounds crazy I know, but I guess if your dodging a bullet then why not just get a new water bottle..) I actually joked around with him one day because we were going on a family vacation and a water bottle rolled out from under the drivers seat by my feet and I lifted up my feet and yelled "cancer water!!" but yeah.. my parents are really serious about the whole "cancer" thing and the whole "environmental danger" stuff.. My mom actually started buying cloth grocery bags because of something about plastic and seagulls eating it or something.. Idk but like gr8 grl said.. If you knew something had the "potential" to cause danger to your child would you still do it anyways?? I wouldn't.. Its kind of like smoking while you are pregnant.. (I know its probably a touchy issue for some) but if you know that it could potentially harm your baby why would you do it? you have the rest of your life to harm your own body with toxins...

[smma]

First thing is first CHECK THE MANUFACTURER WEBSITE. Playtex, until recently did not offer BPA free items, they now have both options. Avent does have BPA and a number of others do as well. The manufacturer's are being bombarded buy email and calls about this so most of them have a link on their site about their products. No offense or anything but you need to check this out through the proper channels if you want the right information. Avoid items labeled as POLYCARBONATE. That word should be synonymous with BPA.

The best source for non-BPA bottles are, as far as I have investigated, are Gerber and Evenflo.

Born Free and Dr. Browns offer BPA free bottles and glass bottles at anywhere from 6.00 to 12.00 PER BOTTLE. That is INSANE.

Gerber uses #5 plastics, which are considered food safe and do not contain BPA, on the items marked with #5. The Gerber company is also the only company I have come across thus far that actually MARK the bottles with the plastic type codes. If you do not want plastics at all I suggest Evenflo. They produce glass bottles, the same as they did 20 years ago. I purchased these for my next child, due in a week. They cost me around 4.00$ for a set of three 4oz bottles and 6.00$ for a set of three 8oz bottles. You cannot beat that.

I have read some bad reviews about all the brands leaking and needing to be replaced, however, if you look at Brown's and Born free prices - you can buy 3 to 6 Evenflow bottles for the price of ONE of the others. Even if one of them leaks... you still win in the price range. They use silicone nipples now, instead of the rubber ones, but the Gerber company still makes the old fashioned rubber nipples that fit their bottles and the Evenflo bottles. That way you can completely remove plastics from the equation, if you want to, for less money than these "new better bottles". Again more links:

Gerber: http://www.gerber.com/About/Press_Room_Detail.aspx?PressId=5050364c-cc99-488b-9839-1d8354b50a86

Playtex BPA: http://www.playtexbaby.com/bpafree/info.html

Plastic Codes: http://www.healthgoods.com/Education/Environment_Information/Solid_Waste/decoding_plastic_codes.htm

[smma]

I re-read the previous post again and there is a lot of question about BPA getting into the food or liquid. Read some of the BPA links. They are strait-forward and clear about how the chemicals get in your food.

It is NOT just a problem if the item is heated.

It is NOT just a problem if the items is cleaned with harsh chemicals.

I am going to repeat myself here, but much of the scientific review indicates that it is absorbed by food stuff over time and that the heating can make it worse, along with using say a dishwasher to clean the items. But that is like saying that you will not get cancer from light cigarettes.

If this is important enough for you to change your lifestyle - it should be important enough for you to take a few minutes and review some official documentation from reputable sources.

[g8r grl]

I made the IEP comment and I'm sorry that you took offense...I'm being honest.

I'm an SLP and service 52 children with IEPs and I do not take offense to my own comment. I'm just being honest. Do you have any of your own children who have IEPs? Trust me, it's a different story when you're on the other side of the table. Working with disabled children everyday and having one of your own are completely different...I never thought in a million years that I would "take my work home with me" everynight. I'm not making fun of disabled children...I have one for crying out loud.

Not using BPA bottles will not stop the epidemic of disabled children, but it might be a start. At this point in time, using BPA bottles is the ONLY thing that I have figured out that I did wrong and may be attributed to my son's disabilities.

[K1990]

Thanks ladies for all of your responses.

[hopes777]

The first time I heard about BPA, I looked everywhere for BPA free bottles for my child (which she is little over 3 weeks now) so I decided to use the Playtex drop ins.  They work great and I love it but it gets pricey because you have to buy liners and if you really think about it a few of boxes can be the same as buying a thing of formula.  When I go back to work I am considering buying a pack of the Playtex vent air for convenience.

I personally haven't talk to the pediatrician about BPA bottles but some mothers I know talked to their pediatrician and the doc pretty much said that it is okay to use normal bottles but make sure that you keep the bottle in good conditions and replace any that it isn't.  My nephew who is 8 months now used normal bottles and he is the in perfect health and very smart (what a brat LOL).  

It's up to you to decide what's best for your child.  Consult your doctors or other mothers.