Hi, my name is Nettie Gillaspy, and I am a junior nursing student at the 
University of North Dakota.  I am currently enrolled in a childbearing 
class and after reviewing past archives, I have been researching about 
toxins in breast milk.
It has been found that women are exposed to a variety of chemicals at home 
and in the workplace that have the potential to contaminate breast milk.  
Fetuses, infants, and children are the most sensitive to environmental 
exposure.  Vulnerability is found to be the greatest in the fetal period 
(Landrigan & Forman, 2006).  The harm that comes with environmental toxins 
in breast milk is that they are not metabolized or excreted easily, and 
they can accumulate in the mother’s body for 15-45 years before a woman’s 
pregnancy.  Humans accumulate these toxins because they are at the top of 
the food chain and ingest animals, plants, and drink water that has 
chemicals.  It has been found that twenty percent or more of the maternal 
toxins can be transferred during the first six months of lactation 
(Landrigan, Sonawane, Mattison, McCally, and Garg, 2002).
It has been found that unless a mother’s exposure to contaminants is 
extremely high with things like an exposure from an occupation, the 
benefits of breast milk still outweigh the potential risks of chemicals 
found in the mother's milk (Schreiber, 2001).  The level of risk to 
infants and children of exposure to chemical residues in human milk seems 
to depend on the mother’s food consumption patterns, the nature and levels 
of chemical residues in her milk, and lastly how toxic the chemicals she 
consumes are (Landrigan et al, 2002).  More and more evidence shows that 
environmental exposure to chemicals in early life can cause disease in 
children and adults (Landrigan et. al, 2006).
A few questions I have are as follows: Is anyone advising a patient about 
toxins and breast milk?  Is there anybody who is aware of things that can 
be done to reduce toxins? Is there any way a mother could find out the 
content of her breast milk and what her baby is receiving?
Thank you for any information you can provide me.  I appreciate it very 
much and look forward to hearing from you.
Nettie Gillaspy, SN
University of North Dakota College of Nursing
 
Landrigan, P.J., & Forman, J. (2006). Chemicals and children's health: The 
early and delayed consequences of early exposures.  Retrieved October 9, 
2006, from http://www.who.int/ifcs/documents/forums/forum5/forman.pdf.
Landrigan, P.J., Sonawane, B., Mattison, D., McCally, M., & Garg, A. 
(2002) Chemical contaminants in breast milk and their impacts on 
children’s health: An overview. Environmental Health Perspectives. 110 
(6), 313-315.
Schreiber, J.S. (2001) Parents worried about breast milk contamination. 
What is best for baby? Pediatric Clinics of North America. 45 (5)

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