Let's get this into perspective. (Climbing up on my soapbox).  If perms and
fumes from perms, busses, white-out, gas stoves, etc. are possibly harmful to
lactating women, they're just as bad for everyone - only the results might
not be so obvious or so immediate. Lactation is a normal state. I'd be just
as worried for those postpartum women in abnormal hormonal states- those who
are not lactating. One could ask "If I get a perm when I'm post-partum, whast
is the effect I'm bottle feeding?" As for the effect on the baby from
so-called "polluted" human milk - consider the alternatives - compared to
WHAT?  ABMs start out being foreign substances to the human infant, and any
environmental toxins that reach the baby through polluted dairy or soy
products just make things worse. Which is probably more polluted - soybean
fields or moms?  What about milk from cows with all the drugs that they get,
pesticides on their feed, etc?? Airborne pollutants  probably have a far
greater negative effect on babies who don't have the protection of mom's
milk.

This is another version of the old "Can I smoke while praying?" debate.
Turned around, the question is "Can I pray while smoking?"   One looks gross,
the other righteous.

Climbing down now.
Linda Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC - living in a very industrial area near a
Superfund nuclear waste cleanup site and still trusting mom's milk above all
else.