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Subject:
From:
Doraine Bailey <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 27 Feb 1998 08:42:01 PST
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Dear Janice and Lactnetters:

Here is my letter to Mother Jones magazine concerning the interview
article by Ms. Snell re: environmental contaminants and breastfeeding.

BTW, the vast majority of the following text is from the materials
developed by WABA and ILCA for World Breastfeeding Week 1997.  These
materials are still available from these organizations if you are
interested.

----------------
Dear Mother Jones Magazine:

Thank you for your interesting and thought-provoking interview with
Marilyn Berlin Snell.  It is a good reminder that progress is not
without price, including the endangerment of our inheritors, our
children.

In response to the article's discussion on the environmental risk
factors associated with breastfeeding, I believe Ms. Snell and your
readers would appreciate some additional information.

Babies who are breastfed have lower risk for illness and death from
contaminants and toxins in the environment than babies who are not
breastfed.
--Breastfed babies need no additional food or drink for about the first
6 months of life, reducing their exposure to contaminated or low-quality
water or food and unsanitary food preparation areas.
--Breastmilk rarely has environmental contaminants compared with
industrially-produced baby foods which can fall victim to contamination
(Archives of  Pediatric and  Adolescent Medicine 1994).
        Studies show that neurological damage from fetal exposure to toxins is
mitigated in direct proportion to the amount of breast milk in an
infant's diet.
--The World Health Organization has carefully examined environmental
toxins and the risk to chidren.  They concluded that the advantages of
breastmilk far outweigh any possible risks and recommend breastfeeding
as preferable to any alternative.

Occasionally, reports will appear discussing the levels of contaminants
in mother's milk, scaring women away from breastfeeding.  The baby food
industry has capitalized on mothers' insecurities, exaggerating the
qualities of artificial milks and minimizing their known and proven
risks.  Here are some things to keep in mind:
--Breastmilk is an easy source of human body fat for measuring the
amount of toxins carried by a community's residents.  Health authorities
are not usually interested in the toxing levels in milk itself — studies
are not typically done becaue of suspicions about ill-health of
breastfed babies.
        Other feeding methods draw raw materials from the same environment as
human milk and are likely to contain the same environmental
contaminants, as well as other possible contaminants resulting from the
manufacturing process.
--No company can continuously monitor its milk for every possible
contaminant.  Chemicals, metals, and organic compounds are never
discovered if they are never sought.
--Thirteen percent of infants studied were exposed to lead levels in
excess of World Health Organization guidelines through artificial baby
milk feedings (British Med J. 1996).
--Methemoglobinemia (Blue baby syndrome) arises most frequently from
drinking water contaminated with nitrates from agricultural fertilizers.
Over 12 million people in the U.S. drink water from public water systems
where nitrate levels exceed standards.  Such water systems are also used
by artificial baby milk and infant food manufacturers.  Infants whose
food sources are reconstituted with nitrate-rich tap water (artificial
baby milk, juice) face an exposure 80 times greater than infants not
exposed to such water. Nitrates are not passed through breastmilk.

        Of course, the irony of Ms. Snell's statements is that any alternative
to human milk for infant feeding perpetuates the very environmental
contamination she condemns.  The manufacture of artificial baby milks
contribute to environmental pollution in many ways:
Cow: methane, rangeland soil compaction and degradation, fecal runoff
into soils and water supplies, feed consumption, de-forestation to
create more range or agricultural land.
Animal Feed: Carbon monoxide (CO) from growing,  shipping and processing
the crop; pesticide and herbicide runoff into water and soil; soil
erosion, depending on farming practices.  May also include animal
components (beef, chicken, fish) which may contain toxic contaminants
(PCBs, BSE virus, etc.)
Milk Collection: CO exhausts from power plants for milking machines and
refrigeration, and from transportation to processing center.
Milk Processing: CO exhaust from power plants for electricity and from
processing centers for processing milk; chemicals from equipment
cleaning; water wastes; wastes from processing and transporting
ingredients.
Milk Packaging: CO exhaust from manufacture and shipping of packaging
materials - steel, plastic, paper, cardboard; chemicals from label
printing; wastes from individual product as well as group  packaging.
Product Transportation:  CO exhaust from transport to distribution
centers, warehouses, and individual retailers, sometimes international.
Product Waste Disposal: landfill, ocean dumping, or incineration; water
and ground contamination; non-bio-degradable, non-recyclable materials
(plastics).

        There are no easy answers.  However, continuing campaigns to phase out
PCBs and other persistent organic pollutants have shown promise.
Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding is the best way to
support such campaigns as well as building the healthiest children
possible.

In 1997, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) declared the
annual theme for World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) as
"Breastfeeding: Nature's Way."  WABA and the International Lactation
Consultant Association both have excellent materials examining the
environmental impact of infant feeding.  Such materials may be of great
interest and value to your readers.  The organizations may be contacted
as noted below.

"If breastmilk becomes too contaminated to use, then it is likely that
our chances of having healthy children, or even being able to reproduce
at all, will be in jeopardy." --Gabrielle Palmer

Sincerely,
Doraine Bailey, MA
Breastfeeding Promotion and Support Specialist


International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA)
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 201
Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
Tel:919/787-5181
fax:919/787-4916
http://www.erols.com/ilca

World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)
World Breastfeeding Week Coordination
Av.Beira Mar, 3661 Lj.18
Casa Caiada - Olinda - PE
CEP 53130-540 - Brazil
Fax:55-81-4321599
http://www.elogica.com.br/waba
email:[log in to unmask]

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