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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