http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20030923/frontpage/106949.shtml
Moms shouldn't abandon breast-feeding, experts say
ELIZABETH WEISE GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
Experts say new mothers should not abandon breast-feeding because of two
recent studies that have found high levels of toxic flame retardant
additives in the breast milk of American women.
In the United States, 70 percent of new mothers begin breastfeeding, 33
percent are nursing at six months and 20 percent are still going strong
at 12 months.
And that's as it should be, experts say. Because the additives,
polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, permeate the environment,
experts say whatever exposure babies get through breast milk would be
minor compared with the impact of exposure in utero.
The health effects of exposure to PBDEs in humans are unknown. Studies
in rats and mice have found that low levels may cause cognitive and
behavior changes during development.
But breast milk has immunological qualities that help protect babies,
says Carol Huotari at La Leche League International. Research shows
nursing may help babies fight environmental contaminants.
Finding out she had a level of 178 parts per billion in her breast milk
shocked Angie Strother-Akhtar, 33, of Gainesville, Fla. But it didn't
dissuade her from continuing to nurse her daughter.
"I know we're sort of at the mercy of our surroundings," says the mother
of Graceanne, 7 months. "What I have decided to do is to breast feed
longer to protect her more."
The best advice seems to be what people should already be doing: Eating
a diet high in fruits and vegetables with low- or non-fat dairy products
and few animal fats.
Another question is why the levels found in the women tested vary so
much. Some have levels as low as 11 parts per billion, while Darcy White
of Raytown, Mo., had the highest level found in a study by the
Environmental Working Group -- 1,078 parts per billion.
"I kept trying to figure out where it came from," says White, the mother
of Katelyn, 7 months. "I don't work around this stuff. It's become a
question for my family: Is it something we're around now? Is it
something we've been around all our lives?"
In general, says Linda Birnbaum, director of the Environmental
Protection Agency's experimental toxicology lab, persistent chemicals
tend to end up in people via food. But if that were the case,
researchers would expect to see more similar degrees of exposure.
Instead, they found that 5 percent of women tested had 10 times the
average amount of PBDEs in their system. "Who are these people, and why
are they so highly exposed?" Birnbaum says.
In Sweden, where manufacturers began the transition from using PBDEs
years ago, levels in breast milk are falling. PBDE bans go into effect
in the European Union next year. In the United States, the EPA is
evaluating alternative flame retardants, but there are no federal
regulations banning them. A California law restricting their use will go
into effect in 2008. Computer companies such as IBM, Compaq,
Hewlett-Packard and NEC produce computer housings that don't contain
PBDEs.
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