While we have always been led to believe that “breast is best” when it comes to feeding new-born’s, recent studies have revealed that mothers who breastfeed could be exposing their infants to an alarming amount of toxic chemicals.
According to a study Published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the longer an infant is breastfed, the greater their exposure to industrial chemicals called perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs).
Are Breastfeeding Mothers Poisoning their Offspring?
Perfluorinated alkylate substances are a common class of industrial chemicals which are added to lubricants, clothing, food packaging, and various other products to make them water resistant and impervious to grease and stains.
Philippe Grandjean, adjunct professor of environmental health at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, and co-author of the study say that PFASs bio-accumulate in food chains and can stay in the body for a very long time. They are often found in both human and animal blood, and have been associated with reproductive abnormalities, endocrine disruption, immune system impairment, and even cancer.
The study analysed blood samples of 81 children who were born in the Faroe Islands between 1997 and 2000, taken at birth, and at 11 months, 18 months and 5 years, as well as blood samples taken from the children’s mothers at 32 weeks of pregnancy.
The study found that, in infants who were exclusively breastfed, PFAS concentrations rose by approximately 20-30% for each month of breastfeeding. Children who were partially breastfed had a lower monthly increase in PFAS concentrations.
At time of breastfeeding cessation, the concentrations of PFAS in many infants exceeded those of their mothers, although they began reducing shortly thereafter. The study therefore found that these pollutants are being transferred to the next generation at a very vulnerable age, which is rather worrying.
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