Are Plastic Baby Bottles Safe?
By Kirsten Van Detta

In late February, the organization Environment California reported findings that bottles made of polycarbonate plastic leach bisphenol A, a developmental, neural, and reproductive toxicant, at dangerous levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory animal studies. The initial shock led parents to scrap their plastic bottles opting for the safer alternative; glass bottles. San Francisco even went so far as to ban all children’s products that contain bisphenol A. Is it time for you to switch to glass bottles?..continued below

Clear, hard plastic #7 bottles are the polycarbonate bottles that leach bisphenol A which, in very low doses, has been linked to “cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity, among other problems”. (Environment California Report) Around 90% of bottles on the market today are made from polycarbonate plastics. Chances are, if you’re staring down a clear plastic bottle, it’s the kind of bottle you don’t want in your baby’s mouth. An easy way to check to see if you are using a polycarbonate plastic bottle is to look at the bottom of the bottle. There will be a triangular recycle symbol with a number if the middle of it. If that number is 7 then you are using a polycarbonate bottle.

However, before you toss out all those plastic bottles in your cupboard, make sure you know the difference between polycarbonate bottles and safe, non-polycarbonate bottles. #5 Plastic baby bottles are non-toxic, recyclable and do not leach any harmful chemicals into your baby’s food. Examples of #5 plastic bottles are Rubbermaid Chuggables bottles and Sippin' Sport bottles, Evenflo colored, opaque and pastel baby bottles, Gerber baby bottles (colors), and Medela baby bottles.

A safe alternative to polycarbonate plastic bottles are tempered glass bottles. The parent and hospital frenzy to buy glass bottles is still occurring, but manufacturers and retailers are doing everything in their power to increase supply to fit the demand. Evenflo and Lamby are the major makers of infant glass bottles. If you’ve decided to go the glass bottle route there is a list of online retailers who are stocking up such as Amazon.com and Babycenter.com. A pack of 3 glass bottles with nipples runs about $6.

Another safe alternative to polycarbonate plastic bottles are polyethylene bottle liners made of non-polycarbonate plastic manufactured by PBM Products, LLC. The liners are sold under various brand names of individual retailers in over 20,000 retail stores nationwide. Polyethylene baby bottle liners are pre-sterilized, flexible, collapsible, disposable, impact resistant and do not leach any harmful chemicals into your child’s food. Bottle liners also have a great price, coming in at about $6 for 125 liners.

As if finding out your child’s bottle may be leaking chemicals into his food wasn’t enough, there have also been findings regarding the plastic which nipples and pacifiers are made of. According to pediatricians Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., Herbert L. Needleman, M.D. and Mary Landrigan, M.P.A., in Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World clear silicone bottle nipples and pacifiers are safer than their plastic and latex counterparts. If the nipples and pacifiers are not made of silicone or latex, they are most likely made of PVC #3 plastic which can leach phthalates and adipates and have been linked to liver cancers and reproductive damage in laboratory animals.

As a parent, there is nothing more precious to you than your children. Make sure to protect your little one by switching from polycarbonate bottles to safer alternatives like glass baby bottles and non-polycarbonate plastics. Although we can’t protect our children from everything, we certainly can take baby steps in the right direction.