If you're a parent who watches the news or surfs the Web, you've probably heard about "bisphenol-A" or BPA for short. If you haven't heard, it is a chemical found in lots of plastics, including baby bottles. Is it safe?
Baby bottle manufacturers say it is safe and so do some scientists. However, others say we could be causing all sorts of problems for our babies, including later developmental problems and even cancer.
Some blogs have listed exactly which bottles are safe and unsafe. But are we, as parents, overreacting?
It's hard to ignore news headlines like ABC's "Cancer-Causing Chem in Baby Bottles." But the situation may be more complex and subtle than a quick news article suggests.
The U.S. government claims the bottles are safe. Perhaps they are beholden to the baby bottle manufacturers, but even governments in Japan and Europe find the bottles safe.
This Canadian article suggests that the bottle scare can be traced to one vocal researcher: Frederick vom Saal in Missouri. The article even claims vom Saal destroyed research data and made unsubstantiated claims. So can we trust the science that suggests the bottles are bad?
The choice isn't easy for parents: go back to breakable glass bottles, hunt down expensive BPA-free bottles, or continue on the same way (as millions of parents have done for decades).
Even if you switch bottles, some scientists claim the damage is done...that BPA the mother consumed during pregnancy has already affected the fetus. And what mother doesn't use plastic food storage containers, or sip water from a water bottle? The doctors tell us to stay well-hydrated, right?
Obviously both sides of this argument have their extreme views, and the science isn't clear. What are you going to do? Feel free to leave a comment on our message boards.