BPA and your bub

The findings from this study were released recently and I think it’s a really important one for mums to be to be aware of. Essentially, this study found the presence of the chemical bisphenol A or BPA in pregnant mothers had an impact on their babies breathing in the first six months of their life.

The study by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine measured levels of the chemical in pregnant mothers between the 16th and 26th week of pregnancy. Of the 367 mothers studied, 99% had traces of BPA in their system. More alarmingly, those with the highest levels in their 16th week were twice as likely to have babies who wheezed at six months old than women with the lowest levels.

Adam Spanier, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics said “This suggests that there are periods of time during pregnancy when the fetus is more vulnerable. Exposure during early pregnancy may be worse than exposure in later pregnancy."

So where are we in terms of the presence of BPA in Australia? Well I checked out the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand website and it says: “BPA may be found in items or containers that come into contact with food such as drinking vessels, polycarbonate plastic baby bottles, plastic tableware and the internal coating on tins for tinned food. In some circumstances, chemicals in food packaging can migrate into the food depending on the nature of the packaging and the food.” That seems to be quite a lot of places doesn’t it?

The good news is that they are phasing it our of baby bottles apparently “The Australian Food and Grocery Council and the New Zealand Food & Grocery Council members are voluntarily phasing out the use of BPA in polycarbonate plastic baby bottles over the coming months and many companies currently have BPA-free options available”

But in practical terms it sounds like a wise idea to avoid using plastics with the recycling code 7 as these usually contain BPA. In addition, avoid heating or re-heating any of your food in plastic containers and stick to using glass or steel containers instead.