What is Bisphenol-A (BPA)

What is Bisphenol-A?

Bisphenol-A is used in the production of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics, and it considered to be potentially harmful to human health. See the WWF website for more information. Increasing fear of the potential harm being caused to babies by their bottles prompted the EU to introduce a new standard for testing feeding bottles in February 2005. Such tests have always included checks for well known dangerous chemicals such as lead and mercury in the components of the bottle, however, from February 2005 manufacturers are now obliged to test for leaching of Bisphenol-A. It has been known for some time that scratched and worn polycarbonate feeding bottles will leach this chemical. A report published in the UK in March 2004 showed that polycarbonate bottles of all types leach increasing levels of Bisphenol-A as they are used and sterilised.

How does the system eliminate well known causes of colic?

Air bubbles develop in all conventional unvented bottles. This is caused by vacuum pulling air through the plastic teat into the bottle. These air bubbles mix with the liquid which quadruples the amount of air that normally enters the baby’s digestive system.  If swallowed during feeding, air bubbles can cause uncomfortable colic symptoms such as wind and posseting.  The BornFree™ unique air vent minimises vacuum and severely reduces the creation of harmful air bubbles - giving your baby a safe and comfortable feed and hopefully a good night’s rest.

How does BornFree™ reduce the risk of middle ear infection?

Tests have proven that when vacuum builds up in conventional bottles, your baby is forced to suck harder and harder to create a flow of liquid.   Scientists have established that this sucking can cause a negative pressure to form in the middle ear. This can pull harmful liquid along the Eustachian Tube into the middle ear. Medical studies verify that this pressure is a contributing factor in causing ear infections in babies. (Since small babies will find a vacuum of -10 or more very uncomfortable, you can see why babies find it so difficult to feed from bottles that create negative pressure as high as -49).

Tested and Proven

The manufacturers of baby feeding bottles and nipples make various claims about their products, most of which are unproven. In some cases these claims relate to tests that are over 10 years old.  Since the inception of vented bottles, there has been much more focus on the harmful effects of vacuum (negative pressure) inside feeding bottles.

In all bottles without a vent, as your baby feeds, a vacuum is created. This negative pressure makes it much harder for your baby to feed comfortably. He/she has to overcome the strong vacuum by sucking unnaturally hard in order to create a flow of liquid.  This is one of the main reasons why babies develop colic symptoms, particularly if they are smaller infants or have an immature sucking reflex. It makes them tired and irritable and thus they often cry. It is also linked to the incidence of middle ear infection such as glue ear. In an independent test conducted in August 2004, the vacuum level inside various brands of bottles was assessed and compared to the BornFree™ feeding system.  This is the first time this type of test has been conducted.The results clearly showed that BornFree™ had the lowest negative pressure, making it the most comfortable way for your baby to feed.

The Express On Sunday, September 16, 2007

A CHEMICAL used in the production of plastic baby feeding bottles may cause birth defects, early puberty, hyperactivity, and cancer, alarming new research reveals. Experts have now called for a complete ban on the chemical, bisphenol A - known as BPA - which is used in the production of 90 per cent of feeding bottles sold in the UK. Baby bottle manufacturers are mounting a fierce defence of their use of BPA, but they are up against the damning consensus of an international conference, whose findings are published in the top scientific journal, Reproductive Toxicology. 

Although BPA is one of the most widely used chemicals in the world, and traces are therefore found in the bodies of most human beings, 38 leading scientists are backing the ban. Professor Fred vom Saal, of the University of Missouri, is the world's leading authority on BPA. He said animal studies have raised fears about the relationship between BPA - which mimics the female hormone oestrogen - and a spectrum of illnesses, from abnormal development of reproductive organs to early sexual maturation in females, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, obesity and type 2 diabetes, low sperm counts, and an increase in prostate and breast cancers. He added: "We were all agreed that BPA should not be used in baby feeding bottles. The risk is too great." The chemical is used to make other items including water cooler containers, sports bottles, microwave dishes and liners for canned food. 

The scientists, meeting in the US, agreed that babies are exposed to levels exceeding those that harm laboratory animals. In the latest animal study, Retha Newbold, of the US government's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said BPA caused reproductive damage similar to the anti-miscarriage drug DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic oestrogen that was prescribed to pregnant women from the Forties to the late Seventies. That drug led to "DES daughters, " born with reproductive defects that caused infertility and cancers. 

Baby bottle manufacturers such as Avent - owned by the multi-national Philips - argue that animal studies cannot be compared to human studies. But Professor vom Saal said: "There is essentially no difference in the way that rat or mouse cells respond to BPA and the way humans respond to it. "So when the manufacturers say only small - harmless - amounts get into a baby, it is not appreciated that this is enough to alter the delicate hormonal balance of the body." 

In Britain, Professor Vyvyan Howard of Ulster University said: "You do not want manmade, unnatural hormones being taken into the body when babies are at a developmental stage. The first few months out of the womb are crucial, babies are still developing their brains and their reproductive organs. 
"Given the evidence we now have, BPA should be banned."

Copyright ©2007 Express Newspapers plc, Source: The Financial Times Limited