by Heidi Green
April 22, 2010

As we recognize the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, we need to reflect on the pollutants all around us—at home, in the environment, even in our bodies.

If there are pollutants in our environment, does that cause us to have pollutants in our bodies? What about our breast milk? Does that mean it’s not safe for our babies?

Pollutants are everywhere and everyone is affected: pregnant or not, breastfeeding or not, male or female, young or old. Even infants have tested positive for common contaminants immediately after birth.

The question we need to ask ourselves is this: If a mother’s milk, produced inside her body and fed directly to her baby isn’t free from contaminants, then what is? Infant formula is manufactured out of products taken from the environment, augmented with synthetic fatty acids, packaged in containers that are lined with Bisphenol-A (BPA); so it, too, must be contaminated.

As a breastfeeding mother, you can be assured that your milk is still the best nutrition for your baby.

Research shows that when pollutants are removed from the environment (and let’s hope with the new Safe Chemicals Act this will be expedited) they will slowly diminish in breast milk. What better gift could we give our babies?