breastfeeding – Page 6

Recently, I stumbled upon a blog published by a fellow multiply user. In her blog, she said that she might throw all her son’s AVENT bottles due to BPA. I read the link of the article she provided and found that it was dated 2003. That’s like 5 years ago!

So I found an answer from a multiply site (Sister Jing’s) and decided to share it here.

What is Bisphenol-A, and what are the issues surrounding BPA

AVENT is aware of the recent media reports focusing on Bisphenol A (BPA) and polycarbonate. We would like to help our customers better understand why many companies, including AVENT, use these materials to manufacture baby bottles.

Polycarbonates are used in thousands of consumer products such as reusable food containers, lifesaving medical devices and sport safety equipment. Manufacturers of such products, including baby bottles use polycarbonate because it prevents cracking, shattering and other hazards that can lead to injuries. The key concern for parents is whether BPA can get into their child’s food through leaching from polycarbonate bottles.

Various governing bodies have found as follows:

In November 2005 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reconfirmed the safety of the use of polycarbonate for food contact including baby feeding bottles stating that “based on all the evidence available at this time, the FDA sees no reason to change its long-held position that current uses with food are safe.”
Extensive reviews by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and independent scientists under the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis have determined that BPA used in consumer products does not pose a risk to human health.
International regulatory agencies responsible for consumer protection, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the UK Food Standards Agency, the German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment, and the Japanese Ministry of Health have all studied the use of BPA and concluded that it can be used in the manufacture of baby bottles.

All plastics used in AVENT products are FDA-approved and recognized as “safe for food contact application.” AVENT Bottles are also independently tested in accordance with and comply with the latest European Standard for Drinking Equipment for Children-EN14350: 2004 which looks specifically at the acceptable daily intake of BPA for children. By looking to these acknowledged authorities, AVENT will continue to deliver the best products to customers.

AVENT is committed to meeting or exceeding the standards set by the FDA and all other acknowledged authorities around the world. Our bottles have been and will continue to be used by millions of healthy babies in over 70 countries worldwide.

This is very re-assuring. I went a little panicky when I read the first blog because I’ve been very happy with my AVENT products and I don’t think there’ll be better products out there for Ayex and her future sibling/s.

Today, I took my morning off because I wasn’t able to sleep because Ayex started crying at 1AM. She refused to be put to bed. She would cry when the milk would not let down fast. She would sleep for half an hour and wake up crying again. To cut the story short, I got a headache and decided to work for a half day only.

My patience was put to test today but I won’t elaborate that here. When I came to the office, my teammates already started with our meeting that was supposed to be at 2PM. I was able to join them and raised my concerns and other insights. I can’t fully remember now why one Earth we went to the topic of breastfeeding. All I can remember is that, we were waiting for Atom to give his updates when I suddenly asked Quiel, our manager, if he knew anything about the on-going contruction in our floor. (We used occupy half of the floor only and now, we’re leasing the whole of it.) He said he can check his emails and asked why. So I told him what I’ve been thinking of lately. I told him that maybe, he can ask our HR to setup an room that will be dedicated to breastfeeding mothers. Yes, a nursing area. I told Quiel that it can be small, just to accommodate 3 comfortable chairs and probably an electric fan if an aircon is too much. I told him that I’m concerned because I’m leaning toward CHILD-LEAD WEANING. Yes, as long as Ayex wants to BF, I will.

Some time last week, I came home from work with one bottle of breast milk that is not yet full. So I told Mon not to put it in the fridge yet because I’m going to pump milk after I fed Ayex. We (Mon and I) managed to express milk from the left breast while Ayex is still feeding on the right. We started talking about manual and automatic pump, how to increase milk production, how helpful breastfeeding is, how I’m trying to encourage people I know to breastfeed, how happy I am with my manual pump and so on. I found myself talking on and on and on about the topic. I simply have this love for breastfeeding that I didn’t noticed Mon was already asleep, not to mention snoring.

I’ve been telling people I know that the decision to breastfeed should start even before they give birth. This allows them to be prepared physically, mentally and emotionally. That for a mom who is determined to give the best milk to her baby, a great amount of patience, perseverance, and sacrifice is necessary. Because there is no such breast without milk. Breastfeeding follows th law of supply and demand. The more moms make their baby latch, the more milk their breasts will produce.

I miss those late night outs with friends. Whatever it is that I’m doing while at the office should be stopped at least every 3 hours so I can express milk. I carry my parapernalia aka pump and bottles everywhere I go including outings and worries how can I keep all the BM cold to stay fresh. I still wake up during the wee hours of the night to feed Ayex. But heck! I’ve been BF her for almost 15 months and I’ve experienced most if not all of breastfeeding’s benefits! And I’m determined to go for child-lead weaning.

All these started when I decided I will breastfeed Ayex and started reading that tiny “How to breastfeed” booklet over and over again until I gave birth.

AVENT is dangerous – I think NOT!

Passion for Breastfeeding