How to choose BPA free baby bottles

In March 2009 the six largest man­u­fac­tur­ers of baby bot­tles announced that they are to dis­con­tinue the use of the chem­i­cal BPA in baby bot­tles. Hur­rah!  Man­u­fac­tur­ers are tak­ing heed of mum’s demands to remove bish­phe­nol A (BPA) from baby bot­tles for good.

But, and it’s a big but…

The man­u­fac­tur­ers are going to con­tinue sell­ing bot­tles con­tain­ing BPA in the UK.  How do you choose a safe BPA free baby bot­tle for your baby if you live in the UK?

Fol­low the Mind­ful Mum steps to ensure BPA free baby feeding.

Know your Chem­i­cals. What is BPA?

BPA is the abbre­vi­a­tion for Bisphenol-A. It is a chem­i­cal used to make poly­car­bon­ate plas­tic. Poly­car­bon­ate is a com­mon plas­tic and is used to make baby bot­tles, food stor­age con­tain­ers and children’s toys. When boil­ing water is poured into poly­car­bon­ate bot­tles to mix for­mula BPA can leach into baby’s milk.

Sci­en­tists have found that Bisphenol-A mim­ics the hor­mone oestro­gen in ani­mals and many envi­ron­men­tal bod­ies believe that BPA can cause harm­ful effects in humans, includ­ing early puberty in chil­dren, can­cer, dia­betes and obesity. In 2009 the Cana­dian Gov­ern­ment banned the pro­duc­tion of BPA in plas­tics due to tox­i­c­ity concerns.

Review your options for safe alternatives

Many man­u­fac­tur­ers are pro­duc­ing BPA free bot­tles in addi­tion to con­ven­tional poly­car­bon­ate bot­tles. Some man­u­fac­tur­ers such as Born­Free have only ever pro­duced BPA free glass bot­tles and plas­tic bottles.

• Con­sider the ben­e­fits of glass baby bot­tles — no leach­ing, non-permeable and recyclable
• Review the BPA free plas­tic bot­tles that are made from polypropy­lene and polyethylene

Tai­lor Bot­tle Fea­tures to Meet Your Baby’s Needs

Look for spe­cific fea­tures that suit your baby and your lifestyle, for example:

• Anti-colic fea­tures such as a vent aim to reduce the amount of air swal­lowed by babies that suf­fer from colic or wind
• Num­ber of parts and ease of wash­ing and assembly
• Check BPA free baby bot­tle table to com­pare fea­tures of each bottle

Quick Check­list

• Check for a BPA Free label on the box — do not assume that they are all auto­mat­i­cally BPA free.
• Use sil­i­con nipples
• Never heat bot­tles in the microwave
• Throw away scratched or worn out bottles
• Check out the  avoid­ing BPA guide

RELATED ARTICLES

• My child has been exposed to BPA in baby bot­tles. What can I do?
• Cam­paign for Removal of BPA from British Baby Bottles
• BPA Free Plas­tic Baby Bottles
• Dr Brown’s BPA Free Bottle
• Philips Avent Nat­ural BPA Free Bottle
• Tom­mee Tippee BPA Free Bottles
• MAM ULTIvent BPA Free Baby Bottle
• Baby Feed­ing Prod­ucts – Baby Bot­tle Comparison
• Review of Born­free Plas­tic & Glass Baby Bottles
• BPA Free Bot­tles Avail­able in UK