Toxic Exposures

Toxins to Avoid

  • Bisphenol-A and Phthalates: both are endocrine disruptors and especially bad as fetal/early childhood exposures. Here’s a fact sheet on avoiding both.
    • Bisphenol-A leaches from polycarbonate food/drink containers and from the lining of food cans. Things to avoid are anything with the recycling # 7 (polycarbonate), Nalgene Bottles, water coolers at work (Sparkletts, etc.), polycarbonate baby bottles, polycarbonate Rubbermaid containers (the transparent stain-proof ones; the traditional kind is fine, and the more disposable ones from Glad, Ziploc, etc. are fine too) and canned food if you can (I started cooking my own beans & freezing them in 3-cup containers, which was a lot less work than I expected). Microwave foods in glass or ceramic containers instead of plastic.
    • Pthalates leach from anything made from vinyl/PVC, and are also used in perfumes and cosmetics to make fragrances last longer. Avoid vinyl/PVC products, especially when buying toys that a child would put in their mouth. Ikea is a good place to get safer but inexpensive wood and plastic children’s toys. Try to use fragrance-free products for yourself & baby (I only follow this so strictly b/c I’m allergic to fragrances & floral botanicals; you might be OK with natural botanical products, which won’t have phthalates if they really list all of their ingredients instead of just saying “fragrance”). Here are some safer products I like:
  • Paraben Preservatives. These are also endocrine disruptors, and are in lots of products (just look for words that end with paraben). Everything I listed above is paraben-free.
  • Flame Retardants: they are neurotoxic. Here is a fact sheet.
    • Buy 100% cotton baby clothes, sleep sacks, blankets, etc. — NO polyester, including polyester fleece, because those are treated with flame retardants to prevent them from melting.
    • Buy a truly organic (see below) baby mattress, if you can. They are a lot more expensive, but since they’re made of natural materials like organic cotton & wool, they won’t be treated with flame retardants. Since baby spends so much time sleeping, I think it’s worth it.
      • NOTE – not all “organic” mattresses are free of flame retardants.
      • Sealy sells one at Babies R Us that has organic cotton, but other contents aren’t organic, and it contains flame retardants.
      • The Arm’s Reach cosleeper organic mattress does NOT contain flame retardants. It is 100% organic cotton filled with 100% organic wool, and I confirmed via email that no chemicals are added. We’re getting one to use with our cosleeper.
    • Sofas & other upholstered furniture are also treated with flame retardants. Ikea no longer uses PDBEs in their products (furniture, mattresses, etc.) so they are one safer, relatively inexpensive option. We may go with an Ikea crib mattress after Eleanor outgrows the cosleeper, depending on how expensive organic crib mattresses are and what chemicals Ikea still uses.
    • I emailed Boppy, and their nursing pillow is naturally flame-resistant — no chemicals added.
    • Choose a safer car seat, toxin-wise. HealthyCar.org has tested a subset of cars and car seats for toxic chemicals, including flame retardants. For infants, the Graco SnugRide Emerson had the fewest toxins. Other versions of the SnugRide had much more — it depends on the fabric & color of plastic used. (Also – car seats are one thing you should buy new. The foam breaks down over time and becomes less effective in a crash, so they expire, just like a bike helmet.)
  • Formaldehyde: It’s how they make clothes and sheets wrinkle-free. We got relatively inexpensive organic sheets from West Elm and they were crinklier out of the dryer than any sheets I’ve ever had (and actually I like them better), which makes me think pretty much all sheets have been treated with stuff. Baby’s sheets (and yours) might be one place where it makes sense to spend the extra for organic cotton.
  • Pesticides, Bovine Growth Hormone, and Food Additives
    • Buy organic produce when you can. Focus your efforts on the fruits and vegetables that have the highest pesticide levels when non-organic. The Environmental Working Group ranks 45 fruits and vegetables from worst to best and provides a PDF wallet guide of the “Dirty Dozen” and “Cleanest 12″ – the 12 fruits or veggies that you should try to buy organic, and the 12 where you can feel pretty good about buying conventional versions.
    • Buy organic dairy, eggs, and meats. These are from animals that won’t have been treated with antibiotics and growth hormones. If organic dairy is too expensive, buy Trader Joe’s dairy, because even their non-organics come from cows that haven’t been treated with bovine growth hormone (on their labels they call it rBST; it also may be called rBGH on other brand’s labels).
    • Eat less processed food, and when you do buy processed food select the most natural options. Some food additives (artificial colors, preservatives) have been found to cause behavioral changes in young children, so avoiding them during pregnancy seems wise.

Less-Toxic Cleaning Options