Moreover, Grandjean furthered that there are already small levels of PFASs in breast milk which are being transferred to infants. While partial breastfeeding led to lower increases, the scientists found that in children who were exclusively breastfed, PFAS concentrations in their blood increased by 20 to 30 percent per month, and that by the end of breastfeeding, the babies had higher serum concentration levels of PFASs than their mothers.
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PFASs are widely used because it makes product resistant to water, grease and stains thus prolonging the life of materials.
New mothers may inadvertently pass industrial chemicals along to their babies through breast-feeding, which might lower the effectiveness of some childhood vaccinations, researchers report.
PFA compounds had found applications in industrial use for over 60 years including products such as waterproof clothing, stain-proof textiles, lubricants, paints and some food packaging. “We found that for each doubling in exposure to PFASs, the child has an increased risk that the vaccination will not take”, he told HealthDay. PFASs are said to be responsible with reproductive toxicity, endocrine disruption and immune system dysfunction. However, before their research, although they have identified that PFASs remain in the body for a long time, there is still no study conducted if these chemicals gather in an infant’s body and build up through the breastfeeding period.
In the study, the researchers have kept a track of 81 children born in the Faroe Islands between 1997 and 2000.
Researchers from Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health want to show how PFASs are passed on to babies through breast milk, and they were also successful in quantifying the amouns of the substance over time. However, he added that he and his fellow study authors “are concerned that these pollutants are transferred to the next generation at a very vulnerable age”. They also looked at PFAS levels in the mothers of the children at week 32 of pregnancy.
Interestingly, concentrations of all five types of PFASs decreased after breastfeeding stopped. “Unfortunately, the current U.S. legislation does not require any testing of chemical substances like PFASs for their transfer to babies and any related adverse effects”, Grandjean said.
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According to WebMD, breast milk is a great source of nutrition for babies and it includes vitamins, proteins, and minerals that are essential for their growth and development.
