MOMS = Making Our Milk Safe

It distresses me to read stories about chemical pollutants in breast milk, in part because such stories might scare nursing mothers into assuming (incorrectly) that their milk is not safe or that they should wean in favor of artificial baby milk. Sensationalist stories about contaminants keep coming up because breast milk–in addition to being the best source of infant nutrition–is a readily-available and easily-tested source for information regarding environmental contaminants. This position paper from the International Lactation Consultant Association explains:

Researchers and health authorities may use breast milk sampling as a measure of community-wide contamination because it is a rapid, sensitive, and less invasive method than drawing blood or obtaining a fat biopsy. Some environmentalists and researchers believe that a breast milk surveillance system should be established to monitor the extent of population body burdens of chemical pollutants and as a means to identify important emerging pollutants. …Unfortunately, it is possible that the concerns expressed by environmental groups may be sensationalized or misinterpreted by the media and cause undue concern among breastfeeding mothers.

When one mother watched television as she nursed her newborn, she was scared to see a report on perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, being found in mothers’ milk. Soon her fear turned to outrage and her outrage turned to activism. This article explains how Mary Brune and three other San Francisco Bay Area mothers formed the group Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS). MOMS seeks to regulate and ban the use of pollutants and other chemicals. The article describes how MOMS teamed with an environmentalist group to stage protests to urge the retailer Target to phase out PVC (vinyl).

I think MOMS has the right idea. In addition to educating mothers and the media about the dangers of contaminants and the need for activism, MOMS continues to advocate breastfeeding. MOMS also provides information about what you can do on an individual level to reduce your exposure to contaminants, such as using your purchasing power to make better choices when buying food, skincare products, clothing, toys and household items.