A new article on the University of California San Francisco's website cites neuroscientist Michael Merzenich on the subject. He's conducted research on rats, feeding the babies levels of PCBs and PBDEs (environmental toxins) at about the same level (adjusting for the size of the subject animals) as is found in human breast milk. The outcome, he says, were "brains that were more degraded in their organization developmentally in these rats than we have ever seen before."
How does this relate to breast feeding and humans? Here's a snippet from his interview:
... it's not just the fact that PCBs and PBDEs accumulate in the environment. There is a second probable contributor to the problem and that's the increased rate of nursing and increased rate of duration of nursing in American populations. ...We have gone from a nursing rate of about 25 percent roughly a quarter of babies being nursed by their mothers to about 75 percent. The average duration that mothers nurse their infants now is about twice as great as it was 30 years ago. This is a positive and good and healthy thing. The problem is that these chemicals are concentrated in breast milk at a level of about six fold as they are in regular body tissues. Because they are concentrated in fat, in a sense the mother is concentrating these poisons and delivering them in relatively high dose levels to infants.
Merzenich makes it very clear that the study looked at RATS, not people. And he stated, over and over again, that breast feeding in general is a good idea. Still, most readers will walk away with the understanding that toxins in breast milk could be a trigger for autism in some infants.
What do you think about this new finding? Would it have an impact on your decision to breast feed your child?
Maybe I missed something, but is there “proof” that these toxins actually cause autism? Or any other problem in humans for that matter? I realize the researcher emphasized that his study was just on rats, but I think it’s a huge stretch to say that breast feeding could cause autism or even slightly imply that from this study. The benefits of breastfeeding are so well documented, there is no way I would change my mind about it based on this research.
In addition to what Kristi says, it is important to note that cows live in the same environment that we do for the most part. The chemicals that are concentrated in our blood and our milk are also concentrated in theirs. So choosing to give cow’s milk based formula is not going to eliminate this problem. In fact, it only increases the risk due to other chemicals that manufactured baby milk is exposed to in the manufacturing process.
PCB’s are fire retardents. Cows are not as exposed to them and babies do not nurse directly from a cow as they do from their mother. I have a 30 year old autistic son that I nursed and I have suspected the breast milk for many years. I have also watched autism increase as breast feeding increased. Yes, there is “proof” that these toxins are harmful to humans. The benefits of breastfeeding are to the childs health. Autistic children are usually healthy.
I agree with the first commenter – this research was not adequately conducted. The toxins were fed directly to the rats – not some level in breastmilk. Direct exposure to toxins is going to have a drastically different effect than exposure through breastmilk. Breastmilk has many protective properties which weren’t even considered in this study. Not to mention that there has been no causal link between these toxins and autism. This is just poor research looking headlines with scare tactics. It is a shame our medical journals aren’t more particular about what they will publish!
If PCB’s and PBDE’s are present, then they’d also be present while pregnant and exposure to the infant is going on pre natal.
If we didn’t do all the possible don’t’s studies come up with, we’d have a very limited do’s.
My wife breast fed our son, diagnosed with CDD (a rare, later onset, regressive form of Autism) for an inordinantly long time (well over 2 years) and I always have wondered if that may have contributed to what happened. Also, she was a vegetarian both during pregnancy and breast feeding, and ate quite a bit of fish, which of course contains mercury.
A NEW article. It was posted in May of 2007! Keep your articles up to date before you cite them as NEW! Perhaps you should read them first.
Karen – you’re right. My attention was drawn to the article by an editor at About.com, and I made the assumption that it was new. I should have checked the dateline.
I don’t think that changes the gist of the post, however.
Lisa
It was an interesting article anyway. So I am glad it was posted. I did not breast feed and my daughter has autism. Lots of good points by those who previously posted comments.
It was last modified: January 9, 2009. Makes it still not new but maybe some people haven’t seen it yet, back when it came out. It might be ‘new’ to some people.
Research on the prevalence of autism has been pretty consistent from country to country, while the prevalence of breastfeeding varies. Norway has a near 100% breastfeeding rate and most mothers nurse throughout their 48 week long maternity leave. You’d expect a higher autism rate here, but that doesn’t seem to be the case (no definitive study here yet).
Well, I’ll just say I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. With all the theories out there, who is to say that there won’t be one linking formula use to increased autism risk. Maybe like this one:
http://ojs.lib.swin.edu.au/index.php/ejap/article/view/158/177
http://www.springerlink.com/content/u7730mgj62g95831/
I’ll just say I would not jump to conclusions given that there is also research showing links between infant formula and increased autism risk. Ya just can’t win:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/u7730mgj62g95831/
NorwayMom, I agree that if autism rates are consistent from country to country then a similar cause would probably be the main cause in each place. But more than breastfeeding rates, the cause (according to this summary) would be environmental toxins in the breastmilk. I wonder what the toxin rate of breastmilk is from country to country.
I have heard that the US Food and Drug Administration hypothetically wouldn’t approve human breastmilk because it is so laden with toxins, but it is still better than formula. FWIW, I’ve been breastfeeding (including pumping expressed milk) for my guy for 8 months. I plan to stop when he is about a year.
I breat fed both my children. The first for 3yrs and my second for 2.5yrs. They are both exremely healthy and intelligent children now 15 & 10yrs. I have always thought that the fact they were breast fed for so long has contributed to theur health and intelligence. I would not do anything differently ifI had my time over. I am super pro-breastfeeding to create healthy, intelligent and well adjusted people.
Geez, another supposed study about what causes autism! When my son was first diagnosed with autism two years ago (he is almost six years old now), I read everything and anything on this subject, wondering if it was something I had done wrong to make him have autism. Now, I don’t believe everything I hear or read.
Breastfeeding? Yes, I breastfed my son for a little over 18 months. Thought I was doing the best thing I could for him nutritionally. I still DO think it was the best thing I could have done. My sister-in-law chose NOT to breastfeed her son (just one year younger than mine) and he has autism too. So, I do NOT believe breastfeeding caused my son to develop autism–if anything, I think it helped us develop a bond that we have to this day. He is very affectionate–especially with me and my own mother.
So, I take this research with a grain of salt so to speak. Could it happen that breastfeeding might cause autism? Anything is possible, especially if the mother is exposed to toxins (high levels of mercury for example or lead) and doesn’t know it. But, I do agree with another poster that if it did cause autism, then why don’t we see higher rates of autism in countries with high rates of breastfeeding?
It’s really frustrating to see this article’s link posted all over the web. IT’S FROM 2007. Why is it being touted as new information!? Not to mention being blown out of proportion…
I have one daughter who breast fed for thirteen years, four boys, one after the other without a break in between. I think I may have noted before that her children all test within the 90th percentile on nation wide testing, suggesting to me that breast feeding does more than add just an IQ point or two. None have been diagnosed autistic, however she did stop vaccinating after her second boy lost all language and stopped hugging. He still isn’t hugging, but with speech therapy talks fine.
This study reminds me of the 1982 SAT score slump blamed on the strontium 90 in grass fields ,fed to cows, showing up in our milk supply around 1964/65,thereby damaging an entire population of milk drinking children that should be turning 45 this year. ahh..it was so easy then to place blame..Of the seven autistic children I know personally only one was breastfed and that stopped at 19 months due to his hospitalization for seizures.. However,his mother had a recent mmr, he had a recent mmr, but perhaps more important? she walked in pesticides and sat in class with saturated shoes all day, the day before his seizures?? He ,also, had a terrible bout of coxackie two months before, and we don’t know a whole lot about this polio like illness and it’s effect on the brain.
I think it’s important to note that the levels of toxins are going up for everyone. In our food, our toys, our clothing… Look at recent scares with pthalate and BPA found in tons of infant toys and bottles. Think of the flame retardants we put directly on the clothing of infants. So to say that breastfeeding is to blame is not only premature but innaccurate.
It’s flawed.
1. You’re more likely to get PBcs from tainted water when mixed in breast formula. I don’t know if water filters filter out PBC but I doubt it could hurt.
2. There are already studies that show women who breast feed have less autism and less severe autism.
3. My daughter only connected to me no one else because I was breast feeding.
4. The exposure would be pre-natel.
ok, the important thing is THERE ARE TOXINS IN OUR MILK. There is no denying it and it’s getting worse! I’m a 41 yr old mom of 3. My youngest is 9 mo. I am a huge researcher on holistic health for over 10 yrs.. I had all 12 of my amalgam fillings removed at Dr. Huggins clinic before my last baby! Can’t wait to have a hair analysis done on him. My first 2 kids are off the charts for alumin, lead, arsenic to name a few…as am I. We have investigated for environmental sources but have come up with none. I use glass everthing, we live on 100 acres, I have tested for lead, we had a $500 well water test done for pesticides and heavy metals which is fine, we homeschool and eat 95% unprocessed whole foods mostly raw organic. My kids were born at home. blah blah AND I did some cleanses before my first child.
Where else would it have come from? No proof. Yet. I’m hoping to have my milk tested…researching that now.
Would I stop nursing. No. Breast IS best, but the world needs more information!!!
What I know NOW would have made all the difference IMO in the world!!!
HOW do we make our breastmilk less toxi? Can we educate women in cleansing and detoxing before pregnancy, zeolite, cilantro, msm, fasting etc.? Can we get more info to back up the information that chlorella during pregnancy and while breastfeeding can reduce the toxic load? Why doesn’t someone develop a protocol for prepregnancy?
Just musing….
Wendy
speaking of flame retardant clothing…do you know we never have purchased pj’s for the children for that very reason? it is everywhere…even our car seats! from lead in the toys to dolls tht are made of vinyl….google the hazards of ‘vinyl’. it’s hard to imagine where we are going to end up….sigh.
I have to agree with other commentators that its the mothers responsibility to detox prior to breast feeding. We all know that toxins are invading the modern home and it’s no suprise that these toxins are making their way into breast milk. The only other option is for mothers to escape the citys and keep away from all manmade toxins.
I am a mother of 7. I Breastfed all but one, and HE is the one out of all my children who has Autism.