Choosing the right bottles
Twenty years ago, there was one type of bottle. Now you can choose between streamlined bottles that your baby can hold himself, specialty bottles with an internal vent to prevent air bubbles from forming, bottles with a wide base for easier filling and cleaning, and a variety of disposable bottles. You also can choose between plastic and glass. Plastic bottles are unbreakable but they do deteriorate, so you need to replace them regularly. If they don't break, chip, or crack, glass bottles never need to be replaced and may do a better job of retaining the nutrients in breast milk.
Are plastic bottles safe?
Plastic baby bottles are made from one of two different compounds: polyethylene (also known as EVA plastics) and polycarbonate. Recent tests indicate that a chemical called bisphenol-A may leach from polycarbonate plastic into breast milk or baby formula when a bottle containing those fluids is heated for 20 to 30 minutes at 100 degrees centigrade (212 degrees Fahrenheit). The major manufacturers of baby bottles maintain that testing bottles by boiling breast milk or formula in them doesn't give an accurate measure of how much bisphenol-A leaches from the plastic during normal use because breast milk and formula should never be boiled. Manufacturers also argue that babies have been fed from polycarbonate bottles for more than 30 years with no evidence that any child has been harmed. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Juvenile Product Manufacturers' Association say that bottles warmed to room temperature are safe for your child.
What should you do?
If you want to play it safe, don't store breast milk or formula in plastic bottles; pour it into the bottle just before your child drinks it and discard any left over. Second, follow the FDA's suggestion and don't overheat bottles with breast milk or formula in them. If you'd rather not use polycarbonate bottles, you have options: Glass bottles and disposable nursers with throwaway liners contain no bisphenol-A.
Age range: For newborns, buy a half-dozen 4-ounce bottles to start. Shift to 8- or 9-ounce bottles at about 4 months (or whenever your baby's growing appetite makes bigger bottles more practical) — but save the smaller ones as backups.
Bottom line: Bottles range from about $1 to $8 each. Inexpensive bottles don't give you a choice of nipple, whereas more expensive bottles can be angled or include special vacuum valves so your baby swallows less air. Disposable systems cost between $9 and $20. |
