As exposure to chemical rises, so does risk of ending breastfeeding early

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/bu-aet050616.php

Public Release: 11-May-2016
As exposure to chemical rises, so does risk of ending breastfeeding early
Brown University

In recent years, the ubiquitous industrial chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has come under scrutiny for a variety of possible health problems including cancer and increased child adiposity. Now a study links maternal blood levels of the substance to early termination of breastfeeding.

"Women with the top-quartile serum PFOA concentrations during pregnancy had a 77 percent greater risk of ending any breastfeeding by three months and a 41 percent greater risk of ending any breastfeeding by six months compared to women with the lowest-quartile PFOA concentrations," said lead author Megan Romano, a postdoctoral scholar in the Brown University School of Public Health. "These should be on our radar as chemicals that might be affecting women's ability to breastfeed."

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