Bisphenol A is a chemical present in plastics used to make, amongst other things, baby bottles and sippy cups. The effects Bisphenol A, or BPA, might have on our health has been of concern for years, and is at last getting attention from the heath authorities in the US.

BPA mimics the effects of reproductive hormones in the body. Animal studies have shown BPA damages rat eggs and chromosomes, and predisposes laboratory animals to certain cancers.

Bottle manufacturers have tried to play down evidence from animal studies, saying that it’s not possible to prove BPA is harmful in babies just by looking at lab rats. Until now, no conclusive studies have ever shown that BPA is harmful to humans.

A study released today from Exeter University in the United Kingdom has found that adults with high levels of BPA in their bodies have higher rates of certain diseases: heart disease, diabetes, and liver disease. People with the highest levels of BPA were three times as likely to suffer from heart disease. The study examined adults, not babies, but serious effects in adults can’t be ignored as easily as health problems in laboratory animals.

Canada is already doing something about the problem of BPA. Canadian legislation is set to ban BPA in baby bottles sold in the country.

The results of the Exeter University study will now be examined by the Food and Drug Administration who will decide if any action needs to be taken in the US.

Whatever the FDA decides, major retailers like Target, Walmart and Babies-R-Us have already taken action. Many retailers have responded to parental demands for BPA-free bottles, and have stopped selling, or are in the process of phasing out BPA-containing bottles.

It’s not publicized by the company, but Babies-R-Us will refund or exchange BPA bottles, including used bottles, and even without a receipt. If you bought your baby’s bottles from Babies-R-Us, and they are the type which contain BPA, Babies R Us will give you a store credit or exchange them for bottles without BPA. As it’s not an official program, you might need to speak to a manager to get an exchange for your old bottles, but I know several moms who have replaced their entire bottle collection with BPA-free bottles at Babies-R-Us.

And, here’s a list of BPA-free baby bottles and sippy cups.

Our daughter?s crib has been recalled. While we?ve gone through recalls before for our cars and some random house hold items, we?d never had what?s essentially a major piece of furniture recalled, and weren?t quite sure what to expect when participating in a crib recall. Here?s what the recall involved for us.

The first step was finding out about the recall. Watching the evening news one night, my husband noticed that they were showing our exact crib make and model on a recall report. We rewound the program (thank you, DVR!) and were able to hear the entire report, stating that the crib our daughter sleeps in is part of a major, yet voluntary, recall of baby cribs. (A good source for recall information is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website or your very own Babies Online Blog recall section)

Since our daughter?s crib was part of a voluntary, not mandatory, recall, we needed to contact the manufacturer and register the crib as part of the recall, including the model number on the tag stuck to the side of the crib. We then accessed the company?s Web site, filled out an online form with our information, and waited about two weeks to receive the necessary paperwork back from the company. The paperwork included another form, instructions on how to proceed and a return shipping label. The instructions told us to take apart the crib and send in the bolts and some other miscellaneous hardware from the crib, so that it could not be reassembled.

We complied, taking apart the crib and mailing back the parts. Fortunately, still have the Pack N Play that we used quite often as a second crib when our daughter was an infant. It?s not the most comfortable place for her to sleep now as a toddler (she does wake up more frequently) but it’s safer than the recalled crib.

Soon, we will receive a voucher in the mail to purchase a new crib of equal or lesser value at the store where we purchased the original crib. We?re looking forward to selecting a new, safer crib, and getting our daughter back into a crib with a comfy mattress and packing away the Pack N Play once and for all!

President Bush just signed a new bill which bans lead from children?s toys. The bill also bans the chemical phthalates, which makes plastic softer, from products and also bolsters the budget and responsibilities of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Last year due to lead issues, over 45 million toys were recalled by the Commission, prompting parents to go through their children?s toys to get rid of unsafe and dangerous products. This bill will give the Commission the authority to oversee testing of toy products and also the authority to penalize those who violate the toy standards. By the year 2014, the Commission will have a budget of $136 million to accomplish these goals.

While this bill sounds like a wonderful thing, it raises more questions for me rather than giving me a sense of security. What does this really mean for the consumer? Will this affect the supply of toys? How will the Commission be able to adequately test and monitor the ever increasing supply of imported toy products? Will this bill actually make a difference?

If you are interested in seeing if you have any toys which have been recalled, or learning more about recalls or voicing your opinion on different products, you can check out the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

The many (many) toy recalls over the course of 2007 have left a lot of parents worried about the toys they already have. Most, if not all, of the toys were made in China and had to be recalled due to high levels of lead in the paint. It is entirely possible that some of the toys in the homes of infants are high in lead but haven’t yet been recalled. It’s enough to cause nightmares for parents.

But, if you’re worried about the lead content in your baby’s toys, you don’t have to wait for a recall. You don’t have to send them off to a lab or keep every toy that isn’t stuffed away from your baby. You can actually test the lead levels on your own at home.

A few years ago there was a massive recall of toy jewelry that was bought from those little toy dispensers that most grocery stores keep near the doors. At the time, it was the biggest recall of toys in history. And, it scared me. We had lots of toy jewelry around, some of it from those machines and some of it from other sources. The problem was, which ones were from the machines? And, did other toy jewelry have lead in the paint? Other than taking away every piece of toy jewelry in the house, I decided to try to figure it out and get rid of the offending pieces.

Looking online, I found a small lead-testing kit. It had about 50 testing strips in it, each one very small but very accurate. I bought the kit at an online drugstore for less than $20 and awaited its arrival. Once it came, it was one of the best things I ever bought for my kids. It showed me with a very simple, quick test which toys had lead paint and which didn’t. Only one piece of the toy jewelry tested positive, and it was discarded. A few weeks later, a local company gave one of the kids a toy ring as a prize. It looked a little suspicious, so I took it home and tested. It tested off the charts for lead, and it hadn’t even been bought from a machine. It was from a Chinese importer, I was told later, and they had hundreds just like it.

The current crop of toys can be tested just as easily. The test strips show within seconds whether there’s lead on the surface of the item. This can be especially useful when I can’t tell for sure if a toy we have is the exact one in the recall. Recall pictures are often small and often there were several toys made that look similar. I’m certainly glad I had my lead testing kit when the most recent batch of recalls happened. I feel a lot safer knowing that I can test any suspicious toys instead of waiting around for a recall.

The Christian-themed charm bracelet set called “A Life of Faith” is being recalled due to excessive levels of lead on its white beads. The bracelet, which comes with one for a child and one miniature version for a doll, is distributed by Mission City Press and is made in China.

The charm bracelets were sold nationwide from October 2006 to November 2007 and has charms in different shapes. The shapes include a bible, angel, cross, heart, and pair of praying hands. The decoration include white beads which is the cause of the recall, so if you decide to just remove the bead, this is considered acceptable.

Mission Press is cooperating fully with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and have offered a refund for the $15 charm to those who’d like it.

Contact their address below and include your name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address for more info.

Mission City Press
Attn: Bracelet Refund
202 Second Ave.
South, Franklin, TN 37064

Their phone number is 1-800-840-2641 (9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST, M-F).

Click here for a picture of the bracelets.

Infantino Recalls Infant Teethers Due to Choking Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Infantino? Lion Teethers

Units: About 28,000

Manufacturer: Infantino? LLC, of San Diego, Calif.

Hazard: The plastic nose can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Incidents/Injuries: Infantino? has received eight reports of the nose detaching, including one report of a child gagging on the bitten off nose.

Description: This recall involves Infantino? lion teethers. The yellow and orange plastic teethers have date codes 6116, 6129, 6158, 6137, 0606, 0806, 0906, and 1006. The date codes are located on the back of the lion?s head, above the Infantino? logo. Lion teethers with other date codes are not included in this recall.

Sold at: Babies ?R? Us, Pottery Barn Kids and other specialty stores nationwide from June 2006 through December 2007 for about $5.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should take the recalled toys away from young children immediately and contact Infantino? for a replacement teether or a product of equal value.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Infantino? toll-free at (888) 808-3111 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm?s Web site at www.service.infantino.com