Bibs Pulled for Lead: Toys R Us has decided to pull Koala Baby, Especially for Baby and Disney Baby vinyl bibs from its stores after in-house tested confirmed what the New York Times reported earlier this week - that the bibs contain dangerous levels of lead. Toys R Us maintains that their tests last May showed the bibs were safe. In order to prevent consumer confusion, the Toys R Us and Babies R Us are removing all vinyl bibs from the shelves. Customers may return any vinyl bibs purchased at the stores for a full refund.

Codeine and Breastfeeding: The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory noting that some women have a condition that causes them to metabolize codeine so rapidly that, if they are nursing while taking a drug containing it, they may put their infants at risk of morphine overdose. A year ago a nursing 13-week-old died in this way. As many as 10% of whites, 3% of blacks, and 1% of Hispanics and Asians carry the gene variation that causes them to be “ultra-rapid metabolizers” of codeine. The FDA is considering whether new warning labels on drugs containing codeine should be issued.

Our Chemical Environment: A new study out of Johns Hopkins finds that exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in the womb is associated with lower birth weight, size, and head circumference. PFOS and PFOA are man-made chemicals found in many consumer products, such as food packaging, textiles and carpets. The researchers examined the cord blood from 293 newborns for the presence of the chemicals and compared them against birth statistics. More of the two chemicals in the blood was associated with lower birth weight and smaller size. However, since the patient population at Johns Hopkins is made up in large part of women who are already at risk for adverse birth outcomes, the researchers note that the study needs to be replicated in other populations.