That’s right. The glass baby bottles of yesteryear are becoming in vogue again as worried parents try to avoid plastics with bisphenol A (BPA) in them.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a manmade chemical used in polycarbonate plastic, the material used to make most baby bottles and other shatterproof plastic food containers. Americans are widely exposed to BPA, but opinions on its safety are mixed.

The Food and Drug Administration says current uses with food are safe. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says animal testing has shown that BPA has hormone-like effects on the reproductive system. The CDC says more study is needed to see if it could be harming people.

Switching to glass bottles (or using them instead of plastic ones in the first place) is one way to avoid exposing your baby to BPA, though you might have some trouble finding them. They represent less than a tenth of all baby bottle sales, but major manufacturers like Evenflo and Dr. Brown’s do make them. If you do use glass, be aware that these bottles do break (of course), and that you shouldn’t give your older baby a glass bottle to drink from without supervision.

Also, glass bottles usually cost more than plastic ones, and if you prefer plastic, you can find BPA-free plastic bottles, like these.

I love my son’s plastic baby bottles. I was pleased to find a wider-mouthed variety (easier to clean!) with a more natural grip than the ones I used with my daughter, which we threw out before we ever decided to try for a second baby.

Am I switching?

Nope. Not with less than three months to go ’til he switches to sippy cups. I figure he’s already been exposed, so any harm has already been done, as bad as that sounds. Besides, what about the BPA in all the other plastic products we use around our kids? Should I rush around trying to find alternately packaged containers of shampoo and detangler? What about my wipes dispensers? Until they can prove more objectively that BPA is harming kids, I’ll just keep on keepin’ on.

Posted by Sunshine.