Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in hard plastics, including Nalgene bottles (1), food containers, the lining of tin cans, and dental sealants.(2)  

This otherwise useful chemical is associated with cancer of the breast and testicles, diabetes, hyperactivity, low sperm count, and obesity.  Obesity?  Yes – the BPA that a mother is exposed to while pregnant will encourage obesity not only in her own children, but even in THEIR children. (3)

In doses 1000 times less than the usual exposure levels found, BPA has caused prostate and female genital abnormalities in lab animals.  Monkeys exposed to levels of BPA considered safe for humans showed chemical interference with brain cell connections vital to memory, learning and mood. Moreover it is known to cause neurologic and developmental effects, to interfere with estrogen and thyroid function, and can cause infertility. (4) 

So, we’re going to ban it, right?

Wrong.  We currently produce 2.3 millions tons of BPA per year, and are expected to increase this amount by 14% in the next few years.

If you are a new mom, protecting your baby from BPA is especially important because babies do not eliminate BPA very well, and they are more sensitive to it than adults.  Unfortunately, BPA is found in most baby bottles – the following brands were tested in 2007 by the Environmental California Research and Policy Center, and all were found to leach BPA at levels high enough to cause harm in laboratory animals:  

 - Avent
 - Dr. Brown’s
 - Evenflow
 - Gerber
 - Playtex

However, if you use one of these brands, don’t panic – the tests were done by heating water in the bottles to a very high temperature and leaving them there overnight.  When kept at room temperature, the level of BPA leached into the water was not detectable.  If you must use these brands, be careful not to heat the formula to a high temperature or to boil water in the bottles.

To avoid possible exposure to BPA from bottles, you can use old-fashioned glass baby bottles, or switch to BORN FREE baby bottles, which are free of BPA. See their website at http://www.newbornfree.com.  Avent also now sells a special bottle now which they say is BPA-free. If other brands have not already come out with BPA-free bottles, they probably will soon.

Canned baby formula, however, is another story. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) did a survey of BPA in canned foods in the U.S.  See the report athttp://www.ewg.org/reports/bisphenola. The EWG says that there are no government safety standards limiting the amount of BPA in canned food.  The highest levels their survey found were in canned chicken soup, canned ravioli, and canned infant formula.

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Notes:
(1)   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalgene 

(2)  If your dentist wants to use dental sealant 
   for your child, ask him to provide a brand 
   without BPA.  While we’re talking about dentists,
   if you are going to use a sealant or a “white” filling
   for your child’s teeth, be aware that some contain 
   fluoride. See http://www.feingold.org/Research/fluoride.html 
   so that you can decide in advance whether you want the 
   fluoride.  According to the dentists I have called, 
   such fluoride stays on the teeth and is not released 
   by chewing.

(3) Chemical Exposures: Exploring Developmental 
   Origins of Obesity, Graeme Stemp-Morlock, 
   Environmental Health Perspectives, 
   2007 May; 115(5): A242. 

(4) Bisphenol A prevents the synaptogenic response 
   to estradiol in hippocampus and prefrontal 
   cortex of ovariectomized nonhuman primates, 
   Leranth C, et al., Procedudres of the National 
   Academy of Sciences, September 16, 2008 (cover story). 
   This link in the online article is to the full text 
   of the article.