In the old days, the only baby bottles available were made of glass. However, due to glass’ heavy and breakable properties, plastic bottles came along with lighter and shatter-proof benefit compared to glass bottles. Nevertheless, recent reports that a type of plastic found in baby bottles might cause potentially harmful changes in developing babies has left parents wondering if perhaps old-fashioned glass wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Glass Bottles

Glass Cons:
- easily shattered: drop one on the floor in the middle of a late-night feeding, and you’ll have a roomful of shattered glass to clean up. Glass is also heavy and cumbersome.

Glass Pros:
- glass bottles are sturdy
- glass doesn’t contain any chemicals that could potentially get into the baby’s formula.

Plastic Bottles

Plastic Cons:
- concerns have arisen about the polycarbonate type of plastic bottles because they contain a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA). Bisphenol A is also used in everything from compact discs to the lining of cans, as well as other consumer products. A 2007 report by the organization Environment California showed that when heated, five popular brands of BPA-containing plastic baby bottles leached high levels of bisphenol A.
In studies of lab rats, low levels of BPA were linked to changes in the brain and reproductive system that researchers say may contribute to an increased risk of prostate and breast cancers, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and early puberty.

Plastic Pros:
- Plastic baby bottles are lightweight, strong, and unbreakable. However,

Having known the facts, it would be wise to just choose plastic bottles which does not contain the Bisphenol A. If you want to avoid any bottles that contain it, look for the #7 recycling symbol or “PC” on the bottom. That’s usually a sign that the bottle contains BPA. However, not all plastics labeled with #7 recycling code contain BPA. Some bottle brands, such as Born Free, explicitly say that their products are not made of Bisphenol A.

Here is the list of Bisphenol A free plastic bottles:
bottles by Born Free, MAM and Adiri, breast pumps and supplies by Medela and Mother’s Milkmate, and sippy cups by Born Free, Klean Kanteen, Thermos, and SIGG.

Tags : newborn baby bottles, plastic bottles, plastic or glass bottles