Baby Formula

In 2006, a couple from California joined the many other couples who have had the daily task of making preparations for infants. This young couple of adults do not want to use tap water to make infant formula. Therefore, they purchased hundreds of plastic bottles containing what they thought was "safe" water. They thought that their decision to buy bottled water satisfied their goals in order not to use tap water for infant formula.

Unfortunately, this couple does not realize that any water that is bottled in the same state where it is sold should not be any purer than tap water in that state. The chemicals in personal care products make their way into the aquatic environment, and then those same chemicals eventually appear in both tap and bottled water.

Chemicals from personal care products represent only a fraction of the many chemicals that wash into our sewer and septic systems each day. Chemical insecticides and pesticides have become a part of the aquatic environment. Chemicals from manufacturing facilities are often dumped into streams, rivers as sources of municipal water supplies.

Government studies have revealed the presence in tap water at least 80 contaminants, chemicals that can cause all sorts of health problems. Children who drink tap water can suffer diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, pneumonia, headaches, nausea, irritation of eyes and nose, and skin. These are internal problems that may develop during the first year of the child's life.

During the first six months of life, the system of a child undergoing rapid development. Meanwhile, a child who takes harmful chemicals could experience shortness of breath, loss of hair and nails, numbness in fingers and toes or even anemia.

Later, the child becomes a child and a young child, other medical conditions can present a challenge for the child and his family. After a newborn has been exposed to contaminants by using tap water to make baby formula, then the developing baby might well become predisposed to cancer, increased blood cholesterol, blood glucose decreased, traffic problems or intestinal lesions.

Sometimes a child who has taken the formula based on tap water suffers mild simple health problems such as allergic dermatitis. Other times, a child may develop conditions that threaten to diminish the quality of life. Such a child might, for example, suffer from bone disease, thyroid problems or nerve damage.

Once a child begins attending classes at school, teachers and parents might suddenly become aware of other problems caused by the use of tap water in preparing infant formula. Contaminants in water can cause a child to have a deficit in attention or learning disability.

The idea that one of the ingredients in infant formula could harm a child frightens young parents. Faced with evidence about contaminants in the water, parents have good reason to swear off using tap water. However, the decision to buy bottled water is not the ideal way to follow up on a decision not to use tap water for infant formula.

Filtering tap water is a better solution. An activated carbon filter, combined with ion exchange and micron filtration can remove unwanted contaminants from tap water. Parents can sleep better if they know that their child has been fed infant formula containing the safest water possible.