Baby Products: What Your Don’t Know Can Hurt Your Baby

Baby Products: What Your Don’t Know Can Hurt Your Baby

From shampoo to diaper cream, there are many inexpensive choices for safe baby care. Your first step is to make finding baby products without synthetic, petroleum-based chemical ingredients priority number one.

Read All Labels Carefully
When looking for safer products, the most important thing to do is READ THE INGREDIENT LIST. This may sound obvious, but it is not enough to simply look at the front of a product and see that it is “New” or “All-Natural”. Such labeling is not a guarantee of safety. Look for products labeled “Organic” – this term still carries no guarantees, but it’s a great place to start, especially if you can find products with the USDA symbol of “USDA Certified Organic.” After a little practice, it will only take you a moment to be able to decide whether products’ ingredients are natural or artificial, safe or potentially harmful.

Childhood leukemia, brain tumors, learning disabilities, brain damage, depression, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and asthma are among the health problems that have been linked to early childhood exposure to these common chemicals found in commercial baby care products.

Ingredients to Avoid (or minimize)

• cocmide DEA
• cocmidoproply betaine
• disodium or tetrasodium EDTA
• dimethicon(e) also known as dimethiconol
• FD&C or D&C colors
• flouride
• fragrance, perfume known as parfum, aroma, flavor, scent
• hydantoin (MDM or DMDM) known as formaldehyde, formalin
• isopropyl, butyl, benzyl, stearyl or SD-40 alcohols
• MEA, DEA or TEA known as ethanolamine, mono-, di- or triethanolamine
• methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben often called methylparahydroxybenzoate
• minreal oil, petrolatum, petroleum jelly
• PEG and PG known as polythylene glycol, propylene glycol and propylenglycolum
• quaternium-15 or polyquaternium a.k.a methenamine
• SLS, ALS (sodium or ammonium lauryl sulfate) a.k.a laureth, laurel (SLES)
• sodium borate, tretraborate a.k.a boric acid
• talc a.k.a talcum powder
• triclosan a.k.a "antibacterial"
• urea(s) with prefixes a.k.a midazolidinyl
  
  Avoid Baby Powder
  Almost all pediatricians will agree that drying baby with a soft towel will eliminate the need for powder. All powders coat the lungs when inhaled and present a breathing hazard for infants, talc based powders can be contaminated with asbestos and commercial powders have petrochemical fragrances added.
  
  Avoid Baby Oil, Mineral Oil and Petroleum Jelly
  Most commercial baby oils contain unsavory chemical fragrances or mineral oils containing traces of toxic chemicals and metals, so choose organic aloe vera gel and botanical oils instead.
  
  Avoid Disposable Diapers
  Choose cloth, and if you must - go with biodegradable disposable diapers. In the very least, choose chlorine-free disposables like 7th Generation. Aside from environmental concerns, when disposable diapers get wet the synthetic chemical absorbents, fragrances and dyes used to make them “pretty and smell nice” can pass into your baby’s bloodstream, cause diaper rash or chemical burns.
  
  Avoid Baby Wipes with Fragrances and Chemicals
  Buy unbleached wipes free from dyes & fragrances, made from Organic cotton if possible.
  
  Safe Natural Ingredients for Baby Care
  Botanical Oils such as jojoba, almond, coconut (not sodium laural sulfate), olive, safflower, apricot, avocado, sunflower, evening primrose or borage
  Herbal Extracts like calendula found in natural diaper rash cream
  Vitamins including vitamin A (retinyl pamitate), carotene (pro-vitamin A), B vitamins/pro-vitamins (pantothenic acid, panethol, insitol, biotin), vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (tocopherol or d-alpha tocopheryl acetate)
  
  Remember, great natural products usually contain vitamins A, C and E in them as natural preservatives. Grapefruit seed extract, citric acid and other antioxidants are also safer alternatives you may see in the ingredient lists of natural product lines, available on-line, at natural food stores, co-ops and some major grocery stores as well.