Category — Health and Wellness

A voluntary recall has been issued for Taggies Sleep ‘N Play Infant Garments because the snap closures pose a potential choking threat. Luckily no injuries were reported prior to this recall, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. The two Sleep ‘n Play styles affected in the recall were sold between June 2007 through May 2008 at places like Dillards and Nordstrom and have the code “RN #27829″ printed on the garment’s care label. The Taggies licensee who manufactured these styles, Rashti & Rashti, is offering a refund, so check out their website for details.

I have to commend Taggies for their quick action on this recall and their overall commitment to children’s safety. The website has a full page of safety information and resources, in addition to a link for recall information on the homepage. It gives me a lot more confidence in their pledge to provide safe baby products.

There have been a few other recent notable recalls that I haven’t had a chance to blog about, so please check out the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s June 2008 Recalls and Product Safety News when you have a chance. Here are some highlights:

eStyle Recalls Mini Chef Toy Kitchens Due to Choking and Tip-Over Hazards

Stanley Furniture Recalls Cribs Due to Entrapment Hazard

Nordstrom Recalls Girls’ Sandals Due to Choking Hazard

Children’s Merry-Go-Rounds Sold Exclusively at Toys R Us Recalled by Pacific Cycle Due to Fall Hazard

Simmons Kids Recalls Crib Mattresses Due to Entrapment Hazard

It’s tough to be a baby these days. Toxic toys, poison plastic baby bottles, and now, killer cribs. If you bought a crib by Jardine at Toys “R” Us or Babies “R” Us between 2002 and now, call 800-646-4106 or visit jardinecribrecall.com to get a voucher for a new crib. The problem with the Jardine cribs is that the wooden slats can break and babies can get stuck in the spaces, creating a very dangerous situation. The cribs are being pulled as a “precautionary” step after last year’s massive recall of Simplicity cribs.

Here’s something a little unusual: Milkscreen alcohol testing for nursing mothers. Much like the one-step over-the-counter pregnancy tests that originally signaled Junior’s imminent arrival, nursing moms simply need to saturate one end of the test strip (with breast milk instead of urine) and wait two minutes for the results. I guess it is great for new mothers who prefer not to think about breast milk storage, and of course for new moms who’d like a glass of wine without feeling guilty about passing potentially harmful effects to their baby.

Here are some related links:

Ubergizmo: Milkscreen System Prevents Drunk Tots

Gizmodo: Milkscreen System Prevents Party Moms From Getting Their Babies Drunk

InventorSpot: Keep the Booze out of Baby with Milkscreen

I saw a report on the news last night that linked lead exposure in children to an increased risk in criminal behavior in adulthood, which is especially scary in light of all the recent toy recall news. I’ve found some toy recall site that are great resources, so I’ll include them this post and to my blog roll.

Lead Toy Recalls

Consumers Union: Not in My Cart

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Mattel Customer Relations Answer Center : Product Recalls

EPA : Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil

This one is a little unusual: the FDA recently issued a warning not to use or purchase Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream. Apparently the cream contains two ingredients, chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol, that can cause serious respiratory symptoms in infants, so the product has been taken off the market. That’s bad news for moms who welcomed the source of relief but great for moms who don’t want their babies to ingest more chemicals than necessary. It’s a little distressing — with BPA tainted baby bottles and chemically enhanced breast feeding products like nipple cream, it seems like it’s getting more and more difficult to simply feed children.

I mentioned another Mommy’s Bliss product, Mommy’s Bliss Morning Sickness Madness, in an earlier post because I was really excited about their products. I had heard great things about Morning Sickness Madness, and after checking out the Baby’s Bliss website, I was impressed with their commitment to natural products. I looked at the Baby’s Bliss site today, and they have posted a response to the FDA warning about Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream, but it doesn’t really help clear up the situation for me. My main issue is what constitutes an “All Natural” ingredient.

When I read “All Natural”, I interpret that as meaning no artificial flavors, colors, odors or preservatives. Basically, I envision that everything in that “all natural” product could be easily produced on a farm and not in a chemistry lab. I personally do not consider drugs like chlorphenesin to be “all natural.” It’s not even commercially available in the United States, so I wonder how and why the Mommy’s Bliss manufacturers started using chlorphenesin at all. All the information I have found on chlorphenesin states that it is not approved for use in children and should not be used by pregnant or nursing women, and that was just from a five minute Google search. It sounds like chlorphenesin is great as a muscle relaxant or as a treatment for foot fungus, but neither of those features make me want to feed it to a child, no matter how small the dose.

Disney Tinker Bell wands and the zipper pulls used on Pirates of the Caribbean sleeping bags have lead paint on them, so if the kids in your life have any of these items, time to sneak them away while the kids aren’t looking as to avoid any screeching tantrums. There haven’t been any injuries reported, but as always, better safe than sorry.

The seeming increase in the number of toy recalls is really depressing, but at least the US Consumer Product Safety Commission publishes an up-to-date list of the most recent recalls.

Every time I think I am ready to take the plunge into parenthood, I read an article about some older child doing something horrendously embarrassing, dangerous, or expensive, and it sends a cold shiver down my spine. Maybe I am not as ready as I think and I can be okay with aunt-hood for a while longer. Today, it’s an story about a 13 year old in Texas who stole his father’s credit card and charged up $30k. As much as I’d want to kill him if I were his father, I have to give the kid some credit, he was creative and obviously pretty convincing to get away with as much as he did. But getting back to the wanting to kill him if her were mine….I am being metaphoric, of course, but in all seriousness, how do you punish a kid for something like this? It’s like the kid who accidentally set off the massive wildfire that burned 38,000 acres. I am sure the kid is remorseful, but I don’t think that’s adequate punishment.

One thing is for sure, if I ever do have kids, I anticipate lots of nanny cams and baby monitors and quite possibly a baby harness. I don’t want to be totally Orwellian, but I don’t think anyone wants their kids getting into trouble like that 13 year old.

Put the baby bottles away and try breast feeding to help increase baby’s IQ. That’s the latest news on MSN Health & Fitness. This is great news, since I have a lot of pregnant friends and relatives, and I have been trying to think of good gift ideas that are BPA-free, lead-free or otherwise harmless to mother and child. This article got me thinking about things like: breast pumps, nursing pads, nursing pillows, breast milk storage and breast shells. I am really intrigued by the Medela Pump in Style Advance Breast Pump with Backpack and I think it will most likely be the next gift I purchase for a mom-to-be.

Links for more information on breastfeeding and breast pumps:

• Got Breast Pump!
• FamilyDoctor.org: Breast Milk: How to Pump and Store It
• Breastfeeding.com
• Women’s Health.gov: Breastfeeding–Best for Baby. Best for Mom.
• March of Dimes: Breastfeeding: Strategies for Success

More interesting news in the world of Bisphenol-A and plastic baby bottles. Check out:

• Environmental Working Group: Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles & Formula

• Z Recommends

• WebMD

Seems like it is time to give glass baby bottles more serious consideration.

There’s been a lot of talk in the news recently about Bisphenol A (or BPA), a chemical found in the plastic used to make water bottles and baby bottles. Both the FDA and the Canadian government had concluded that BPA in polycarbonate bottles meets current safety requirements, but the Canadian government is banning BPA as a “precautionary” step of in products to be used by young children. The FDA announced today that it is finally taking a step in that direction by “re-evaluating” its view on BPA in light of a recent National Toxicology Program report on the compound.

I have to say, I am all for this “better safe than sorry” approach by the Canadians and I hope the FDA follows suit. I think I’d rather NOT expose my child (or any child) to chemicals/toxins if given the choice. Especially after reading what critics of BPA have to say:

• Environment California’s report on Toxic Baby Bottles
• The Work Group for Safe Markets’ PDF: Baby’s Toxic Bottle
• US News & World Report: Report Shows Dangerous Chemicals Can Leach From Baby Bottles
• Children’s Hospital.org: Michael Shannon, MD, MPH, on plastic baby bottles
• Draft of NTP Brief on Bisphenol A (PDF)
• Bisphenol A Free.org– the name says it all
• Our Stolen Future — website of the book that brought BPA to public awareness