Shocking: Now pesticides found in breast milk

New Delhi, July 13: It is proven fact that mother's milk is the best source of nutrients for a new born child. Mothers are always advised to breastfeed infants as their milk contains all the ingredients, required for the growth and development of a child. But a new research has revealed a contradictory theory.

It has been said that mothers' milk could harm a new born baby as it contains a large amount of pesticides. This has been revealed in a research, done by the Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences in Sirsa, Haryana.

Dr Rinki who is a research scholar at Chaudhary Devi Lal University in Sirsa has said that mothers are passing harmful pesticides to their infants through their milk. She has found 0.12 gram of pesticides in mothers' milk which is 100 times more than the estimated amount by the WHO.

Opposing the breast feeding campaign launched by the Health Ministry, research scholar has warned that if proper steps will not be taken in this direction, this could pose a huge risk for growing child.

Research

According to India Today report, Dr Rinki collected samples of milk from 40 mothers in the Sirsa district and studied its impact on the child. The research which was done on the infants of age 8 month to 2 years, continued for three years.

What has been found

Excess amount of pesticides were found in all these newly born children who were breast feeded by their mothers. Studies proved that harmful residue increases in the body of the child if mothers give them their own milk.

When asked about this startling revelation, head of the Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences at Chaudhary Devi Lal, Dr Rani Devi was quoted by India Today as saying, "Pesticides are reaching inside the human body by way of biomagnification. The fodder being given to milch animals is infected and contains residues of pesticides. The residues infect the animal's milk, which enters the human body by way of consumption.

She further added, "Accumulation of fat-soluble chemicals in the mother's body produces milk laced with pesticides, which is later magnified 10 times when the infant is fed".

Rajasthan University had also made similar claim

Earlier in 2009, similar revelation was made by Rajasthan University. A large amount of organochlorine pesticides were found in the milk samples, collected from lactating women.