Babies are drinking microplastics now

“This milk has what now?” (Photo: Healthline)

It’s in our oceans and the water we drink. Unless you’ve sworn off anything that can be bought in a store, it’s in the stuff you eat, wear, and apply on your body too. This time, researchers have also found microplastics in human breast milk. 

In the first-time study, researchers analyzed breast milk samples from 34 healthy mothers, which were taken a week after they gave birth in Rome. Microplastics were detected in 26 or 76% of the samples. Now that they’ve already found it in human placentas, these findings should be enough to raise a red flag.

You might have heard about lead paint poisoning our parents’ generation, which technically makes microplastics our generation’s “lead paint.” But microplastics haven’t been proven to cause anemia, learning problems, changes in behavior, or other potentially fatal health risks like lead paint, so they’re not exactly alike. In fact, the research team hasn’t identified any risk factors linked to microplastics in breast milk just yet. Its effects on humans stay unknown.

Previous studies have shown the toxic effects of microplastics in marine wildlife and human cells. The former study makes it clear that my favorite sashimi most likely ingests lots of dyes, heavy metals, and other chemicals from microplastics before ending up doused in soy sauce, between my chopsticks. On the other hand, the latter only found that microplastics can stretch the protective barriers of cells beyond repair (imagine stretching a rubber band loose). 

They haven’t directly caused death in animals yet, but it’s best not to ignore what microplastics can still do. Researchers say it “can change the secondary structure of proteins” and ultimately damage cells. Plus, plastics often contain phthalates and bisphenols, which have been linked to cancer in children and reproductive health issues, respectively. 

Ideally, we’d like our children to have little to no cell damage and secondhand poisoning from microplastics. Considering these risks, is breast milk still worth it?

"The breast is the best"

Of course, experts still highly encourage breastfeeding. (Personally, I believe comedienne Rufa Mae Quinto said it best and most succinctly.) And it’s not like microplastics aren’t present in bottles and other plastic products from which baby formula is sold either, so a breast milk substitute won’t necessarily be better. 

"It must be stressed that the advantages of breastfeeding are much greater than the disadvantages caused by the presence of polluting microplastics," said Dr. Valentina Notarstefano, one of the study's co-authors from the Università Politecnica delle Marche.

Additionally, breast milk has been found to protect babies from COVID-19 and provide a whole bunch of other benefits.

A world full of plastics

Prior to the study, humans were already found to consume five grams, or a credit card’s   worth, of plastic every week. Most of the microplastics we ingest are through bottled and tap water. Other consumables with the highest recorded plastic levels were shellfish, beer, and salt.

Even if researchers recorded how much products packaged in plastic and/or containing plastic the mothers consumed or used, they didn’t find a link with the presence of microplastics in their breast milk. It suggests that no matter how much we may try to prevent plastics in our products, the widespread presence of microplastics in the environment “makes human exposure inevitable,” the study authors wrote. 

To be specific, microplastics have been found in sea water, abyssal seafloor, rain droplets, breathable air, and even on mountain tops far from sources of pollution—pretty much everywhere.

The greatest law of all—is it easy to achieve?

“Studies like ours must not reduce breastfeeding of children, but instead, raise public awareness to pressure politicians to promote laws that reduce pollution,” Valentina said.

On an individual level, reducing plastic waste is still good. But whenever I start feeling bad for the planet and my future children because I used a disposable straw once, I have to remember that 20 companies are responsible for 55% of the world’s single-use plastic waste, not my local milk tea shop. Governments around the world are trying to do something about this, but some key players remain missing from the bigger picture. As of 2021, the US, as one of the world’s biggest polluters, was still behind on plastic legislation.

Since lead was heavily regulated in the 70s, there’s been a large decline in lead levels found in populations’ blood around the world. If they did it for lead paint before, surely legislators can find a workaround for plastics now. 

And if it concerns future generations, they should be pulling all the stops now—right?