High amount of 'forever chemicals' found in breast milk: Study

A new study has revealed that women’s breast milk, especially in the US, carried a high amount of toxic chemicals, raising alarms for newborns’ health.

In the study, the researchers collected 50 samples and found that the PFAS contamination was nearly 2,000 times higher than the level of normal drinking water.

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"The study shows that PFAS contamination of breast milk is likely universal in the US, and that these harmful chemicals are contaminating what should be nature’s perfect food," said Erika Schreder, a co-author of the report.

PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’ consists of nearly 9,000 compounds and is used in manufacturing food packaging, clothing, carpeting water and stain resistant.

These chemicals are linked to deadly diseases such as cancer, thyroid, lower sperm counts, liver disease and many more. One of the deadliest things about ‘forever chemicals’ is that these do not break down and usually accumulate in human beings.

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The study was peer-reviewed and published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal on Thursday.

While the research has sounded alarm bells, the experts have also added that a thorough analysis of the effect the PFAS has on newborns is missing, as it is extremely difficult to study babies, Sheela Sathyanarayana, a co-author of the study said.