Out of 30,000 man-made chemicals on sale, only a small proportion have been scientifically tested and
analysed in the last decade. Residues of some of these chemicals have been detected in breastmilk.
Breastmilk can thus reflect the exposure of women of childbearing age to chemicals, and hence the exposure
of the unborn child, newborn babies and young children. Mothers´ milk is considered to be readily available
and easily collected; it has thus been selected for testing for levels of several chemicals that contaminate the environment to give an overview of the persistent chemicals that accumulate in all human bodies. 

IBFAN´s working group campaigns with allies in the ecological movement to put an end to the use of toxic chemicals that pollute the environment. The working group aims to provide correct and up-to-date information on chemical residues to parents and caregivers, to counteract alarmist reports caused by media
misinformation. The group also investigates reports of harmful chemicals that are present in plastic bottles
and teats (nipples). The group disseminates evidence that breastfeeding is beneficial, not only to mother and baby, but also to our environment.

Publication of the results of breastmilk testing often results in sensationalist media scares about "poisoned" breastmilk. Evidence of residues of man-made chemicals in breastmilk can also provide a powerful campaign tool for the ecological movement to use in urging industries polluting the environment to clean up their act. Measuring the levels of chemicals in breastmilk over the past decades has shown that regulations or outright bans upon their use of have been quite effective. The amount of these chemicals shows a downward trend in breastmilk samples in most countries.

IBFAN´s working group collaborates with scientists and the environmental movement to advocate for more sensitive communication of the results of testing, always balanced by the health advantages of breastfeeding. The working group forms alliances with breastfeeding advocacy groups and ecologists to provide recent and accurate information to mothers and parents. 

Whereas cases of disease, disability and death caused by intrinsic contamination of powdered formula are
well documented, the effects of man-made chemical residues detected in breastmilk are still being researched. Evidence to date shows that chemical residues cross the placenta: transmission to the unborn child can have negative effects during this critical period of brain development. However, evidence from studies shows that breastfeeding may counteract some of the negative effects of exposure of the unborn child to environmental contaminants.

IBFAN will continue its work with allies to advise pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers on how to minimise environmental exposure to chemicals, and to inform them of the benefits of breastfeeding for their babies (http://www.epha.org/a/2299?var_recherche=Search+ProREACH+groups+say+breastis+still+best). IBFAN will work to inform parents, health care professionals and the media that breastfeeding is environmentally-friendly: breastmilk is a renewable natural resource that uses no packaging, needs no transport and creates no pollution. Instead, breastfeeding protects the environment against the waste and contamination caused by artificial feeding: manufacturing processes, transportation, bovine waste products, plastics and cans.