LONDON, May 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Health Professionals Calling for Further Guidance From Department of Health

Whilst a controversial chemical found in most plastic baby bottles has been making headlines in North America, a poll by Bounty, the UK's biggest parenting club, revealed that 92%(1) of mums are not aware of the chemical Bisphenol-A. US retailers such as Wal-mart and Toys "R" Us are phasing out all baby bottles containing Bisphenol-A and the Canadian government is re-classifying the chemical as toxic and considering a ban on sales in that country. In the UK, research amongst healthcare professionals (including midwives, health visitors, nurses GPs and consultants), whom Bounty has been advising on this issue over the last four months via a programme of educational presentations, shows that 86%(2) think the Department of Health should be providing further guidance.

BPA is a man-made oestrogen used in most hard transparent bottles to prevent them from shattering. The levels previously believed to be safe are now being questioned, as scientists have linked exposure of low levels of BPA to potential changes in neurological and sexual behaviour.

The Department of Health recommends exclusive breast feeding for the first six months. However, concerned mums who are no longer producing milk and bottle feeding can try:

    
    - Switching to alternatives such as glass bottles, PP bottles (made of 
      polypropylene and have a yellowish tinge) or newer silicone bottles 
      like the new Babisil range;
    - Not heating hard plastic bottles in the microwave or pouring boiled 
      water into them (instead wait 30 minutes for the water to cool in the 
      kettle); and
    - Throwing away bottles that are scratched or damaged.

Editors notes:

    
    - Bounty (http://www.bounty.com) is the UK's favourite parenting club, 
      providing information, support and products for young families 
      throughout the four key-life stages: pre-birth, birth, toddlers and 
      pre-school.
 
    - With 2.1 million members and over 50,000 new members joining every 
      month, Bounty has approximately 95% market coverage of the estimated 
      750,000 annual births in the UK.

    - http://www.bounty.com is the UK's favourite parenting website and the 
      largest online meeting point for mums in the UK with over 19 million 
      pages being served each month, 700,000 opted-in members and a further 
      15,000 new members joining each month

    - Bounty is a Kaboose company - Kaboose is one of the largest 
      family-focused new media companies in the world and one of the top-five
      most visited family destinations online (http://www.kaboose.com).

References:

(1) 2,800 mothers were polled through Bounty.com (sponsored by http://www.babisil.co.uk)

(2) Bounty research amongst 8,000 NHS healthcare professionals

For further information please contact Lisa Penney on +44(0)1707-294000 or email lpenney@bounty.com