Toxins in Our Baby’s Shampoo?
LoveBlessings.com Offers a Variety of Alternatives

Santa Clarita, CA April 14, 2008 — The new study reported in the Journal of Pediatrics has mothers questioning trusted baby products, while shoppers looking for a safe baby shower gift are running out of ideas.  And if they’re not concerned, they should be.  Here’s why.  Phthalates.  It’s a mouthful, I know.  In fact, it’s almost like the sound someone makes when he or she sticks their tongue out to give someone a “Raspberry” (or is it called a Bronx Cheer?)  Whichever, the sound is appropriate, because Phthalates are nasty chemicals. 

What’s even nastier is that they are found in many popular baby bottles, baby shampoos, lotions and powder.  In fact, most of the brands you see on your local drugstore shelves…those brands we’ve trusted for decades to be safe for our babies…contain phthalates, along with other nasty chemicals.  The nastiest part?  The general public didn’t know about it…until now.  But boy, are people talking about it now.  The dirty little secret is out.  

It all started with a study done earlier this year at the University of Washington and reported in the Journal of Pediatrics in February which found that 81% of the 163 infants they tested had measurable levels of phthalates in their urine. 

Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, one of the researchers working on the study, was quoted as saying, “At this time, we do not know what the potential long-term health effects might be, but there is a large body of animal studies to suggest developmental and reproductive toxicity from phthalates and a few human studies with changes in health outcomes as well.”  Yikes!  Her recommendation to us mothers?  Decrease our use of lotions, shampoos and powder for our babies. 

Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could suddenly stop washing my child’s hair or neglect her dry skin.  Luckily there is a viable and quite lovely solution to the problem….organic, phthalate-free baby lotions and shampoos.  There are more and more of them appearing every day in heath food stores like Whole Foods, hip baby boutiques and online.  Companies such as Earth Mama Angel Baby and Little Twig take great pride in claiming they’ve never had phthalates in their products. 

Even luckier, some website, like LoveBlessings.com, combine these organic lotions and shampoos with organic baby clothes and parenting books to create baby shower gift baskets suitable for all new moms and their babes. Victoria Loveland-Coen, founder of LoveBlessings.com says, “When you find a gift basket for a new mom filled with organic and nurturing product, you’ve found a perfect gift for mama and baby because it introduces them both to an alternative to the toxic chemicals found in typical baby products.  Many women are still unaware of the health risks of these chemicals and their babies may, unfortunately, pay the price of that lack of knowledge.” 

In fact, it begs the question.  Are we, as adults, who were no doubt slathered with these same phthalate-laden baby lotions when we were babies, now suffering higher rates of infertility, cancer and who know what else because of it? Maybe we’ll never know for sure, but we can certainly protect our babies from the ill effects of harmful chemicals today.  We can use organic, chemical-free lotions and shampoos and give the gift of organic in beautiful baby shower gift baskets to all the new parents we know.

Author, entrepreneur and mother-of-twins, Victoria Loveland-Coen, creates beautiful, nurturing and organic gift baskets for new mamas and babies. In addition, her website, www.LoveBlessings.com is a wealth of resources for new parents, with helpful articles and resource links.

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For more information, products samples, or to schedule an interview with Victoria Loveland-Coen, please call Victoria or Sarah Myers at 661-299-4538, or e-mail them at info@LoveBlessings.com