Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Background:

In the United States, there are high rates of distribution and use of breast pumps. However, research on the environmental impact of the growing breast pump industry remains unexplored.

Research Aims:

The aim of this study was to examine current recycling programs and environmental sustainability initiatives of breast pump companies whose products are commonly distributed in the United States. A secondary aim was to analyze the materials used to manufacture breast pumps and accessories that are pertinent to environmental considerations and human health.

Methods:

We conducted a cross-sectional survey, using publicly available information on the companies’ websites and phone and/or email responses from breast pump company representatives.

Results:

Of 20 breast pump companies included in the analysis, one reported having a recycling program, and eight provided disposal recommendations on their websites. Three companies had stated environmental initiatives. Eighteen companies reported using polypropylene, silicone, and other plastics in their breast pumps and/or pump accessories, and two companies reported using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

Conclusion:

In the United States, there is a lack of recycling programs and accessible information regarding recycling, environmental initiatives, and materials used in breast pumps and/or pump accessories. With the expansion of the U.S. breast pump industry, convenient and transparent information regarding recycling programs and environmental initiatives must be prioritized.

Keywords

breastfeeding breast milk expression breast pumping carbon footprint cross-sectional study human milk infant formula lactation milk product recycling United States

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

L. V.

Jr. (2015). Compounding with silicones. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, 19(3), 223–230.

Andresen

E. C.

Hjelkrem

A. R.

Bakken

A. K.

Andersen

L. F.

(2022). Environmental impact of feeding with infant formula in comparison with breastfeeding. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), Article 6397. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116397

Agȇncia Nacional de Vigilȃncia Sanitária (ANVISA), Ministry of Health. (2010). States on Migration from Plastics Materials, Packages, and Equipments Intended to Come into Contact with Foodstuffs. Agȇncia Nacional de Vigilȃncia Sanitária (ANVISA), Ministry of Health (Vol. 1, pp. 75-79). Diário Oficial [da] República Federativa do Brasil, Seção, Brasília, DF.

Badée

Qiu

Collier

A. C.

Takahashi

R. H.

Forrest

W. F.

Parrott

Schmidt

Fowler

(2019). Characterization of the ontogeny of hepatic UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase enzymes based on glucuronidation activity measured in human liver microsomes. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 1(Suppl. 59), S42–S55. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcph.1493

Becker

G. E.

(2021). Measuring mothers’ viewpoints of breast pump usage. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), Article 3883. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18083883

Belebecha

Casagrande

Urbano

M. R.

Crespigio

Martinez

R. M.

Vale

D. L.

de Almeida

S. H. M.

(2020). Effect of the platelet-rich plasma covering of polypropylene mesh on oxidative stress, inflammation, and adhesions. International Urogynecology Journal, 31(1), 139–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-019-03938-5

Buckley

K. M.

(2009). A double-edged sword: Lactation consultants’ perceptions of the impact of breast pumps on the practice of breastfeeding. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 18(2), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1624/105812409X426297

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Breastfeeding report card. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding-data/breastfeeding-report-card/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). How to keep your breast pump kit clean. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/childcare/breast-pump.html

10.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Breastfeeding rates: Data results. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding-data/survey/results/html

11.

Çiftçi

Yalçın

S. S.

Samur

(2021). Bisphenol a exposure in exclusively breastfed infants and lactating women: An observational cross-sectional study. Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, 13(4), 375–383. https://doi.org/10.4274/jcrpe.galenos.2020.2021.0305

12.

Demirer

Kepenekci

Evirgen

Birsen

Tuzuner

Karahuseyinoglu

Ozban

Kuterdem

(2006). The effect of polypropylene mesh on ilioinguinal nerve in open mesh repair of groin hernia. The Journal of Surgical Research, 131(2), 175–181. https://doi/10.1016/j.jss.2005.10.024

13.

European-Union Regulation N. (2011). Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2011 on the plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/10/oj

14.

Fan

Tao

Huang

Yan

Zhao

Gao

Qin

Wang

Peng

Covaci

Xia

(2023). Characterization of odorants from baby bottles by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry. Talanta, 207, Article 12301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2019.120301

15.

Farcas

M. T.

Stefaniak

A. B.

Knepp

A. K.

Bowers

Mandler

W. K.

Kashon

Jackson

S. R.

Stueckle

T. A.

Sisler

J. D.

Friend

S. A.

Hammond

D. R.

Thomas

T. A.

Matheson

Castranova

Qian

(2019). Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) filaments three-dimensional (3-D) printer emissions-induced cell toxicity. Toxicology Letters, 317, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2019.09.013

16.

Feng

Zhang

Yuan

Fan

(2022). Identification, migration, and childhood exposure of methylsiloxanes in silicone infant bottle nipples marketed in China. The Science of the Total Environment, 829, Article 15449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154449

17.

Grand View Research. (2021). Breast pump market size, share & trends report, 2030. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/breast-pumps-market

18.

Hawkins

S. S.

Dow-Fleisner

Noble

(2015). Breastfeeding and the Affordable Care Act. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 62(5), 1071–1091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2015.05.002

19.

Hawkins

S. S.

Horvath

Noble

Baum

C. F.

(2022). ACA and Medicaid expansion increased breast pump claims and breastfeeding for women with public and private insurance. Women’s Health Issues: Official Publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, 32(2), 114–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2021.10.005

20.

K. L.

Yuen

K. K.

Yau

M. S.

Murphy

M. B.

Wan

Fong

B. M.

Tam

Giesy

J. P.

Leung

K. S.

Lam

M. H.

(2017). Glucuronide and sulfate conjugates of bisphenol A: Chemical synthesis and correlation between their urinary levels and plasma bisphenol A content in voluntary human donors. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 73(3), 410–420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-017-0438-1

21.

Hopewell

Dvorak

Kosior

(2009). Plastics recycling: Challenges and opportunities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2115–2126. https://doi/org10.1098/rstb.2008.0311

22.

Hygeia Health. (2016). About Us. Paragraph 2, sentence 2. https://shop.hygeiahealth.com/about-us/

23.

Internationale Ludwigs-Apotheke Munich. (2022). Rent a breast pump. https://ludwigsapo.de/en/services/rent-a-breast-pump/

24.

Joiakim

Kaplan

Putt

Santos

Freidrich

Kim

(2019). Bisphenol A (BPA) in liquid portions of canned foods obtained from domestic and Asian markets in the United States. Environmental Disease, 4(1), 6–11. https://doi.org/10.4103/ed.ed_8_19

25.

Kapinos

K. A.

Bullinger

Gurley-Calvez

(2017). Lactation support services and breastfeeding initiation: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act. Health Services Research, 52(6), 2175–2196. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12598

26.

Khan

N. G.

Correia

Adiga

Padmalatha

S. R.

Dsouza

H. S.

Chakrabarty

Kabekkodu

S. P.

(2021). A comprehensive review on the carcinogenic potential of bisphenol A: Clues and evidence. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 19643–19663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13071-w

27.

Kubicova

Puchta Säger

Hug

Hofmann

Simat

T. J.

(2022). Styrene-acrylonitrile-copolymer and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene-copolymer: A study on extractable and migratable oligomers. Food Additives & Contaminants, Part A, 39(2), 397–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2021.1995631

28.

Labiner-Wolfe

Fein

S. B.

Shealy

K. R.

Wang

(2008). Prevalence of breast milk expression and associated factors. Pediatrics, 122(Suppl. 2), S63–S68. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-1315h

29.

Lambré

Barat Baviera

J. M.

Bolognesi

Chesson

Cocconcelli

P. S.

Crebelli

Gott

D. M.

Grob

Lampi

Mengelers

Mortensen

Steffensen

I. L.

Tlustos

Van Loveren

Vernis

Zorn

Castle

Di Consiglio

Franz

. . . Rivière

(2021). Safety assessment of the substance phosphorous acid, triphenyl ester, polymer with alpha-hydro-omega-hydroxypoly[oxy(methyl-1,2-ethanediyl)], C10-16 alkyl esters (FCM No 1076), for use in food contact materials. EFSA Journal, 19(8), Article e06786. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6786

30.

Shi

Yang

Xiao

Kehoe

D. K.

Gun’ko

Y. K.

Boland

J. J.

Wang

J. J.

(2020). Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation. Nature Food, 1, 746–754. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00171-y

31.

Meek

J. Y.

Noble

, & Section on Breastfeeding. (2022). Policy statement: Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics, 150(1), Article e2022057988. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-057988

32.

Miyagi

S. J.

Collier

A. C.

(2011). The development of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases 1A1 and 1A6 in the pediatric liver. Drug Metabolism and Disposition: The Biological Fate of Chemicals, 39(5), 912–919. https://doi.org/10.1124/dmd.110.037192

33.

Nardella

Canavan

Sharifi

Taylor

(2024). Quantifying the association between pump use and breastfeeding duration. The Journal of Pediatrics, 274, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114192

34.

Oliveira

W. D. S.

Monsalve

J. O.

Nerin

Padula

Godoy

H. T.

(2020). Characterization of odorants from baby bottles by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry. Talanta, 207, Article 120301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2019.120301

35.

Oliveira

W. D. S.

Ubeda

Nerín

Padula

Teixeira Godoy

(2019). Identification of non-volatile migrants from baby bottles by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Food Research International, 123, 529–537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2019.05.012

36.

Riffee

J. N. J.

Wade

Sine

Griffith

Benite-Ribeiro

Haney

dos Santos

J. M.

(2023). The link of environmental estrogens exposure to oxidative stress and their association with insulin- and exercise-induced glucose uptake. Obesity Medicine, 42, Article 100503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obmed.2023.100503

37.

Rudel

R. A.

Gray

J. M.

Engel

C. L.

Rawsthorne

T. W.

Dodson

R. E.

Ackerman

J. M.

Rizzo

Nudelman

J. L.

Brody

J. G.

(2011). Food packaging and bisphenol A and bis(2-ethyhexyl) phthalate exposure: Findings from a dietary intervention. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(7), 914–920. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003170

38.

Sheehan

Bowcher

W. L.

(2016). Messages to new mothers: an analysis of breast pump advertisements. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 13(2), e.12313. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12313

39.

Smith

J. P.

Baker

Mathisen

Long

Rollins

Waring

(2024). A proposal to recognize investment in breastfeeding as a carbon offset. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 102(5), 336–343. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.23.290210

40.

United Benefit Advisors. (2023). FAQs about grandfathered health plans. Shrm.org. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/benefits-compensation/faqs-grandfathered-health-plans

41.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Finding a breast pump. WIC Breastfeeding Support. https://wicbreastfeeding.fns.usda.gov/finding-breast-pump

42.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2016). Special supplement nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) breastfeeding policy and guidance. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/wic/WIC-Breastfeeding-Policy-and-Guidance.pdf

43.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). The surgeon general’s call to action to support breastfeeding. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52688/

44.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017). About breastfeeding and breast milk. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/breastfeeding/conditioninfo

45.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2018). Breast Pumps. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/consumer-products/breast-pumps

46.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2020). What to know when buying or using a breast pump. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of the Commissioner. https://www.fda/gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-know-when-buying-or-using-breast-pump

47.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2021). Buying and renting a breast pump. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/breast-pumps/buying-and-renting-breast-pump

48.

World Health Organization. (1980, May 8). The international code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241541601

49.

World Health Organization. (2008, March). Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices: Conclusions of a consensus meeting held 6–8 November 2007 in Washington, DC, USA. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241596664

50.

Yedier

Yalçınkaya

S. K.

Bostancı

(2023). Exposure to polypropylene microplastics via diet and water induces oxidative stress in Cyprinus carpio. Aquatic Toxicology, 259, Article 106540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2023.106540

Original Research - Environmental Sustainability Practices and Policies Within the United States Breast Pump Industry: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Background:

Research Aims:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References