Environmental contaminants in breast milk from the central Asian republics

Concern has been widespread about possible high levels of environmental contamination in areas of the former Soviet Union. Some of this concern has focussed on toxicants in human milk and their potential adverse effects on the breastfeeding child, but published data have been virtually unavailable. This study collected previously unpublished analyses of breast milk, water, cow's milk, and dairy product samples from several of the Republics during the last decade, providing an opportunity for comparing the level of contamination to similar data from other countries. The general levels of contamination are similar to those observed in other countries. Social and economic conditions as well as the contamination of water and substitute foods in the Republics make alternative methods of infant feeding demonstrably less desirable for the child than the measured levels of breast milk contamination.