Would you clothe your baby in plastic wrap?  Set her down to sleep on a metal box? Cover her up with plastic bags? All of which has been sprayed with toxic chemicals to make it safe.  No you wouldn't ... but each day mothers unknowingly do just this when they lay baby down in cribs with plastic foam mattress, wearing chemically treated plastic pajamas, and covered in bedding sprayed with chemical flame retardants. This is what happens every night across America when good parents unkowingly expose their children to the TOXIC CRIB. 

Why does this happen and what can be done to change this? The simple answer is ...  parents are forced by an entire industry and their well paid servants to buy products made with dangerous, unhealthy, and toxic synthetic materials. After all there is BIG MONEY to be made here -- for the chemical industry that is. Another point -- how do they make their plastics "safe"? By adding MORE CHEMICALS!

But there is an alternative -- all natural materials free of synthetics and toxic chemical treatments. After all babies have been living safe healthy lives sleeping in natural synthetic free environments for centuries!

As consumers it's our duty to learn everything we can about the products we bring into our lives, and one of the areas that pose the most risk is baby's bedding. From the plastic foams and polyester fabrics in crib mattresses, to the chemical flame retardants used to make plastic bedding and jammies "safe". We expose our children everyday to danger. But the good news is today's market place offers mattresses, bedding, and jammies made from all-natural chemical-free and organic materials, that not only are non toxic but safer due to the NATURAL flame-retardant properties of natural materials. Besides these products last longer, are more comfortable for baby, and are available in adorable styles.

Be warned however the "plastic" industry is strong and will misdirect, misinform, and use any means they can to keep you buying their products. For example a major retailer sells an ORGANIC crib mattress that's nothing more than their same old polyurethane mattress covered in an "organic" cotton cover. This is called green washing and the way to fight this is to do your homework -- read the product content labels -- look-up the product on the Internet -- knowledge is power and you have the ultimate say over what is good for your family. By the way ... a good rule of thumb is to be ORGANIC something MUST be 100% ALL natural materials -- wool, cotton, latex rubber can be organic -- polyester or polyethylene can not be organic.

So tonight when you lay baby down think on what she's wearing, laying on, and laying under. Is it wool, cotton, all natural -- or is it PLASTIC, sprayed with something only a chemist can pronounce.  

I don't know about you and your baby, but the thought of what's in most cribs gives me nightmares....  I for one dream sweet dreams when my grandchildren sleep on cedar or maple wood cribs, on an organic latex mattress, in untreated pure cotton jammie's.

There is concern that high levels of the fire retardant PBDE, commonly used in mattresses could cause health problems for users. New bedding laws went into effect requiring all bedding be resistant to ignition from open flame.  Toxic Fire Retardants (PBDE's) are found in high levels in American Mothers Human Breast Milk.  Environmental Working Group (EWG) found unexpectedly high levels of these little-known neurotoxin chemicals in every participant tested.  Brominated fire retardants found in mattresses are bio-accumulative, building up in people's bodies over a lifetime.

Brominated fire retardants impair attention, learning, memory, and behavior in lab animals at surprising low levels.  The most sensitive time for toxic effects is during periods of brain development and can cause deficits in sensory and motor skills, learning, memory and hearing.  These chemicals designed to prevent fires are getting in your children's blood and rewring their brains causing ADD, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, hearing problems, slow mental development and possibly, cancer.

Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is an aromatic diisocyanate.  It is produced for reaction with polyols to form polyurethanes.  TDI is one of eleven statutorily listed "Extremely Hazardous Substances" under the New Jersey Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act whose release "would produce a significant likelihood that persons exposed will suffer acute health effects resulting in death or permanent disability."  Ref: Wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluene diisocyanate.  Exposure to isocyanates and their vapors should be avoided.  NIOSH- "Data from recent studies of animals show that cancer is associated with exposure to commercial - grade TDI.  cdc.gov/niosh/asthma.html

The number of children diagnosed with Autism and learning disabilities are continuing to rise.  Diagnosis for Autism has risen from 1 in 150 to 1 in 91 back in 2002.  Many children with autism have high levels of metals in their bodies from environmental sources.  Mattresses made from Urethane or synthetic blended rubber have chemical flame retardants in them.  Antimony and arsenic are used to treat flame resistance.  

I was astonished to find baby stores selling Memory foam mattresses for babies.  Memory foam mattress have been tested by the Eco-Institute in Germany.  They found such high levels of Arsenic and Phosphorus compounds the German Scientist don't even recommend it.  Memory foam is polyurethane with additional chemicals increasing its viscosity and density.  Memory foam, like other polyurethane products, can be combustible. 

The EPA is powerless to monitor the issues we have with the chemical companies releasing toxic chemicals into our environment.  Once the EPA has banned a chemical, the chemical industry re-releases it back into the environment by changing the DNA of that molecule a hair.  The problem is so bad it is like shooting fish in the ocean.  You will never stop them.  There is such poor regulation, very few manufacturers include "flame retardants" on their list of materials.  

CBS Boston reports: "The CPSC says five year old children will absorb .5 mg of Antimony (Arsenic) from flameproof mattresses, every night.  This is 63 times more Poison than the EPA say is safe!  They also say the average adult will absorb .8 mg Antimony every night, and this is 27 times more poison than the EPA says is safe.  Antimony is one of the acutely toxic heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic, antimony) and is known to cause cancer."

What are your choices?  A consumer can relax and trust the lobbyist from the chemical companies have the public health uppermost in their minds or you can buy mattresses, bedding and pajamas that are made from certified organic cotton, organic wool and organic all natural latex from www.MountainAirOrganicBeds.com  Who do you trust the Urethane industry or a mattress made from the organic industry?