As more and more companies use natural, green and healthy labeling to promote their products, there is bound to be some that step over the line. As I wrote about last week, parents are increasingly aware of the role that fluoride plays when it comes to healthy teeth.
While the experts disagree on whether added fluoride in small amounts is necessary, companies as diverse as toothpaste manufacturers and more recently bottled water distributors have jumped on the bandwagon. Now one of them, Nursery Water, is under scrutiny by major environmental action groups.
One of the nation’s biggest infant bottle water companies – Nursery Water – is misleading parents with erroneous information on its website and advertising materials touting the safety and benefits of fluoride in infant bottled water in clear violation of Federal Trade Commission rules, noted Environmental Working Group (EWG) scientists in a letter sent today to officials at the FDA and FTC.
Additional action is being taken by the group, Fluoride Action Network, is petitioning Wal-Mart to take it off their shelves.
Meanwhile Nursery Water continues to promote use of their distilled water with added fluoride to parents of infants. Copy from their web site and on their packages continues to advise mothers that using added fluoride is appropriate in direct contradiction to the ADA warning and at risk to their babies’ health.
And people wonder why parents are suspicious of advertising claims….Visit ipetitions. com to make your voice heard.
That’s so frustrating. My friend’s doctor specifically told her to use nursery water for formula feeding. It’s not solely an issue for wal-mart or parents making decisions based on advertising. It can be based on strongly worded physicians advice, which can be harder for a new parent to question.
IF you study the birth of flouride in our water system you will find it was a toxin that companies had a hard time disposing of. The same way the dairy industry had a hard time getting rid of whey(now great for bulking up protein shakes). Creative marketing helped both industries by making it a useful product.
In today’s world you must research anything you put in your body. Our pediatricians do not have time to do that as they are seeing 4-7 children per hour.
The general population may not realize that most informational press releases on products are written up by the product’s development & marketing teams. Journalists are so busy and spread thin even they do not have enough time to give the article the proper research it needs.
Nursery Water company is setting itself up for many years of litigation in the future, as it has been unequivocably shown that giving fluoride to infants increases the risks of fluorosis to 40% and that this not only affects the baby teeth, but in fact the permanent teeth as well! Not to mention the retention and accumulation of fluoride (80% in young children) which then binds with lead and aluminium to cause further soft tissue, brain and bone problems later in life. If they had half a brain between them they would quietly, but quickly, remove this product from the shelves.
Our federal officials are just as derelict in their responsibilities because they are not getting the word out that infants must not ingest fluoride.
Fluoride is neither a nutrient nor essential for healthy teeth. It doesn’t belong in the water supply – whether bottled or from the tap
Take Action to End Fluoridation
http://www.FluorideAction.Net
Fluoride is actually made from the waste by-products of the fertilizer and aluminum industries. It does far more damage than good in my opinion. Besides fluorosis, it can also cause joint problems, and depression, among other things. I was on fluoride vitamins from the time I was an infant until I was 14 years old. I suffered from many joint problems, and I wound up losing all of my teeth by the time I was 25. I was told that I had “soft teeth”, but I now know that I suffered from dental fluorosis. Children, as well as adults should do research on this harmful product that is classified as a poison!
I’m from Australia; and here our water supply has been fluoridated since the 70’s (if not earlier). For many of us concerned about taking toxins into our bodies, or, as a parent, even more alarmingly, putting them into our children, bottled or filtered water is our only option. I have never heard of NurseryWater… how strange that a company would specifically market itself as a ‘nursery water’ for mixing with infant formula etc. Seems quite bizarre to me. I guess the old adage holds true… breast is best… far better than fluoridated and/or supplemented water anyway.
Piksii,
I had never heard of nursery water either, before MC told me about it. I thought parents were suppose to use distilled water for formula. Glad I never had to worry about that!
This isn’t even accurate.
I went on the ADA website and it says special-interest groups are misconstruing their alert. They only advised parents that children under 1 need less fluoride “because they are so small”.
Thank you Megan. The above info is not accurate. Babies only need about 0.7 ppm of fluoride “because they are so small”.
My child had really bad diaherra from using this nursery water. I’m not sure what is in it but after changing to premixed formula the diaherra was gone. I wish I could sue there behinds.
I have to agree with Trish’s statement. Fluoride is poison period and no one not even your dentist should use it on your teeth despite what the ADA says. I refuse fluoride for my kids and myself. In addition, some water systems have fluoride in them too.
MC, I am glad you posted this and I hugged it too. Anna http://www.green-talk.com
My baby also had very bad diarrhea from the nursery water and was very fussy.
What bottled water should be using to mix formula then? Is there a specific brand that is safe and without fluoride?
can you give infants tap water to drink under six months old?
I had no idea- thanks for the info. I suppose breast feeding has one more advantage to add to the list.
What type or brand of water is recommended to take the place of using nursery water?
I read your article about Nursery Water. I’ve been using Nursery Water for my 5 month old since he was 4 weeks. I’ve always been told that small ammounts of flouride, especially for babies under 1 year is okay. That’s according to the American Dental Association. Low amounts of flouride is key around .07 to 1.2 part
Hello, I read your article about Nursery Water. The key is to make sure you give your infant low ammounts of flouride because they are younger. The American Dental Association recommends 0.7 to 1.2 ppm. Nursery Water contains 0.7 or less. When you adevertise articles such as yours, you make mothers very scared that what they have been doing is wrong the whole time. Plese get your facts straight.
Nursery water has only 0.7 ppm of fluoride, this is the recommended level, Please do some research before accusing this company of false advertising.
I am a nurse, thank you doctor. I completely understand and agree with your statement.
My son is 13mths old and since he was 1 month old he has had issues. Started with gas and diarrhea then not wanting to eat and then vomiting. After many nights at emergency rooms including last night I was totally depressed doctors have been running tests and nothing for months and yet the vomiting continues. While rinsing off his vomit covered clothing it came to me the Nursery distilled water that we use for his formula is the only thing that has not changed. We have changed formulas and even have recently put my little guy on soy formula and he is still vomiting I am stopping the Nursery water and will see if that helps. I googled fluoride and Nursery and I suspect that we may have inadvertently caused his suffering. If it turns out that the Nursery distilled water caused all of this I will be pushing to have it removed from Toys R Us stores here in Canada. And likely other action will be taken. I will let you know how it goes. If other parents have similar predicaments they should write in and let us all know.
I was recently told by my daughter’s doctor that she needed flouridated water, we were just using bottled distilled water. So I went out and purchased nursery water. Since we started using it my daughter has much more gas and is uncomfortable. I am not going to use this anymore. She was just fine before this change and nothing else has changed to cause this. Poor baby!
I give my pets distilled water only after a highly regarded veterinarian told me that the spot in my dogs bladder was probably a tumor and to give her only distilled water. My family and me only drink and cook with distilled water Doctors can be stupid and give poor advice without consequinces. Shop carefully for anothe physician. That Dr, may cause irreputable harm to your child.
Oh God, now one more thing mothers have to worry over.
Update, my son is doing very well since we stopped using Nursery distilled water. It appears this product was the cause of my son’s problems. If anyone has questions feel free to email me and I can tell you what I know if this.
robw1035@hotmail.com
What kind of water are you using now?
If nursery water with added flouride is bad for babies, why haven’t they discontinued it?
Because it is not “bad”. Just ask your physician and pediatrician to be safe. What makes fluoride water “bad” is how much fluoride is contained in the water. With Nursery water, its 0.7 ppm or less. Just get the facts from the website. Still not satisfied….go to corporate! That is what I would do.
This product needs a warning label that states that in newborns it could cause upset stomach and severe gas pains!! my 3 week old baby has been through hell the past few weeks and come to find out it isnt the formula as she has been on 3 differnt types, its the damn water! here i thought it was safe for my daughter as its labeled nursery water!!!
OMG…reading some of these posts, it was like some of you guys were talking about my newborn son..we too have been on six different formulas and he is only 7 weeks old we have been using nursery water thinking it will help him but I am starting to think this is what is making me fussy, full of gas. pulling of the knees to the bully from pain…I could go on and on..I am going to stop nursery water and will update in a few days to let you all know how it is going..
I am a new mother and I am appalled to read all of this. My son has been drinking nothing but nurserey water with his formula, my husband and i have switched our formulas many times trying to figure out what is making our son so gassy and his tummy is bloated. This whole time it’s been the water!!! He is only 2 1/2 months old…I believe its the nursery water now and I am going down to buy Gerber purified water without flouride and getting rid of the horrible nursery water. OMG I can’t believe this stuff. My poor baby. A nurse at my baby’s pediatrics office told me to use the nursery water specifically…….
Use Gerber water instead of nursery water. It is rated an “A” class water while nursery water is a “C”. It does not have added fluoride and it will not cause gassiness.
My 9 week old son has been really sick vomitting. He was put in the hospital. 7 formula changes. Finally they said change the water. It has only been 24 hours. He has not puked. And he is so much happier.
My daughter was born march 6th 2012. I was told that this water was very good for her, so I bought it. She was 6weeks old when I finally went back to work. I took her to daycare n a babysitter watches her till I get home. They kept telling me how fussy she’d been n I couldn’t figure out why. They were trying to tell me she was colicky. I’ve been noticing her stools were harder, so just the other night, she’d vomited all night. I began looking at the bottle n it said “flouride added”. I know that flouride is a toxin so I changed her water. I started using Evian bottle water. In a matter of 12 hours, her stools are softer, she’s in better spirits and she’s doing A LOT better. So for almost 2 months, my baby had been digesting the flouridated water. But never again. We need to do anything we can to get this water off the shelves. Had I taken my baby to the doctor, they would have more n likely misdiagnosed her.
Toys R Us (Canada) also sells this product. After I complained to them, they just sent me some information on how great fluoride was, and obviously had no intentions of discontinuing the selling of this product.
If you are all so worried about your child’s health why aren’t you breastfeeding.
I think that they would have taken it off the shelves by now, and for parents who’s kids have a problem with the fluoride nursery water makes water without the fluoride and so does gerber water. But just think how many things get taken off the market for being unsafe . That just does not make sense.