Question for moms

[bug_eyedmonster]

Hello Ladies,


With the limited number of women at the range, and doctors being very vague these days, I have a simple question that I can't seem to find an answer to. My wife, Sarah, and I just recently had our first baby. Sarah is itching to get back to the range, but is concerned about lead contamination with the baby and breast feeding. Our baby is about two weeks old now, but once she gets a few more months older, we'd like to let her spend some time with her grandparents while we hit the range. The doctors have said that it's our call, and that they cannot say yes or no. Any help? Since Sarah's been pregnant, she's added several guns to her collection, and they have just been sitting... hahaha


Jerry

[Sakiri]

I honestly can't say if there is or is not any risk of lead exposure, but I can say that it should be very low in the first place(handling anything containing lead has a minimal risk of exposure to begin with because, well, its freaking LEAD and you're touching it). As for if it passes into breastmilk.. can't tell you. If you want to be absolutely positively safe, you can try avoiding the range until after baby's done breastfeeding, or you can risk it. I don't think there's much of a risk, personally. It's not like your wife is swallowing lead shot or anything.

It really is your call.

Here's some information on reducing lead exposure in the first place at ranges(along with the standard "don't go to indoor ranges if you can help it"):

http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97lead.html

http://www.policeone.com/columnists/lom/articles/1190023-Get-the-lead-out-Reducing-lead-exposure-on-the-gun-range/

Here's a bit of information about lead moving from Mom to breast milk:

http://www.lead.org.au/lanv6n2/update002.html

Personally, I don't think she has anything to worry about so long as she's not making herself sick, because only a small fraction of what she ingests into her system passes to the baby through breast milk, so long as you do what you can to minimize lead risk at the range as best you can. Maybe don't take as many trips as you'd like even.

Ultimately it's up to you. There are a lot of sources of lead out there, and most of them you don't have much control over. At least this one you do.

[spetsnaz]

out door range should be fine. but indoor range is a no

[mommawithguns]

I agree that it should be fine at outdoor range.

[movie zombie]

why risk it?
that's my opinion.
what's a few more months?

congrats on the little one and even more applause for mom deciding to breast feed. it is the #1 best thing for babies.

so why take the chance it could be contaminated?

obviously, i'm extremely opinionated on this topic.

[BonnieB]

Movie Zombie is right, as she usually is.

Heck, I scrub down and keep my range clothes separate, just to protect my two adolescent siamese kittens...

[FreshPrinceofRP]

http://www.lead.org.au/lanv6n2/update002.html

There's a whole PDF link on lead contamination at ranges from the Australian's, not sure how recent or true it is, but probably worth reading.

There's always TMJ's at an outdoor range, I imagine thats as low lead as you could shoot besides a private range.

[Sakiri]

why risk it?
that's my opinion.
what's a few more months?

congrats on the little one and even more applause for mom deciding to breast feed. it is the #1 best thing for babies.

so why take the chance it could be contaminated?

obviously, i'm extremely opinionated on this topic.

My opinion as well, but as I did mention, it's entirely up to them.

I also tend to look at life in the regards of "meh", and accept there's risk in everything. I probably inhale more lead from the air around here than I would out shooting at an outdoor range for a few hours.

[OldShooter32]

Wash your hands after shooting. Always. Pregnant, nursing or just a guy.

[movie zombie]

i take my own soap to the range to make sure to get my hands clean.......if they had a shower, i'd probably do that as well and then change clothes before getting into my car. i may be more paranoid than most because i also have chemical allergies.

adults making a decision and taking responsibility for that decision is ok.
its especially ok if they make a decision that renders them ill and they knew it was a chance at the time.
but exposing an otherwise apparently healthy baby who has no say in the matter doesn't work for me......
why take the time to breast feed and then do a deliberate exposure to a known lead source? [albeit a probably low dose of lead but who knows what science is going to find out?]
the guns/ammo/range will still be there.
yeah, i did warn you all i had strong feelings on this issue.
can't protect your kid from everything but this is one time when IMO its time to exercise "delayed gratification".

saw a 5 week old baby at a bowling alley the other day. sigh. forgot how little and vulnerable they are.....but i was remembering all the nasty chemicals in the oil on the lanes which gets on the ball and mom who was bowling was not washing her hands after each frame before she once again handled her baby. oh, well, not my baby......but i hated seeing that.

bug eyed, i give you lots of credit for doing some research and asking about our opinion. at the end of the day, it is you and your wife's decision as to what is best for your child.

[Manolito]

Congratulations Dad.

Lead is cunning ,powerful,and baffling. Some people soak it up and others seem to have less ability to absorb. Shielding installers on nuclear reactors all have different rates of obsorbtion.

[Sakiri]

Yeah, I can see that movie zombie, I'm just a bit different.

I also advocate every child eating a bunch of dirt as a kid. Boosts the immune system. My mom hates when I babysit my nephew. "Auntie J lets me do this!" and he's eating dirt or playing with worms and other gross things. My sister and I are like "well so long as he's not hurting himself or eating shards of glass..." and Mom's freaking out. Lol.

I never could understand "bubble parenting". >< Probably just me.

[movie zombie]

can't protect a kid from everything, but we can make decisions that don't expose them while they're still under 1 year old. unfortunately, an immune system is something that takes a baby time to develop and said baby is reliant upon much of its immunity through its mom if she breast feeds.

Sakiri, i'm a big believer in the gut and immune system being exposed and made to work. while i don't go out of my way to eat dirt, i'm not afraid of keeping food longer than most nor am i afraid of keeping things unrefrigerated longer than some are comfortable doing. sort of the use it or lose it re bacteria in our gut and our immune system needing to stay in shape.

also not a proponent of bubble parenting but as Manolito pointed out, tolerances vary from individual to individual, from material to material, etc. in my world view there is time enough to expose one's young to dangerous chemicals....unfortunately the world does it anyway despite a parent's best efforts.

[penguinofsleep]

im not a lady or a doctor, but for what its worth:

avoid the range if at all possible. if not, wash hands and rinse mouth out immediately after shooting and wash hair/face ASAP, wipe things down that will be exposed to any range equipment, wash range laundry separately, and if you can safely do so, store all associated equipment in an area with minimal contact.
above sounds crazy, but there is a reason most shooters have significantly higher amounts of lead in our blood (frequently from 2-4x normal population). it doesn't have to do with us eating bullets... its little things like the above that cause it.

this was from a doctor: if you shoot frequently and your lead levels are significantly higher, it is recommended that you do not breastfeed (as things your blood will also end up in the milk and at these significantly higher levels, the likelihood something happening is enough to be of concern).

[bug_eyedmonster]

First off, thank you all for your responses. After reading everything posted, my wife and I have decided it would be best if she waited longer before getting back to the range. For what it's worth, I've decided to break in, sight in, or test out each of her new guns =). I've still been going to the range, hunting, and other things since she's been pregnant, but I tend to wash my hands well, remove clothing in the garage, and go straight to the shower every time. My tolerances for these types of chemicals are high, although I've been treated twice for lead poisoning from cars (working around race cars that run on leaded fuels isn't as fun as it sounds), I refuse to test that on my baby. Movie Zombie, I agree with your point, as well as others, which is why we have decided to wait for my wife to go back to the range. And yes, breast feeding is the best, except it has removed all hope of sleep for my lovely wife for the time being.

My wife stopped shooting as soon as she found out she was pregnant, and was screened for lead content in her blood work. I've always kept firearms clean and usually away from anything that would come in contact with the baby, but I'm sure there's still going to be traces around. After reading all of this, it's probably best to just avoid another method of increasing toxicity levels just for fun. I spent my evening after work cleaning the guns like a mad man so that my wife could at least dry fire them to hopefully retain some muscle memory for now. She took a shower and and went back to baby duties (as well as doodie). She's happy for now...


Thanks again for everyone's responses!

Jerry