Is Tap Water Safe For Babies?

It's understandable that concerned parents are wondering whether tap water is safe for babies. There is plenty of talk about the hazards in tap water that affect healthy adults. Unfortunately, the matter is even worse for developing babies. Infants are even more vulnerable to the toxins floating in our H2O.

Among the matters of concern in tap water are nitrates. These chemicals are naturally present in drinking water--at least at lower levels. Then, runoff from fertilizers and manure adds to their concentration in ground water, which eventually ends up flowing from your tap. It can even leach into the water system from septic tanks, and the effects on a young baby can be deadly.

When elevated levels of nitrates are present in the tap, babies may be at risk for the development of blue baby disease. Parents mix tap water they believe to be safe with formula and introduce these chemicals into their babies' systems. Once in a baby's system, nitrates actually work to interfere with the oxygen in his blood, causing his skin to take on a bluish tinge. In some cases, vomiting and diarrhea develop as well. Babies may also fail to gain adequate weight when affected by this condition.

The low-blood oxygen levels that occur with blue baby disease are frightening and dangerous, but they're only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to babies and tap water safety. Parasites are another major concern for those with infants. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two intestinal parasites that manage to make their way into drinking water and cause major problems for babies.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts sometimes survive the chlorine disinfection of tap water and end up in a baby's bottle. When a baby consumes even a small number of these cysts, they reproduce and cause illness. The symptoms these parasites cause include nausea, severe diarrhea, cramping in the abdomen, and dehydration. Babies may even have abnormal weight loss when exposed to these parasites. In severe cases, the illness they cause leads to death.

Parents are advised to boil their H2O from the tap before giving it to their infants, but that won't make H2O completely safe. To help protect their babies from unsafe tap water, many parents choose to filter their own water using faucet or whole-house water filters. Quality water filters can make tap water safe for babies to consume.