New research published in the International Journal of Andrology has linked chemicals in breast milk to the development of male cancers.

Lead researcher Professor Niels Skakkebaek – and a team from the University Department of Growth and Reproduction at the National University Hospital in Copenhagen – found that men in Denmark are four times more likely to develop testicular cancer than their peers in Finland.

The researchers measured levels of 121 chemicals in 68 samples of breast milk taken from women in both countries – and found that breast milk samples from Denmark had ‘significantly higher' levels of dioxins, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and pesticides than samples from Finland.

The team said that pollutants in breast milk ‘acted as a marker of exposure to the pollutants in the womb’. However, they encouraged women to carry on breastfeeding because of the many known health benefits for the child.

Some health experts believe that increasing levels of manmade pollutants may affect hormonal development of the foetus in the womb.

Denmark has high rates male reproductive disorders, including genital abnormalities and low-quality sperm.

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