‘Am I going to regret it?': forever chemicals dilemma for breastfeeding mothers

Many health experts and advocates say breastfeeding is the best choice for babies but the threat of passing on contamination from PFAS is prompting new questions

Maryann Jacobs' heart was pounding as she opened her letterbox one snowy morning last year in Hoosick Falls, a small town in upstate New York bordering Vermont and Massachusetts.

Inside was an envelope from the New York state department of health which she knew would reveal the results from a second round of testing for several chemicals that are part of a group of about 5,000 perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS (often referred to as forever chemicals"), in her family's blood.