Death From Birth Defects : Fetal Exposure to Toxins Out of Control
Gail L. Ross, MS, RD
Natural News February 19, 2008
The leading cause of infant death in the U.S. is congenital birth defects. Among infants born with birth defects, in 1970, deaths from these defects were 15.1 percent and by 1997 the figure jumped to 22.1 percent. The increase in birth defects is significant. Three to five percent of all U.S. babies, or about one in every thirty three, are born with birth defects, according to Center for Disease Control figures in 2004. Birth defects can affect any part of the body, such as heart defects or neural tubes. Causes may be from nutrient deficiencies, contaminants or a combination thereof.
In addition, five to ten percent of couples are infertile, and when they do conceive, half of their pregnancies end in miscarriage. Although infectious diseases of childhood have appeared to decline for the time being, a new crop of chronic conditions have erupted, including childhood brain cancers, lymphocytic leukemia, asthma, and autism to name a few. A closer look at the root cause of birth defects reveals the potential for a nutritional or toxic origin as leading suspects.
Consider this fact: in 2004, scientists found newborns contaminated with over 200 chemicals or pollutants through the study of umbilical cord blood randomly selected from hospitals. The chemicals found in the cord blood included 187 that are known carcinogens, 217 are known neurotoxins, and 208 are known to cause birth defects.
On a pound for pound basis, fetal vulnerability is dramatically greater than for adults Many of these contaminants are found in the food chain, and no amount of nutrition can make up for an immature detoxification system or an immature porous blood brain barrier incapable of ridding itself of the problem.
The first trimester of pregnancy is considered a "critical window" of vulnerability because cells are differentiating into the various body parts, and damage from chemical insult can be permanent. At five months the fetus begins to breathe and swallow amniotic fluid. The fluid passes into the lungs, it is swallowed into the gut, and continuously recycles in this manner. The fluid includes the urine. Accumulation of toxins in the tissues is inevitable. By the third trimester when the mother's body dissolves maternal fat into the baby's blood, it brings another host of pollutants such as PCBs and dioxins, adding additional insult to an already overburdened immature body.
EPA officials have had numerous studies conducted over the past twenty years indicating the significant vulnerability of babies and children to toxic exposure. Yet, action occurs at a snail's pace, if at all. The studies have indicated that carcinogens are 10 times more potent to babies, and some chemicals are as much as 65 times more potent to little ones.
Current policies are not comprehensive and ignore all other known vulnerabilities except cancer-causing ones. In other words, chemicals such as neurotoxic insecticides that damage nervous tissue are disregarded. Other chemicals that target a host of bodily systems, that damage the immune system, kidneys, thyroid or liver have no formal policy in place to review or rectify an obviously serious situation for American children and the adults who care for them.
If that is not bad enough, it is now known that fetal exposures lead to adult diseases, and can affect future generations as well. Prenatal nutrition is no longer just a matter of getting the right amounts of foods and vitamins and essential fatty acids, but also reducing body burden of chemicals before, during, and after pregnancy. As if life isn't complicated enough. Organic food anyone ?
Gail L. Ross, MS, RD
Natural News February 19, 2008
The leading cause of infant death in the U.S. is congenital birth defects. Among infants born with birth defects, in 1970, deaths from these defects were 15.1 percent and by 1997 the figure jumped to 22.1 percent. The increase in birth defects is significant. Three to five percent of all U.S. babies, or about one in every thirty three, are born with birth defects, according to Center for Disease Control figures in 2004. Birth defects can affect any part of the body, such as heart defects or neural tubes. Causes may be from nutrient deficiencies, contaminants or a combination thereof.
In addition, five to ten percent of couples are infertile, and when they do conceive, half of their pregnancies end in miscarriage. Although infectious diseases of childhood have appeared to decline for the time being, a new crop of chronic conditions have erupted, including childhood brain cancers, lymphocytic leukemia, asthma, and autism to name a few. A closer look at the root cause of birth defects reveals the potential for a nutritional or toxic origin as leading suspects.
Consider this fact: in 2004, scientists found newborns contaminated with over 200 chemicals or pollutants through the study of umbilical cord blood randomly selected from hospitals. The chemicals found in the cord blood included 187 that are known carcinogens, 217 are known neurotoxins, and 208 are known to cause birth defects.
On a pound for pound basis, fetal vulnerability is dramatically greater than for adults Many of these contaminants are found in the food chain, and no amount of nutrition can make up for an immature detoxification system or an immature porous blood brain barrier incapable of ridding itself of the problem.
The first trimester of pregnancy is considered a "critical window" of vulnerability because cells are differentiating into the various body parts, and damage from chemical insult can be permanent. At five months the fetus begins to breathe and swallow amniotic fluid. The fluid passes into the lungs, it is swallowed into the gut, and continuously recycles in this manner. The fluid includes the urine. Accumulation of toxins in the tissues is inevitable. By the third trimester when the mother's body dissolves maternal fat into the baby's blood, it brings another host of pollutants such as PCBs and dioxins, adding additional insult to an already overburdened immature body.
EPA officials have had numerous studies conducted over the past twenty years indicating the significant vulnerability of babies and children to toxic exposure. Yet, action occurs at a snail's pace, if at all. The studies have indicated that carcinogens are 10 times more potent to babies, and some chemicals are as much as 65 times more potent to little ones.
Current policies are not comprehensive and ignore all other known vulnerabilities except cancer-causing ones. In other words, chemicals such as neurotoxic insecticides that damage nervous tissue are disregarded. Other chemicals that target a host of bodily systems, that damage the immune system, kidneys, thyroid or liver have no formal policy in place to review or rectify an obviously serious situation for American children and the adults who care for them.
If that is not bad enough, it is now known that fetal exposures lead to adult diseases, and can affect future generations as well. Prenatal nutrition is no longer just a matter of getting the right amounts of foods and vitamins and essential fatty acids, but also reducing body burden of chemicals before, during, and after pregnancy. As if life isn't complicated enough. Organic food anyone ?
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