BIRTH DEFECTS Birth defects are the leading cause of death among children ages one to four. According to the March of Dimes, one in twelve children is born with a congenital defect. Environmental factors, including exposure to toxic chemicals, cause 7% to 11% of these defects. Sixty percent of birth effects have know causes. Toxic chemicals are suspected in these cases as well. In fact, the Council on Environmental Qualitys report on chemical hazards to human reproduction concluded that, the relationship between exposure to chemicals and human reproductive impairment may be an important area of public health concern that deserves more scientific investigation. Birth defects have been found in a number of animal species where high levels of toxic chemicals are present. A 1996 University of Minnesota study found higher rates of birth defects in children who lived in area of the state where agricultural chemicals were used most. Dr. Marion Moses of the Environmental Sciences Laboratory at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York strongly recommends that, as far as toxins and carcinogens are concerned, the unborn child should have NO exposure, and where there is a doubt about any chemical, err on the side of the child and prevent as much exposure as possible. If we wait until we have absolute proof for all agents, it may be too late for the child, Dr. Moses stresses. Thalidomide is a tragic example of a substance that was touted as safe by its manufacturer but was later proven to cause horrible birth defects. Children whose mothers took the drug were born with deformed limbs or no limbs at all. This tragedy destroyed the belief that the placenta was a complete barrier between the baby and the environment. It also served as a wake-up call to how chemicals within the body can disrupt normal fetal development. The NIOSH study I mentioned earlier stated 314 chemicals that appear in personal care products can cause biological mutations. Many of these chemicals, including known carcinogens, can reach the unborn child. Chemicals can also cause defects by damaging the egg cells in women. All the eggs a woman will ever have are produced while she is still a baby in the womb. By the fifthe month of fetal life, the 3 to 4 million eggs a woman is born with have localized in her ovaries. Chemical exposure at any point can destroy or damage these cells, leaving her infertile or prone to birth defects or miscarriage. Once damage has occurred, repair is almost impossible. In men, exposure to chemicals can affect sperm development profoundly. A study of male Vietnam veterans found they were 70% ore likely to have a child with a birth defect due to chemical exposure. Many of the same chemicals are now found in products used every day around the home. The presence of solvents in drinking water has been linked to leukemia and birth defects in California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. You may be exposed to a number of potentially harmful solvents every day, including ethanol, styrene, trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, diethylene glycol, and toluene. All of these appear in common household products. Next excerpt: INFERTILITY AND MISCARRIAGE
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 21:13:43 +0000
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