HUMAN FACE OF PESTICIDES:

Carlitos, child of farmworkers, born with birth defects attributable to pesticides (PBP). Source: Sarasota/Manatee Farmworker Supporters
The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Treasury Employees Union, Engineers and Scientists of California, risk managers and others, representing over 9,000 scientists in the EPA and government have publicly objected to the imminent approval of dangerous pesticides without completing the adequate hazard evaluations by EPA political appointees. www.organicconsumers.org

LOW BIRTH WEIGHT & MENTAL HEALTH:

a recent Cambridge U study in England found that mental health is intrinsicly tied to birth weight. The lower the birth weight the worse mental health. Good mental health is tied to heavier birth weight. Lower weight babies also sat up, stood, walked, and talked for the first time later than heavier babies, and did poorly on cognitive tests at age 8 & 11. The study took into account major stress life events. but concluded that mental health is not straight forward and other reasons may be involved. But this shows risk. To ensure a healthy weight baby and a full term delivery, exercise, eat healthy and avoid smoking and any chemical exposure.

CAFFEEINE KILLS:

a Danish study reports that pregnant women who drank 4-7 cups of coffee a day had 80% more still births, than women who drank no coffee. Those who drank more than 8 cups a day had 300% more still births. Caffeine, reduces iron absorption. Iron makes red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the baby, oxygen is what make your baby grow and fetal cells to multiply... So, no iron = no red blood cells = no oxygen = no baby... Make that No Caffeine! (coffee, cola's teas and chocolate) Cesareans and asthma. In an article published in Pediatric Research, researchers found a small but intriguing connection between asthma and mode or delivery. Children delivered via cesarean section were more likely to develop asthma at age seven than those who were vaginally delivered. Even more compelling, 22% of the children delivered by cesarean reported having allergies, compared to only 11% of those delivered vaginally. Researchers speculate that the delivery by cesarean could diminish initial microbial exposure and thereby alter... cell development." Risks of In Vitro. A pair of recent studies has linked in vitro fertilization and a related method called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, to a four-fold to six-fold increase risk for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, an overgrowth disorder typified by children with enlarged tongues and other organs. There has been a recent possible increase in Angelman syndrome. Children with this syndrome may experience problems causing speech impairment extending to mental retardation. Dutch researches reported a four-fold to seven-fold increase in the rate of retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eye linked to assisted reproductive technology.

HOME BIRTH RISKS:

According to a study in Obstetrics & Gynecology home births carry risks not found in hospital births. They found that the rate of infant death was double among home births as was the rate of very low newborn assessment scores. Also, home-birth mothers had a 50 percent higher rate of prolonged labor and a 58 percent increase in the risk of postpartum bleeding.

FATHER'S DRUGS USE = PREGNANCY DISORDERS:

Miscarriage and fetal abnormalities are common when the father takes the bowel drug 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) to treat bowel disease, according to US researchers at Reuters Health. Smoking Moms = Cleft Lip.  Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of having a baby with cleft lip or palette, say US researchers at Reuters Health.

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