A mother’s most precious thing is her baby; therefore, if she has enough money or good medical insurance, she consults her obstetrician and pediatrician and follows their advice. However, most mothers are not receiving the critical information they need to assure the health of their newborn.
Dr. Darragh Flynn, OBGYN of Santa Rosa, made these comments in The Daily Green. “A new nationwide survey of 2,600 obstetricians and gynecologists found that most do not warn their pregnant patients about chemicals in food, consumer products or the environment that could endanger their fetuses… Only 19 percent said they talk to their pregnant patients about pesticides, and less than 10 percent of physicians warned their patients about two chemicals in consumer products that are often in the news: bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates.”
Dr. Alan Greene, pediatrician of Danville made these comments in Safer Chemicals Healthy Families. “When you look at all the conditions on the rise in kids –such as asthma, ADHD, childhood cancers, diabetes – you can’t blame our genes. These conditions have increased so rapidly in the last 30 years that we know the environment is the problem, which means that the environment also holds the answers… According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, a 2011 study found that the majority of pregnant women in America have industrial chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides already present at the moment of birth – in the umbilical cord blood. The developing fetus is uniquely vulnerable and impacts during this phase of rapid development can potentially be irreversible and life altering. Counseling pregnant moms on these risks and simple ways to limit exposures is a vital component of reversing the upward trending prevalence of environmentally induced diseases.”
For specific information on protecting your growing baby, see my blog articles of December 15, 2010; February 9 and 20, 2011; May 25, 2011; June 8, 2012; and August 18, 2012.
Your baby is counting on you to give it a healthy start in life.
Miss Carson first became aware of the effects of chemical pesticides on the natural environment while working for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. Of particular concern to her was the government’s use of chemical pesticides such as DDT. She was familiar with early studies of DDT and knew of its dangers and lasting effects on the environment. According to Miss Carson, “the more I learned about the use of pesticides, the more appalled I became. I realized that here was the material for a book. What I discovered was that everything which meant most to me as a naturalist was being threatened, and that nothing I could do would be more important.” Thus, Silent Spring was written to alert the public and stir people to action against the abuse of chemical pesticides (Time 2000).
Yes, Ms. Carson was the pioneer in the realm of the chemical environment. I highly recommend that others read her book, SILENT SPRING.