Smoking during pregnancy heightens the risk for a lower birth weight at delivery, we’ve known that for a long time, but astonishing studies conducted recently confirm links between smoking while pregnant and long-term problems lasting into adulthood for kids whose mothers smoked.

Two of the most damaging effects of smoking have wide-ranging outcomes for the developing fetus. Smoking constricts blood vessels, including those that are in the uterus. This cuts off the vital supply of nutrients and oxygen to the baby. In addition, carbon monoxide levels rise in the blood of moms who smoke. This gas is the same one that causes asphyxiation from leaks in car exhaust and faulty gas heaters. It acts to further cut off the oxygen supply to the developing baby. Mothers who are exposed to second hand smoke at home or in the workplace are endangering their unborn child, and should insist that they live and work in a smoke-free environment during pregnancy.

So, what are some of the results of depriving the fetus of vital nutrients and oxygen? Lower birth weight, premature birth and an elevated risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) are just a few of the problems that have been linked to mothers who smoke. Infant mortality rates in general are higher for babies who experienced the dangers of a smoking mother. The lack of adequate nutrients and oxygen causes delays and disruptions in the development of the fetus, most importantly in brain development. Recent studies show that there is a significant risk for behavioral problems in teens and young adults if their mothers smoked. There is even an elevated risk for psychotic behaviors including hallucinations and delusional thinking in pre-teens. And if this isn’t bad enough, even criminal behavior and substance abuse are more common among teens and young adults who had mothers who smoked during their pregnancy.
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I was never much of a rice-eater as a kid. Unless, of course, that rice had gobs of butter melted on it. And it wasn’t until moving to California in the mid-1990s that I developed an appetite for cuisines in which rice is a featured ingredient. Our two kids even like it when it’s wrapped up in a tortilla, or adorned with a heaping pile of black beans. In fact, that’s what we had for dinner just last night.

Fast forward to this morning and imagine my freak-out when I read the latest research out of Dartmouth College that found bland, unassuming rice is a major exposure source for toxic arsenic. According to one statistic, over 3 billion people eat rice every day. That’s a lot of people potentially being exposed to a lot of arsenic.

According to the National Institute for Environmental Health Science (NIEHS), chronic exposure to  low doses of arsenic can cause a range of serious health problems, including skin lesions, fatal skin cancer, gangrene, and a range of fatal organ cancers including those initiated in liver, kidney and lungs. Read the rest of this entry →

Let me get the disclosures out of the way up front. I’m not a scientist, nor am I an expert in nuclear power. For the record, all I know about environmental health was gleaned through independent research, not bestowed upon me in some ivy-covered building on an ivy-league campus. The letters Ph.D do not follow my name.

So what qualifies me to write about the bone-headed decision made by the NRC on Thursday to approve not one, but two new nuclear power plants in Georgia? Based on the above, you might say, “Not a whole lot.” And you would be wrong. I may not be a scientist, but I am a mother. I’ve created two of the most beautiful creatures on the planet inside my own body. Don’t tell me I don’t have a right to speak out about events that might put those products of my mama lab in jeopardy.

I would venture a guess that few of those who promote nuclear power as a “clean” power source have any idea that current EPA regulations for determining how much  nuclear radiation you can be zapped with before your lifetime cancer risk exceeds permissible levels is based on a white, 154-pound “Reference Man.” Recent 15-lb baby deliveries aside, it’s impossible that a fully grown male would ever emerge from the womb. Meaning that any individual—male or female— that’s smaller (or otherwise more at risk) than the Reference Man is more vulnerable to the effects of radiation exposure. Pound for pound, babies are more vulnerable than adults to a host of environmental pollutants. Imagine then, how much more vulnerable a fetus in the womb might be. Read the rest of this entry →

It seemed like mere minutes after the two pink lines appeared that I walked—okay, ran—to the nearest bookstore and bought an armful of books about pregnancy. Suddenly, I had a million questions that needed answering. How much should I be eating? Why can’t I eat soft cheese? Why do I need to pee every five seconds? What’s really going on in there?

Most of the traditional books I had purchased did a fair job of answering these questions. But when it came to advice about how to guard against miscarriage, birth defects, or other negative pregnancy outcomes, none of them went beyond the standard cautions of avoiding caffeine and alcohol, drinking plenty of water, and delegating the job of cleaning out the cat box to somebody else (I was always looking for an excuse to get out of that last one anyhow). Read the rest of this entry →