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Summary:
Monitoring of pregnant women found about 100 different chemicals, with 43 of them in all women tested. Lead, mercury, toluene, perchlorate, bisphenol A, flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, organochlorine pesticides and phthalates are among the chemicals. Studies suggest that for many these compounds, low-level exposures in the womb seem to disrupt development of the brain or reproductive systems. Food science literature and environmental toxicant literature are difficult to sort out, and the doctors are not being taught about nutrition or contaminants in school. Others may raise the risk of birth defects, or lead to cancer, immune problems, asthma, fertility problems or other disorders later in life. In the case of pharmaceuticals, the onus is on the pharmaceutical company to do the research with toxicity testing, randomized control trials and post-exposure observational studies.
Monitoring of pregnant women found about 100 different chemicals, with 43 of them in all women tested. Lead, mercury, toluene, perchlorate, bisphenol A, flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, organochlorine pesticides and phthalates are among the chemicals. Studies suggest that for many these compounds, low-level exposures in the womb seem to disrupt development of the brain or reproductive systems. Food science literature and environmental toxicant literature are difficult to sort out, and the doctors are not being taught about nutrition or contaminants in school. Others may raise the risk of birth defects, or lead to cancer, immune problems, asthma, fertility problems or other disorders later in life. In the case of pharmaceuticals, the onus is on the pharmaceutical company to do the research with toxicity testing, randomized control trials and post-exposure observational studies.
Reflection:
Obesity trumps almost everything. We put our time and energy there, and don't dwell on some of the other things we should be aware of. I think it is a good thing that people are paying attention to it nowadays. We should focus on the study more and spread the words. But more importantly, which is that humans need to stop polluting other things in the ecosystems. As a society, we have a lot of work to do both in terms of informing women of dangers and helping them find alternative jobs when they're pregnant.
Obesity trumps almost everything. We put our time and energy there, and don't dwell on some of the other things we should be aware of. I think it is a good thing that people are paying attention to it nowadays. We should focus on the study more and spread the words. But more importantly, which is that humans need to stop polluting other things in the ecosystems. As a society, we have a lot of work to do both in terms of informing women of dangers and helping them find alternative jobs when they're pregnant.