Study: 232 Toxic Chemicals Found In Newborn Babies

Environmental pollution and exposure to various chemicals has proven to affect not only pregnant mothers but their newborn babies as well.

In a two-year new study commissioned by the Environmental Working group and Rachel's network, samples of blood taken from 10 umbilical cords were tested from minority populations in America (which are usually exposed to high levels of environmental pollution), and detected 232 toxic chemicals present in the blood. Chemicals such as lead, mercury, stain repellents, teflon and perchlorates from rocket fuel just to name a few. Nine out of 10 samples tested positive for BPA, an industrial petrochemical produced by the millions of tons annually to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. This is the first time BPA has been found in newborns. It has been known to cause a variety of serious illnesses and disorders such as cancer, cognitive and behavioral impairments, endocrine system disruption, reproductive and cardiovascular system abnormalities, diabetes, asthma and obesity.

Scientists and health experts are pressing for stronger measures to protect pregnant women and infants from BPA and other environmental pollutants that disrupt the endocrine system. In June 2009, the Endocrine Society, comprised of 14,000 hormone researchers and medical specialists in more than 100 countries, warned that “even infinitesimally low levels of exposure [to endocrine-disrupting chemicals] –indeed, any level of exposure at all– may cause endocrine or reproductive abnormalities, particularly if exposure occurs during a critical developmental window. Surprisingly, low doses may even exert more potent effects than higher doses.”

The American Medical Association Board of Delegates approved a resolution in November 2009 calling on the federal governments help in order to help minimize the public's exposure to BPA and other chemicals.

Environmental Working Group believes that any chemical found in cord blood should be given highest priority for tough regulatory action to protect public health.

SOURCE & SOURCE

Babies: A Documentary Film By Focus Features

I can't wait to see this documentary! "This visually stunning new movie simultaneously follows four babies around the world - from first breath to first steps. From Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo, BABIES joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all."

This film is by Focus Features, and is said to be released April 16, 2010

Toronto Mamas Win Breastfeeding World Record

On October 3, moms and babies all around the world competed to set the record for the most babies nursing together at one time.

190 mothers and 191 infants and toddlers gathered at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts in Toronto while an additional 183 mothers and babies in the city participated online. In total 372 mothers and 372 babies breastfed at the same time, thus winning the world record.

This was all part of World Breastfeeding Week in Canada. Toronto's participation was organized by Toronto Public Health and the Chinese/Vietnamese Breastfeeding Network.

Toronto Public Health and Health Canada recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, the addition of iron-rich complementary foods at about six months, and continued breastfeeding to two years and beyond.

Congratulations Toronto mamas! I hope this encourages and enables more women to breastfeed. "The Government of Canada supports breastfeeding through a number of initiatives, including the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program, the Community Action Program for Children, the Maternal Child Health Program (MCH), and the Prenatal Nutrition Guidelines for Professionals."

Source

Cancer Cells Passed From Mom To Baby

BBC reports that a recent study now proves that it is possible for cancer cells to be passed from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby. A woman in Japan was found to have passed leukaemic cells to her unborn daughter.

Dr Frederick van Delft is a member of the research team from the British Institute for Cancer Research. He said cases like this were ''very rare''.

Dr van Delft said the placenta and the child's immune system were supposed to be able to prevent the cancer cells from being passed on but they occasionally failed.

Scientists are now saying that for the first time they have proven beyond a doubt that cells can be transmitted this way. You can listen to an excerpt below.

Antioxidants Help To Lower Risk Of Premature Births

Researchers have found that pregnant women who eat a wide variety of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables have lower risks of giving birth prematurely.

In a study of over 5,300 women who gave birth in Canadian hospitals, those with higher levels of certain carotenoids where less likely to give birth prematurely.

Carotenoids are pigments that give yellow, orange and red hues to a variety of fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, carrots, red peppers, watermelon, oranges and orange juice. They also act as antioxidants -- meaning they help protect body cells from damage that can lead to disease.
The protective nutrients included alpha- and beta-carotene, lycopene, and alpha- and beta-cryptoxanthin.

In contrast to the case with carotenoids, Kramer's team found that high blood levels of another antioxidant -- vitamin E -- were linked to an increased risk of preterm birth.

Similarly, women with the highest blood levels of certain dietary fats, including unsaturated fats, showed a somewhat higher risk of preterm birth. Omega-3 fats, found largely in fish, were unrelated to preterm delivery.

The reasons for those connections are also unclear, and the findings could have been due to chance, the researchers note. Kramer said the results are too preliminary to make any recommendations.

Source

Sudbury District Health Unit Breast Feeding Commercial

Love this!

Exercising During Pregnancy Reduces Risk Of Heavy Babies

Photo by bslider

A new study published in the October issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology has proven that not only does regular exercise keep moms healthy during pregnancy but it also helps to prevent excessive newborn weight.

HealthDay News reports that the Norwegian researchers found that the chances of delivering a heavy baby dropped by 28 percent in women who regularly exercised during their second and third trimesters.

The study also reported that the number of larger babies being born is on the rise while the number of women exercising during pregnancy is on the decline.

The effects of exercise didn't appear to be as consistently beneficial in women who'd already had children. When these women danced or participated in low-impact aerobics, they also reduced the likelihood of delivering a large baby, but when they swam or trained in fitness centers, the benefit disappeared.

Allen said that while exercise during pregnancy is definitely a good idea, these findings might be different if done with a different population. For example, American women are likely more ethnically diverse and have different average body-mass index levels.

But, in any case, Allen said, "Exercise should be encouraged for everyone who's healthy enough to do it. Exercise shouldn't be discontinued just because you're pregnant."

Allen added that research in the United States has also shown that women who exercise are less likely to have preterm deliveries.

Welch cautioned that as women progress in pregnancy, they should avoid any exercise that has them lay flat on their back, because this can restrict blood flow to both baby and mom. Also, contact sports are out, as is anything where falling might be likely, such as horseback riding.

He said he tells his patients to keep their heart rate to no more than 120 beats per minute during exercise. This allows you to get an aerobic workout, but isn't so much that it might shunt blood away from the baby, Welch explained.

Exercise has always been hugely beneficial to the health of mama and baby. Yoga, Pilates, swimming and walking are low impact, gentle ways to stay fit and keep healthy both during and after pregnancy.

Abortions Can Cause Complications In Future Births

Canadian researchers have found that having an abortion increases the risks of premature births or to children with a low birthweight in later pregnancies.

The review of 37 case studies found that women who had undergone more than one abortion had a 72 per cent increased risk of having children with low birthweight and a 93 per cent increased risk of having a premature baby.
It also found that women who had an abortion in the first or second trimester had a 35 per cent increased risk of giving birth to a low-weight baby and a 36 per cent increased risk of having a premature baby.
The authors of the study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, stress that further studies are needed to assess the impact of new ways of carrying out an abortion, such as non-invasive treatments where women take a combination of pills to trigger a miscarriage.
Commenting on the study, Professor Philip Steer, editor-in-chief of BJOG, said: “This study highlights the need to assess and improve techniques in order to make termination of pregnancy safer for women.
“There is no question that ToP remains an essential part of women’s healthcare. However, it is important to evaluate the risks and benefits of different techniques in order to ensure safe procedures and healthy future pregnancies for women.”

Poll shows that Australians are not ready for public breastfeeding

According to a new poll, one third of Australians do not believe women should breastfeed their babies in public. A third also think that mothers should stop breastfeeding their babies within six months.

Although 65% of people agreed that babies who had been breastfed had a higher survival rate, only 29% agreed that they should be allowed to do so in public.

Up to 36 per cent said breastfeeding was unacceptable in a cafe or at work and the survey also found it was young adults - those aged 18 to 24 - who were the least supportive of public breastfeeding.

"It is unacceptable to expect that women should be locked inside their houses to breastfeed,'' Dr Jennifer James, lecturer in Midwifery and Breastfeeding & Human Lactation at RMIT University said.

"Part of the issue why young mothers wean their babies too early is societal pressure and isolation from other mothers experiencing the same difficulties.''

"While nearly 90 per cent of Australian women initiate breastfeeding, one per cent of Australian children are breastfed for the minimum duration recommended by the WHO,'' Dr James said.

The poll showed the most unacceptable places to breastfeed in order of opposition.

Church 29%
Work 27%
Restaurant or cafe 26%
Shopping mall 19%

(3% of people found breastfeeding unacceptable at a friend's house.)

Source

"BPA free" leading brand baby bottle contains high traces of the toxic chemical

Health Canada recently tested "BPA free" baby bottles and discovered that Dr. Brown's Natural flow bottles showed trace amounts of 0.9 parts per billion after being in water for 238 hours at 60 C.

Dr. Brown's Natural flow bottle has been one of the leading names in baby bottles over the past five years.

Other "BPA-free" brands with detectable levels under these conditions, ranging from 0.002 to 0.025 part per billion, included Gerber, Medela, Whittlestone, Nuby and a house brand sold at a dollar store in Canada.

There were no detectable levels found in the BornFree and Thinkbaby bottles after 238 hours. The Green to Grow brand was not analyzed at the 238-hour mark after Health Canada found no detectable levels after 94 hours.

Thinkbaby bottles showed no detectable levels after two hours, 22 hours and 94 hours, while BornFree showed minute traces at the two-hour mark, but came up completely clean after that.

Health Canada did not include the Adiri Natural Nurser bottle — pitched to parents as "100 per cent BPA free" — in the water migration survey.

Surprisingly in a second test using 10 % ethanol, Health Canada found small levels of the chemical in one of the four time-specified readings. Those brands were Adiri, Dr. Brown and Whittlestone.

Shelley Aronoff, co-founder of Green to Grow, said in the case of her branded bottles, the results just don't add up.

While Health Canada found minute trace — 0.0014 part per billion — after two hours at 60 C, there were no detectable levels after 94 hours. All studies involving polycarbonate bottles show an upward tick in leaching over time and with higher temperatures.

"I just don't know how you could go from detected to non-detected," Aronoff said Friday. "I just don't have faith in these test results."

Health Canada does say however that the trace amounts should be of no concern to parents.

"Bottles made from non-polycarbonate plastic may contain very low level, trace amounts of BPA resulting from cross-contamination caused by the ubiquitous nature of BPA. Detection of BPA in the non-polycarbonate plastic bottles may also be due to improved sensitivity of instruments in laboratories. There is often no such thing as absolute zero due to cross-contamination and prevalence of many substances in the natural environment," Health Canada told CBC News in an email.

According to records released under the Access to Information Act, these test results surprised all of the Health Canada scientists involved. No kidding! A company who claims their product is "BPA free" when it in fact is not, is either not paying enough attention to the production or is putting out false claims.

Source #1

Source #2

Amber teething necklaces and a giveaway!

I have always been skeptical about Amber teething necklaces. With my first child I remember brushing off the entire idea as nothing but an old wives tale.
This time around, with my second child I did a little more research into the subject and after reading into it further was intrigued.

Baltic amber contains anywhere from 3-8% of succinic acid, a scientifically examined medical substance used in contemporary medicine. The highest content of the acid is found in the amber cortex - the external layer of the stone. Nobel-prize winner Robert Koch (1886), the pioneer of modern bacteriology, proved that succinic acid has a very positive influence on the human body. In the 1930’s and 40’s, European biochemists discovered that succinic acid is an amino acid created naturally in every cell of the body capable of aerobic respiration, participating in the citric acid - or Krebs cycle. This is how carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are metabolized into energy.

Wearing amber may also protect us against the negative influences of electrical equipment like computers, televisions, mobile phones and microwave ovens. Even more amazing about amber is that the chemical properties of the resin, when formed, act as a natural embalming agent with both drying and anti-microbial properties. Ancient Egyptians actually used pine resin as an embalming agent, and doctors in the War, lacking anything else, would sometimes slap tree resin on a wound as a disinfectant and saved lives that way. (Source)

TimeDesigns is an Etsy shop run by Dawn. She has been created top quality jewelery for over 12 years. Each necklace is hand strung on 100% all natural pure silk, with a knot between each and every bead. Pure silk is the strongest natural fiber available on the market. It can withstand being soaked and pulled without breaking down or retaining a foul odor.

What I LOVE about her Amber necklaces (besides the gorgeous colors) is that the clasps are magnetic so if your little one pulls at the necklace, or if he/she has a sibling who pulls on the necklace, it will release the magnetic clasps. It is a nice safety feature which was one of the main selling points for me.

The necklaces also provide a good fit to prevent your little one from chewing on the beads (I don't recommend you allow them to play with the necklace as amber is fairly pliable and might break if they crunch down on the beads).

I tried one of these beautiful pieces of jewelry out with my 7 month old daughter and dare I say it worked! She is calmer and happier while wearing the necklace and doesn't fuss as much.

Dawn has been kind enough to give one of our readers a chance to win one of her beautiful Amber necklaces in Cognac. Please keep in mind that your child doesn't have to be teething in order to enjoy this. My 3 year old loved her sister's so much, she wants one of her own!




* All you need to do is leave a comment below specifying which size you would like. It comes in the following sizes: BAB 32cm(babies up to two), and TOD 35cm toddlers up to five.
* ONE additional entry if you have a blog or website and mention the giveaway.
* ONE additional entry if you Stumble this.
* ONE additional entry for tweeting this on Twitter
* ONE additional entry by adding us to your favorites on Technorati.

(Please make sure you leave an additional comment/comments if you do any of the above).

* The contest starts Tuesday August 25, 2009 and will end on Tuesday September 1, 2009 @ 11:59pm. I will announce the winner in a post on Wednesday September 2, 2009. A winner will be picked using Random.Org

A subscription to A Good Clean Life is not a requirement of the contest but it would be greatly appreciated. If you are new here, please be sure to take a look around the site. Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

Colic in babies could be caused by gut bacteria

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston say one organism discovered during their study may unlock the key to what causes colic, inconsolable crying in an otherwise healthy baby.

Published in the July 23 online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics, the study pointed to an organism called Klebsiella, a normally occurring bacterium that can be found in the mouth, skin and intestines. In the study of 36 babies, half of which had colic, researchers found the bacterium and gut inflammation in the intestines of the babies with colic.

“We believe that the bacterium may be sparking an inflammatory reaction, causing the gut inflammation,” said Rhoads, the lead investigator for the study. “Inflammation in the gut of colicky infants closely compared to levels in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Colic could prove to be a precursor to other gastrointestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease and allergic gastroenteropathies.”

Babies in the study were fed breast milk and/or formula. Previous research articles have not shown significant data supporting the theory that breastfeeding protects infants against colic. The babies in the study were recruited from UT Physicians’ pediatric clinics and Kelsey-Seybold clinics.

“During our study, we also found that the babies that didn’t have colic had more types of bacteria in their intestines. The presence of more bacteria may indicate that specific bacterial species (phylotypes) are beneficial to humans,” Rhoads said.

The study was funded by the Gerber Foundation.

UT reserachers are recruiting 40 adult patients in order to conduct a larger study to examine Klebsiella and the use of a probiotic. A probiotic is a dietary supplement made up of good bacteria to control the gut inflammation. It has proven to be highly beneficial in many cases with the overall health in children and adults.

Source

Short term memory found in 30 week old fetuses

Memory probably begins during the prenatal period, but little is known about the exact timing or for how long memory lasts. Now in a new study from the Netherlands, scientists have found fetal short-term memory in fetuses at 30 weeks.

The scientists studied about 100 healthy pregnant Dutch women and their fetuses, measuring changes in how the fetus responds to repeated stimulation. After receiving a number of stimuli, the fetus no longer responds to the stimulus as observed by ultrasonography and the stimulus is then accepted as "safe." This change in response is called "habituation." In a second session, the fetus "remembers" the stimulus and the number of stimuli needed for the fetus to habituate is then much smaller.

Based on their research, the scientists found the presence of fetal short-term memory of 10 minutes at 30 weeks. They determined this because a significantly lower number of stimuli was needed to reach habituation in a second session, which was performed 10 minutes after the first session. They also found that 34-week-old fetuses can store information and retrieve it four weeks later. Fetuses were tested at 30, 32, 34, and 36 weeks, and again at 38 weeks. The 34- and 36-week-old fetuses habituated much faster than the 38-week-old fetuses that had not been tested before. This implies that these fetuses have a memory of at least 4 weeks—the interval between the test at 34 weeks and that at 38 weeks.

Beyond ensuring healthy nutrition, research of this type, along with the work of others regarding infant memory should help us understand the importance of a safe, relatively low stress environment during this very sensitive period of development," said Rahil Briggs, a pediatric psychologist at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

"It really is as if there is a recorder going on in there from the beginning, and we've got to be careful about what it's recording," she said. 

To watch an interesting video on the study by ABC please see the following:

Memory in the Womb - ABC News

An interesting read pertaining to this is The secret life of the unborn child by Thomas Verny. 

It is a must read for any expectant mother or someone interested on the subject. 

Source

Stress from Cesarean sections may alter DNA

Swedish researches are now saying that babies delivered by c-section may experience changes to the DNA of white blood cells. This could explain why they're at increased risk for immunological diseases such as diabetes and asthma later in life.

"Delivery by C-section has been associated with increased allergy, diabetes and leukaemia risks," said Dr Mikael Norman, a paediatric specialist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. "Although the underlying cause is unknown, our theory is that altered birth conditions could cause a genetic imprint in the immune cells that could play a role later in life."

Norman and his colleagues analysed blood samples from 37 infants taken just after delivery and samples taken three to five days after birth. The blood was analysed to assess the degree of DNA-methylation in the white blood cells, which are a key part of the immune system. In DNA-methylation, DNA is chemically modified to activate or turn off genes in response to changes in the external environment.

The 16 infants born by C-section had higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after delivery than the 21 infants born by vaginal delivery, according to the report, in Acta Paediatrica. Three to five days after birth, both groups of infants had similar levels of DNA-methylation.

More research is needed to determine why babies born by caesarian section have higher DNA-methylation rates after delivery.

"When babies are delivered by C-section, they are unprepared for the birth and can become more stressed after delivery than before. This is different [from] a normal vaginal delivery, where the stress gradually builds up before the actual birth, helping the baby to start breathing and quickly adapt to the new environment outside the womb."

Source

Some baby foods are worse than a burger

A new study has revealed that some baby foods contain "staggering" amounts of sugar and fat that make them worse than junk food.

During the study, researchers for the Children’s Food Campaign found that Farley''s Original Rusks contain more sugar than McVities Chocolate Digestives, while Heinz Toddler Mini Cheese Biscuits have proportionately more saturated fat than a McDonald''s quarter pounder with cheese.

Cow & Gate''s Baby Balance Bear Biscuits, meanwhile, contain harmful trans fats – a processed vegetable fat which many manufacturers no longer use as there are concerns it poses a health risk.

“The results of this survey are staggering. Many foods marketed for babies and young children are often advertised as ‘healthy’. In terms of sugar and saturated fat content, some are worse than junk food,” the Daily Express quoted Children’s Food Campaign joint-coordinator Christine Haigh as saying.

“In particular, failing to correctly label products that contain dangerous trans fats is outrageous,” Haigh added.

Half of the 107 products surveyed were low in saturated fat, salt and sugar and only a quarter of the 24 Heinz baby foods had low levels of all three.

Farley’s rusks original had 29g of sugar per 100g – more than the 27.3g of sugar in a dark chocolate digestive.

More than 15 per cent of the Cow & Gate foods surveyed were high in sugar. Their baby balance animal friend biscuits were the worst, with 18.8g of sugar per 100g.

Even the reduced sugar rusks had 21.7g of sugar per 100g.

The Heinz toddler’s own mini cheese biscuits contained 7.3g of saturated fat per 100g – a McDonald’s quarter pounder with cheese has 6.7g per 100g.

Food giant Heinz, which owns the Farley’s brand, said the original rusks recipe was virtually unchanged since its launch 120 years ago.

It insisted the reduced sugar rusks were low in fat and had the minimum sugar content needed to keep their texture and dissolve easily enough to avoid choking.

The company also said that the mini cheese biscuits for toddlers came in 25g packs and contained only 1.8g of saturated fat per serving.

Sources:

Reuters

Times of India

Pregnancy diet can change your babies genetics

Expecting mothers should be paying more attention to what they eat. New studies show that diet is a big contributer to your child's future health.

Specifically, rat fetuses receiving poor nutrition in the womb become genetically primed to be born into an environment lacking proper nutrition, the researchers figure; they were likely to grow to smaller sizes than their normal counterparts. The poorly nourished rats were also at higher risk for a host of health problems throughout their lives, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and neurodevelopmental delays.

"Our study emphasizes that maternal-fetal health influences multiple healthcare issues across generations," said Robert Lane, professor of pediatric neonatology at the University of Utah. "To reduce adult diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, we need to understand how the maternal–fetal environment influences the health of offspring."



Source:

TV is not going to help boost your baby's IQ

I read a very interesting article today on CNN. A study was performed by the Researchers from Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and Harvard Medical School, to challenge the usefulness of baby educational videos and DVDs. Baby Einstein DVD's have been a very popular brand over the last few years. Many parents have purchased them thinking that they will in fact make their child smarter, increase their IQ or teach them to speak earlier. These studies have proven otherwise.

"Contrary to parents' perceptions that TV viewing is beneficial to their children's brain development, we found no evidence of cognitive benefit from watching TV during the first two years of life," the authors wrote.

Educational DVD and videos geared towards enriching babies and toddlers, such as "BabyGenius," "Brainy Baby" or "Baby Einstein," which proclaim to "encourage discovery and inspire," have no benefits, researchers said.

"The best thing for our kids is to provide them with stimulus that we know is positive for their brain development," Rich said. He suggesting activities like reading, singing, interacting and stacking blocks to help children.

Yet another study was performed in 2007 by the University of Washington.


"Led by Frederick Zimmerman and Dr. Dimitri Christakis, both at the University of Washington, the research team found that with every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants learned six to eight fewer new vocabulary words than babies who never watched the videos. These products had the strongest detrimental effect on babies 8 to 16 months old, the age at which language skills are starting to form. "The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew," says Christakis. "These babies scored about 10% lower on language skills than infants who had not watched these videos."

Unfortunately in today's society many parents use their television set as their baby's babysitter or tutor in some cases. Children need one on one interaction not with the television set but with their parents.

To continue reading the remainder of these articles please visit

Study: Want a smart baby? TV's not going to help
and

Baby Einsteins: Not so smart after all

Homemade vegan teething rusks

When my eldest daughter was teething I had a hard time finding teething crackers which were vegan. After searching high and low I came across these two recipes.

Recipe #1

This one is dairy, wheat, salt and sugar free. Please note wheat free does not mean gluten free! Barley flour is not suitable for celiacs.

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup barley flour
1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
water

Preheat oven to 250 F. Mix brown rice flour and whole barley flour. Add the blackstrap molasses. Add enough water until mixture forms a dough/thick batter. Drop onto a cookie sheet which has been lined with parchment paper. Shape into 1/4-1/8 inch disks. Bake for 1 hour for rock hard cookies or less for slightly chewy ones. Please note that all ovens are different so baking times may vary!

Recipe #2

1/3 cup honey (or part molasses)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup soy or nut milk

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry or unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup soy flour
2 Tbsp arrowroot flour
1/4 tsp ground anise seed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon or 1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 275-300 F.
Cream first three ingredients together. Add the remainder ingredients. Mix and knead well. Break off walnut sized pieces and roll between hands to 2 inch lengths (slightly tapered at one end). Press flat until 1/4 inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes. Again all ovens vary!