One of the most coherant and well defined and articulate articles that I've read in a long long time. Every single point that is made here is vitally important, not only during pregnancy and birth of your child, but through out life in general.
Understanding good and bad bacteria, "anti" bacterials, "anti" biotics, and the where when and how that they interact WITH your body- both inside AND out- is afundamental basis of taking charge of your health.
This post was co-authored by Jessie Johnson-Cash and based on her presentation at the USC Midwifery Education Day.
The human microbiome is rather fashionable in the world of science at the moment. The NIH Human Microbiome Project has
been set up to explore correlations between the microbiome and human
health and disease. To date the human microbiome as been associated
with, amongst other things obesity, cancer, mental health disorders,
asthma, and autism. In this post I am not going to provide a
comprehensive literature review – this has already been done, and the
key reviews underpinning this discussion are: Matamoros et al. (2012) ‘development of intestinal microbiota in infants and its impact on health’and Collado et al. (2012)
‘microbial ecology and host-microbiota interactions during early life
stages’. Instead I am going to focus on what this means for pregnancy,
birth, mothering and midwifery. What is the human microbiome?
Based on a chart by Matamoro et al. 2013. Adapted and extended by Jessie Johnson-Cash.
Considerations for mothers and midwives
The following are not research based recommendations – the research
is yet to be done. They are more considerations/questions arising from
the developing knowledge around the human microbiome. There are quite a
few health practitioners writing about gut health currently – one of my
favourites is Chris Kresser because he includes references if you want to read the source of his information. Pre-conception and Pregnancy
The commonly accepted belief that the the baby inside the uterus is
sterile (whilst membranes are intact) is now being challenged. It seems
that maternal gut microbiota may be able to translocate to the
baby/placenta via the blood stream (Jiménez et al. 2008; Metamoros et al. 2013; Prince et al. 2014; Rautava et al. 2013; Zimmer 2013). Women’s gut microbiota change during pregnancy and this impacts on metabolism (Koren et al. 2012; Prince et al. 2014).
So ideally women need to head into pregnancy with a healthy microbiome
and then maintain it. Unfortunately our modern lifestyle is not very
microbiome friendly, and many of us have dysbiosis (an imbalance in gut
bacteria). Dysbiosis and too much of the ‘wrong’ bacteria has been
linked to premature rupture of membranes and premature birth (Fortner et al. 2014; Mysorekar & Cao 2014; Prince et al. 2014).
Suggestions:
You are what you eat… and you are the microbiota that you feed. Eat foods that nurture your microbiome: don’t eat toxins; eat fermentable fibres – starchy vegetables such as sweet potatos – they are microbiota food; eat fermented foods – kefir, sauerkraut etc. – they provide probiotics. Dietary probiotic foods may also assist with balancing vaginal microbiota (Hantoushzadeh et al. 2012; Rautava et al. 2013).
If your gut is damaged heal it and restore the balance of microbiota. This may involve taking probiotics.
Avoid antimicrobial skin products (eg. handwashes), and house cleaning products – you can watch a youtube explaining the FDAs concerns about such products.
It is about time that main stream media and government agencies - especially in the US- start warning people about the dangers of BPA.
..... of course better yet would be if they just banned them outright. But that would cut into their profit margins- oh dear!
that would be sarcasm.
Remember to stay away from any plastics that have a recycle number on the bottom that is a #3,6 and most definitely stay away from #7!
D
Pregnancy exposure to BPA in plastic 'raises prostate cancer risk'
Friday 10 January 2014 - 8am PST
A study in mice has found prostate cancer is more likely to develop when
exposure to BPA levels matches that typical for pregnant women,
according to researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago
(UIC) investigating concerns over the chemical used in water bottles.
Gail Prins, professor of physiology
and director of the andrology laboratory at the UIC College of
Medicine, says BPA levels are almost impossible to avoid - the
plasticizer is found in water bottles, soup can liners and paper
receipts.
Her study - using human prostate cells in the rodents, and published in the journal Endocrinology - suggests that exposure of male fetuses to BPA (bisphenol A) could lead to a later-life higher risk of prostate cancer.
Dr. Prins, who specializes in basic research into hormonal control of
the prostate gland's development, and is interested in its growth and
function, says other research proves the difficulty of avoiding BPA:
"Previous studies have shown that people who avoided all contact with
plastics or other BPA-containing objects for up to a month or more still
had BPA in their urine, which means they must have come into contact
with BPA in the last 24 to 48 hours, since it clears the body rather
quickly. It's very hard to avoid."
The UIC research has investigated pregnancy exposure to BPA "because the
chemical, which mimics the hormone estrogen, has been linked to several
kinds of cancer, including prostate cancer, in rodent models."
Dr. Prins says: "Our research provides the first direct evidence that
exposure to BPA during development, at the levels we see in our
day-to-day lives, increases the risk for prostate cancer in human
prostate tissue."
Study used human stem cells to create model of prostate
The use of human stem cells implanted into mice allowed the study to investigate whether prostate cancer develops in direct response to BPA exposure.
The cells had been taken from deceased young men, allowing any cancer
cause-and-effect comparisons to be made in the animal models. One group
of mice with human-tissue prostates was exposed to BPA while another was
not.
A mouse study has found that male fetus exposure to BPA - a
chemical found in water bottles - during pregnancy may increase the
child's risk of prostate cancer.
The exposed mice were given feed containing BPA "equivalent to levels
ingested by the average person" for 2 weeks after stem cell
implantation. A control group was not fed BPA.
The prostate tissue was allowed to mature for 1 month, after which
the mice were given the hormone estrogen. This was designed to mimic the
estrogen levels that naturally rise as men age - which the researchers
say is known to be a factor in prostate cancer.
Finally, after 2-4 months, the prostate tissue from both groups of mice was analyzed for cancer.
Dr. Prins found pre-cancerous lesions or full prostate cancer in tissue
samples from a third of the mice that had been fed BPA, compared with
just over a tenth of the control group of oil-fed mice.
Dr. Prins says the US government should act over exposure to BPA:
"The findings of adverse effects of BPA in human tissue are highly
relevant and should encourage agencies like the Food and Drug
Administration to re-evaluate their policies in the near future."
Links between the plasticizer and cancer are related, Dr. Prins
believes, to effects on hormone sensitivity. She explains: "We believe
that BPA actually reprograms the stem cells to be more sensitive to
estrogen throughout life, leading to a life-long increased
susceptibility to diseases including cancer."
The FDA has explained its policy on BPA.
The regulator has allowed the chemical in food-contact materials since
1960 and has found no evidence to support the requests it has received
to ban it....
'Tis the season to be phlegmy and so Big Pharma is ramping up their usual scare tactics for the annual flu season!!
This is a Guest post from Marcella Piper-Terry
Yesterday morning a pediatrician left a comment on my critique of the MMR study, asking pointedly why I chose to critique such a small study. The doctor stated that the study in question was the smallest one he's ever seen. He asserted that there are many more vaccine studies, "some with over a million subjects." He wanted to know why I don't critique them. I asked him to please provide the links because I have not been able to find any such studies. The fact is, it is standard operating procedure for the vaccine makers to conduct studies with very small sample sizes and to then make sweeping declarations of the safety of their products. This is particularly true for the flu vaccine.
Last week I walked into the local CVS pharmacy and asked for the package insert for the flu vaccine they will be using this Saturday at their "vaccine clinic." The girl behind the pharmacy counter didn't know what I was talking about. So I asked if they have the vials on hand. She said yes. I asked to see the box. She retrieved it from the refrigerator. I wrote down the name - "Fluvirin" and noted that it is the multi-dose variety.
Here is the manufacturer's insert: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/ucm123694.pdf
Each .5 ml dose contains 25 mcg. of thimerosal (ethyl mercury), which means if your child gets two doses, he or she will be getting 50 mcg. of thimerosal.
If you ask your doctor if this is safe, you will most likely be told "Yes." If you ask if the research has been done to prove safety of this particular vaccine, you will most likely be told "yes." I suggest you don't stop there.
On page 10 of the package insert (link above), you will find the information about the clinical studies in the pediatric population. Here it is: _________________________________________________
In 1987 a clinical study was carried out in 38 ‘at risk’ children aged between 4 and 12 years (17 females and 21 males). To record the safety of FLUVIRIN, participants recorded their symptoms on a diary card during the three days after vaccination and noted any further symptoms they thought were attributable to the vaccine. The only reactions recorded were tenderness at the site of vaccination in 21% of the participants on day 1, which was still present in 16% on day 2 and 5% on day 3. In one child, the tenderness was also accompanied by redness at the site of injection for two days. The reactions were not age-dependent and there was no bias towards the younger children.
Three clinical studies were carried out between 1995 and 2004 in a total of 520 pediatric subjects (age range 6 - 47 months). Of these, 285 healthy subjects plus 41 ‘at risk’ subjects received FLUVIRN. No serious adverse events were reported.
FLUVIRIN should only be used for the immunization of persons aged 4 years and over. _____________________________________________________________
That's it. The 2010-2011 Fluvirin Vaccine has been deemed safe to administer to ALL U.S. children 4 years and older, and this decision is based on studies of 38 children that were done in 1987, and 326 children studied between 1995 and 2004.
That's not a lot of kids to base the decision that the vaccine is safe for ALL children.
What's even more troubling is that this year's vaccine contains two strains of seasonal flu (A & B) AND it also contains H1N1.
H1N1 did not resurface until 2009. The vaccines that were studied in 1987, 1995, and 2004 did not contain H1N1.
This flu vaccine has NEVER been studied in children. But it has been deemed "Safe for all U.S. children aged 4 years and above."
Yesterday morning I contacted the USI Student Health Clinic to find out what flu vaccine they are giving and to what groups. I spoke with a nurse who told me they are using Fluzone multi-dose vials and they are giving it to "all ages" including pregnant women. The nurse added, "We gave it to them last year."
Page 1: "Safety and effectiveness of Fluzone have not been established in pregnant women, nursing mothers, or children <6 months of age."
Page 3: "6.1. Clinical Trial Experience - Fluzone - Pediatric Studies: The 2003-2004 formulation of Fluzone was studied in 19 children 6 to 23 months of age and in 12 children 24 to 36 months of age, given in 2 doses one month apart. Local reactions and systemic events were solicited for 3 days after each dose. Most local and systemic reactions were mild. The proportions of local and systemic reactions in children were simliar to the proportions in adults."
This vaccine, which contains mercury, is being recommended for ALL children 6 months and older. It has been deemed "safe" on the basis of clinical trials that included a total of 31 children between the ages of 6-36 months.
THe formulation that was studied in 2003-2004 is different from the formulation this year, so this year's flu vaccine has not been studied AT ALL for its effect in infants and young children.
Page 4: "8. Use in specific populations - 8.1 pregnancy: Pregnancy Category C.: Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Fluzone. It is also not known whether Fluzone can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. Fluzone should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed."
WHY WOULD ANYONE ASSUME IT IS OKAY TO GIVE THIS VACCINE TO PREGNANT WOMEN? WHY WOULD PREGNANT WOMEN BE LINING UP TO RECEIVE IT? WHY WOULD PARENTS OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN BE LINING UP TO HAVE THEIR KIDS VACCINATED WITH SOMETHING THAT CONTAINS MERCURY AND WHICH HAS NOT BEEN TESTED FOR SAFETY?
People are afraid of the flu. They are afraid because the CDC tells them to be afraid.
On pg. 3: "A dramatic increase in hospitalizations in the younger age groups was indicative of the influenza pandemic's impact on children." If you look at the numbers and do the math, the "dramatic increase" in children 4 and under was 83 hospitalizations per 100,000 as compared with 34/100,000 (avg. from the previous 3 flu seasons).
The "dramatic increase" in hospitalizations in kids 4 yrs and under amounts to 6.83 kids per month in a city of 100,000 people, as compared to between 2.62-4.25 kids per month in the same city during each of the previous 3 flu seasons.
Breaking it down by week... during last years "pandemic" flu season, in a city of 100,000 people there was an average of 1.63 hospitalizations for flu (confirmed by laboratory analysis) in children four years and younger.
In the previous three flu seasons, in the same city of 100,000 people, hospitalizations for kids 4 and under were between .63 and 1.01 kids per week.
So, according to the CDC's own document, the "dramatic increase" on the pediatric population (kids four and under, in this case), as measured by hospitalizations for laboratory confirmed flu, amounted to less than one child per week in cities of 100,000 people.
Who is "fear-mongering" now?
Scaring the public with terminology like "dramatic increase" in order to sell more vaccines to pregnant women and parents of infants and toddlers when the vaccines have not been tested for safety in these groups is unethical and unconscionable.
From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Sep. 09, 2010
The cause of schizophrenia has long baffled doctors, but a tantalizing clue has emerged that some cases of the debilitating mental disorder are linked to having too little vitamin D during fetal development and early in life.
Researchers studying schizophrenia cases in Denmark have discovered that newborns with the lowest level of the sunshine vitamin in their blood at birth had about twice the risk of developing the disease when they became adults, compared to those with moderate amounts.
The finding suggests it may be possible to reduce the incidence of the illness by having babies and pregnant women either take the vitamin, or increase their exposure to sunshine, the natural way of making the nutrient.
....one previously identified risk factor has hinted at an insufficiency of vitamin D: the time of year a child is born. Children with winter births, when mothers’ vitamin D levels are typically low because of the lack of exposure to strong sunlight, have about a 10-per-cent higher risk of schizophrenia than those born at other times of the year. Fetuses depend entirely on their mothers for the nutrient.
Hi Everyone! This is a guest post article by the infamous Emma Kwasnica. She wrote this as "note" on Facebook a few months ago, but as we've been discussing Vitamin D earlier this week I asked her if I could repost her info here. I think that the info about the timing of the birth of babies is vitally important to note as so many babies are being cut from their mothers abdomen or chemically induced far too early, which has serious negative impacts on the baby's Vit D levels that they receive from their mother!
Take it away Emma!
New research regarding Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women and babies
Vitamin D is really so crucial. And we're only just now coming to terms with HOW important it truly is --for both mum AND babe.
That said, the "study" regarding infant Vit D levels is no such thing ( http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-2571v1 ). It is a SURVEY that they did --no actual blood levels taken or analysed ! So, it's flawed, in that they're saying the babes don't get "enough" Vit D... wait for it... simply in relation to what the (new) recommendations are ! That's it, that's all ! They speak nothing about bioavailability of nutirients, etc. in breastmilk, nor how Vit D is absorbed (from formula, OR from breastmilk), nor do they address why breastmilk is naturally quite low in Vit D.
The blood testing study (maternal and newborn) http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-2158v1
is more (scientifically) rigorous, though I have some questions about birth interventions there, too, namely the exact age of the so-called "healthy" baby at birth (maternal stores of Vit D are ONLY transferred to the fetus in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy, so, at +/- 38 weeks). This means that many of their so-called "healthy" infants --for example, born by elective cesarean surgery, often at 38 weeks... or whom are induced-- should, in fact, be considered "late preterm" babies, and being born even this "little bit" early, will absolutely affect their Vit D levels at birth. They are not "healthy".
The best thing a woman can do to ensure her baby --breastfed or otherwise-- has sufficient Vitamin D stores throughout his/her first 6 months or so of life, is to get out in the sun during her pregnancy (or orally supplement, if she, herself, is deficient; she should demand that her caregiver checks her blood calcidiol levels in pregnancy, as it's but a simple blood req. to add to the battery of blood testing she has done, anyway). The next best thing she can do is insist that she NOT be induced (or insist that a c-section is NOT scheduled) prior to -at least-- 40 weeks. Better still, allow labour to occur spontaneously, when her baby and her body are good and ready. This is because baby's stores are dependent on mother's stores, the transfer of which occurs only at about 38 weeks gestation. Premature babies, and babies who do not stay in the womb until around this time, do NOT get the transfer and will require supplementation (think: elective cesarean surgeries, where dates are so often "off", and baby is even *earlier* than expected, giving to all these late preterm babies --who are therefore Vit D-deficient from birth).
If you are pregnant (1st or 2nd trimester), and you have one or more of the following risk factors :
-your baby is due late winter/spring
-you are NOT fair-skinned, and have an olive or darker complexion
-you wear a head covering and/or have little skin exposed when you *are* outside
-you do not get outside much
-you use sunscreen
-you live in a large city
-you live above the 41st parallel
...consider telling your HCP to give you a blood req. for "maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]" or your blood calcidiol levels, or the "25(OH)D" test for Vit D levels. If your levels are low, and getting out in the sun regularly is not an option for you, you ought to seriously consider supplementing orally with Vitamin D3.
It's also imperative to know that Vit D deficiency also affects muscle performance, and since the uterus is a muscle, this could put you at a greater risk for c-section...
We also really need to stop fearing the sun as much as we do, and get out there and expose ours and baby's skin for short periods, but EVERY day, if possible. Babies that are born in late Winter and early Spring are most at risk of being deficient from birth (as mum spent most of her pregnancy out of the sunlight, gestating baby through the dark months of -a northern hemisphere- winter), and another thing to realise is that putting baby in a sunny window will NOT do the trick; the window pane filters out precisely those rays that our bodies need to make Vit D.
Honestly, your breastfed baby outside for a bit, in just a diaper (no sunscreen), a few times a week throughout the summer months is amply sufficient (darker-skinned babies, obviously, requiring more time in the sun than lighter-skinned ones). This summertime exposure will also ensure your baby's stores throughout the following winter.
Last point that is important to note : yes, we evolved from equator-dwelling folk, but as we migrated away from the equator, we humans adapted, and our skin pigmentation changed --from darker, to lighter (lighter skin allowing for less sun exposure time required to produce the same amount of Vit D in the body). If you are pale, you are much less likely to be Vit D deficient, living in the Northern Hemisphere, as compared to darker-skinned people living in the same region. In other words, if you are dark-skinned, you should really consider supplementation, and if you are dark-skinned and *pregnant*, at least be sure to get your blood calcidiol levels measured by mid-pregnancy (so you have enough time to supplement if need be, before the maternal transfer of stores occurs), and so that your newborn baby will have a liver-full of Vitamin D, to last him or her for several months.
**************************
Just as a follow-up to the links and info I've posted, here is the official LLLI statement regarding Vit D and the breastfed baby. YES, breastmilk is complete, but our lifestyle has changed in such a way that we are now "sun-fearers", and not only do we lather on the sunscreen, we also spend far too much time indoors. We did not evolve as a species to spend so little time outside in the direct sunlight. As well, one's skin colouring IS of great importance, as is WHERE you live in the world. Babies born in late winter/early spring are also at more of a risk for Vit D deficiency. The key is to know and understand one's own risk factors, prevention, and to keep in mind that SUNLIGHT IS FREE !
Please read and pass along this info (note) to any/all breastfeeding mothers you know, as this is not just about rickets --Vit D deficiency, sadly, leads to a host of other problems and (autoimmune) diseases.
(October 16, 2008) Schaumburg, IL - La Leche League International
encourages all mothers to recognize the importance of vitamin D to the
health of their children. Recent research shows that due to current
lifestyles, breastfeeding mothers may not have enough vitamin D in
their own bodies to pass to their infants through breastmilk.
In October 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that
infants receive 400 IU a day of vitamin D, beginning in the first few
days of life. Children who do not receive enough vitamin D are at risk
for rickets and increased risk for infections, autoimmune diseases,
cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
Vitamin D is mainly acquired through exposure to sunlight and
secondarily through food. Research shows that the adoption of indoor
lifestyles and the use of sunscreen have seriously depleted vitamin D
in most women. The ability to acquire adequate amounts of vitamin D
through sunlight depends on skin color and geographic location.
Dark-skinned people can require up to six times the amount of sunlight
as light-skinned people. People living near the equator can obtain
vitamin D for 12 months of the year while those living in northern and
southern climates may only absorb vitamin D for six or fewer months of
the year.
For many years, La Leche League International has offered the
research-based recommendation that exclusively breastfed babies
received all the vitamin D necessary through mother’s milk. Health care
professionals now have a better understanding of the function of
vitamin D and the amounts required, and the newest research shows this
is only true when mothers themselves have enough vitamin D. Statistics
indicate that a large percentage of women do not have adequate amounts
of vitamin D in their bodies.
La Leche League International acknowledges that breastfeeding
mothers who have adequate amounts of vitamin D in their bodies can
successfully provide enough vitamin D to their children through
breastmilk. It is recommended that pregnant and nursing mothers obtain
adequate vitamin D or supplement as necessary. Health care providers
may recommend that women who are unsure of their vitamin D status
undergo a simple blood test before choosing not to supplement.
Parents or health care providers who want more information on
rickets, vitamin D in human milk, or other information on breastfeeding
issues may call La Leche League International at (847) 519-7730 or
visit our Web site at www.llli.org.
A new study from Britain calls for stronger Vitamin D supplements for women who are pregnant. This is not the first study of it's kind, yet it always seems to hit the media like it's some sort of new fad. In our age of people hiding from sun exposure, vitamin D deficiency is a common side effect. Women living in Northern climes where sun exposure may require battling with raging winter winds and snow squalls for several months a year, or having a job that keeps you indoors for a vast portion of your day may leave you with less than optimum levels of Vitamin D and therefore during pregnancy they may be unable to pass along enough Vit D to their babies.
Pregnant women advised to take vitamin D
By Shane Starling, 05-Jul-2010
British researchers have concluded pregnant women should be advised to take vitamin D after determining there is a “strong case” to back the vitamin’s benefits.
The researchers from the University College London Institute of Child Health wrote in the British Journal of Nutrition that supplementation of vitamin D will benefit pregnant women and reduce the risk of diseases such as infantile hypocalcaemia and rickets.
They said the UK was the only country in 31 that did not officially recommend vitamin D use women of reproductive age, even though the Department of Health advises pregnant women to take 10 micrograms per day.... "The incidence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women in Britain is unacceptably high, especially during winter and spring,” said Dr Elina Hypponen, one of the report authors.
"This is compounded by a lack of exposure to sunlight and the limitations of an average diet to meet the optimal need. In the most severe cases, maternal vitamin D deficiency can be life threatening to a newborn.” "We believe that the routine provision of a daily supplement throughout pregnancy would significantly decrease the number of mothers who are clearly vitamin D deficient, reducing related serious risks to their babies."
The research also highlighted the problem of women with dark skin who do not absorb as much sunlight and therefore manufacture less vitamin D in vivo.
This also applies to breastfeeding mothers. Many times the statement that breastmilk is lacking enough vitamin D and that therefore babies should be give Vitamin D supplements has been hashed and rehashed through the media and doctors offices over and over again. Yet rarely have these stated the reason WHY breastmilk might be Vitamin D deficient: Because the Mother herself is also Deficient in Vit D!!!! It makes sense does it not? If mom is already not getting enough, then how can she pass on enough to her baby- either in the womb or in her breastmilk?
Pregnancy and Lactation
One of the great mysteries in human biology is the fact that most human breast milk is deficient in vitamin D. How could Nature overlook such an important nutrient in the "perfect food?" One possibility is that most human breast milk is deficient in vitamin D because most mothers are deficient in vitamin D.
Two very important papers detailing this were published by Dr. Bruce Hollis and his group from the Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, at the Medical University of South Carolina. Both papers support the concept of widespread deficiencies in pregnant women, especially black women, and both papers call for drastic upward revisions of maternal vitamin D supplementation.
One of the papers discovered that pregnant women need at least 4,000 IU a day of vitamin D to maintain both their own vitamin D levels and that of their infants. Ideally, they should receive at least 5,000 IU per day.
Infact Canada has an excellent article about Vit D supplementation of breastfed infants. Infact points out that most of the statements about the "deficiency" of Breastmilk is blown out of proportion and the blatant sales pitch for liquid supplement for infants totally unnecessary. If mom has enough, so will Baby!!!!!!
How impartial is Canada's Nutrition for Healthy Term Infants1?
A just released pamphlet* from the Canadian Pediatric Society explaining the vitamin D recommendation of the infant feeding statement, says it all. Using language designed to arouse fear in new parents, breastmilk is dismissed as nutritionally inadequate, "Breastmilk contains 15 to 40 I.U. of vitamin D per litre and does not provide your baby with an adequate intake of vitamin D". Added to this are graphic descriptions of the symptoms of rickets, all designed to create doubt and anxiety on the part of parents in a mother's ability to breastfeed. Parents are told that sunlight is not a reliable source but that a "daily vitamin D supplement is a far more reliable way." One wonders did they not read the scientific literature? Did they not read the articles about the low prevalence and that only a very select minority is at risk? Did they note in the literature that vitamin D is not naturally a dietary substance but is derived from exposure to the sun? Pushing a product with kickbacks to the profession seems to be the quick fix.
*This brochure was produced by the Canadian Pediatric Society and made possible by an educational grant from Mead Johnson Nutritionals, makers of D-VI-SOL
And finally, here's what Dr. Jack Newman has to say on the topic:
Vitamin D
It seems that breastmilk does not contain much vitamin D, but it does have a little. We must assume this is as nature intended not a mistake of evolution. In fact, breastmilk is one of the few natural foods that does contain some vitamin D. We were obviously meant to get our vitamin D from being exposed to sunlight. The baby stores up vitamin D during the pregnancy and he will remain healthy without vitamin D supplementation for at least a couple of months, unless the mother herself is vitamin D deficient during the pregnancy. Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women in Canada and the USA is uncommon, but it does exist. Outside exposure also gives your baby vitamin D even in winter, even when the sky is cloudy. A few minutes of exposure very late on a summer’s day is ample. Thirty minutes during a summer week, and an hour or so in winter, gives your baby more than enough vitamin D even if only his face is exposed.
Under unusual circumstances, it may be prudent to give the baby vitamin D. For example, in situations where exposure of the baby to ultraviolet rays of the sun is not possible (Northern Canada in winter or if the baby is never taken outside), giving the baby vitamin D drops would be advised. If you have had very little outside exposure yourself (women who are veiled are particularly at risk, especially if they are dark skinned), make sure your intake of vitamin D during the pregnancy is higher than usually recommended. Your baby may need vitamin D supplementation as well. Recent studies suggest that high intake of vitamin D while breastfeeding (4000 IU a day—10 times the usual recommended dose) does in fact increase the amount of vitamin D in the milk to levels that will protect the baby from rickets.
Hundreds of thousands of women die each year from pregnancy-related complications. The vast majority of these deaths are unnecessary and preventable, caused by a lack of access to timely, quality health care.
The Global MOMS Act, supported by Amnesty International USA, will have a lifesaving impact. In some countries, it truly could mean the difference between life and death for a woman.
The Global MOMS Act will support activities that help expand access to better quality maternal health services, remove barriers to such services, and ensure that they meet international human rights standards.
Women dying during pregnancy and childbirth is not just a public health
emergency, it is also a human rights crisis. Amnesty International has
identified obstacles to lifesaving treatment faced by pregnant women
around the world. In Peru, poor, rural and indigenous women face language
barriers and too few accessible clinics. In Burkina Faso, women die
because they cannot reach a health facility capable of treating them or
because they arrive too late.
Two years ago, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution
affirming "commitment to promoting maternal health and child survival both
at home and abroad through greater international investment and participation." It's time to match commitment with action. The lives of millions of women are at stake.
Is there anything more all consuming, more frustrating, or more emotionally roller coastering than waiting for labour to begin? It doesn't really seem to matter what your personality type is or your spiritual philosophy, or your ability to create a logical hypothesis based on the available data and current weather patterns...... It doesn't' matter who you are or where you're from, once you get to 37 weeks, there is only one big question left:
When will I go into labour!?!?
Whether you're a high energy go getter, or very laid back zenesque "Be one with the universe my child" type woman, whether you're an outspoken tell-it-like-it-is chick, or an "I'll just suffer quietly here in my misery and put on a brave face for the world" type gal.... Once you reach that carrot that's been dangling in front of you for 36 weeks, whether you want to admit it or not, you are capable of thinking of pretty much only one thing:
"Does the baby feel lower today?"
"Was that a contraction?"
"Is that my water leaking or did I just have (another) juvenile accident?"
"If I go for a power walk and drink a litre of Red Raspberry Leaf tea, eat an entire pineapple and finally allow my husband to touch me in that "carnal knowledge" way.... will I go into labour?"
You know it's true. You might want to wax eloquently about the joys of pregnancy and parade your beautiful full term belly for the world to see while allowing the general public to admire your radiant fertility goddess-like glow.... But inside you KNOW you're screaming "ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!"
Ok, lets just face the facts: Pregnancy is just one big "Waiting Game" THE Waiting Game!!!
First there's the "Two Weeks Waiting Game"- we've ovulated, and copulated, and now we count down the days till we can realistically start spending ridiculous amounts of money on every brand of pregnancy test on the market.
Once we've got our BFP , now we spend the first 12 weeks holding our breath waiting to feel "safe" telling everyone and their mother our amazing news. Then it's on to waiting for the Zanadu of the second trimester. That's when everyone assures us that the morning sickness will be a thing of the past, when our boobs will feel happy about being in a bra again, and we can go for longer than 3 hours without trying to find a quiet corner to hide in for a cat nap.
Once you've reached the promise land of the second trimester, you start the next phaze of pregnancy craze. I have energy! I can leap tall buildings in a single bound! I can eat an entire banana split covered in crushed chocolate bars, whip cream and candy sprinkles without thinking about my ass even once!!! I am WOMAN, See Me Roar!!! ....and paint an entire room in 4 hours... before deciding that that colour is absolutely atrocious and running out to the paint store to buy new paint, no! wall paper! No! a Wall size fresco poster! NO!! a venetian plaster kit and enough rags to start my own quilting company!!!!!!!!
And we wait.... to feel that first baby kick. Was that a flutter? Or was it just the egg salad sandwich I ate at midnight? To feel those first movements of our growing baby beans becomes an all consuming passion. Your sister felt the first movements at 16 weeks... why aren't you feeling them? Is there something wrong? OPPS! was that a nudge? Yipeee!!! My first nudge!!! Now we wait for the second stage nudge: the one that daddy can feel. Which is followed quickly by the stage of "Come quick! The baby just moved! No really it did! Can't you feel it? No not there, over here! Wait! Come back, it moved again!!!".... Oh the joys of a mother feeling her little belly beasty doing the back stroke!!
That quickly gives way to the next stage: Third Trimester.
By the time you've gotten to the 30 week mark you're now waiting for baby to STOP doing Karate katas and flying round house kicks. How the hell is it possible for a baby to have enough room in there to completely turn in a circle while using your internal organs as hand and foot holds?!? Really baby, I know that the bean burritos with extra spicy salsa might not have been to your taste, but could you please stop using mommy's bladder as a punching bag- some of us HAVE to sleep!!!
Which brings me back to that week 37 mile stone. You are now officially at "Full Term". You haven't seen your feet in months, your toenail polish has grown out, your legs are hairy, you need a weed wacker for your bikini line, your wardrobe consists of your husbands cast off over sized T-shirts and flannel pajama pants, Rolaids has become your after dinner mint of choice, and you plan your forays out of the house by mapping out the most direct route to the closest bathroom at every stop.
Baby, it's time to be born!!!
The ultimate waiting game begins. And you know, it doesn't' matter if it's your first baby or your fifth, you still hang precariously on every single Braxton Hick contraction, every back ache, every bowel movement. Your homebirth/hospital bag/kit is packed, and repacked. You've rewashed the baby clothes 3 times, and written out your birth plan (and re-edited it 5 times because there's always one more detail that you forgot to add....), you're now sleeping with more pillows than a princess with a pea problem, and have seriously considered getting an adult sized potty to put beside the bed.
Waiting waiting waiting......
This is now the stage where you spend copious amounts of time on the internet researching every old wives tale about bringing on labour and hang out in online forums and chat rooms with other full term pregnant moms, comparing notes on every possible way to get baby out. Sex, spicy food, pineapple, walking, sex, nipple stimulation, sex..... you actually stand in the aisle of the pharmacy with a bottle of castor oil in your hands trying to decided if you're "THAT" desperate to have this baby.
As of today, I'm 37 weeks and 6 days pregnant (not that I'm counting or anything) with my 5th child. Let me give you a piece of advice from an old hand at this baby making thing:
Babies come when they damn well want to. Other than resorting to medical interventions by doctors with tee off times, (that will most likely lead to more interventions and a C/S... but that's a whole other article), you might as well just resign yourself to waiting till baby wants to come out.
Now if you'll pardon me for a moment, I'm just going to waddle out to the pharmacy to stare at that bottle of castor oil....
Musings of a Montreal Doula has written yet another very insightful blog : "honouring a woman's intuition"
To me, this is yet another prime example of the medical machine's invisible interventions (Which I am currently writing an article on). A woman in pregnancy and in childbirth is at her peak of feminine power, and more in tune with her body than ever before. When she is supported and honoured, she is allowed to hear her body and to act in freedom as she needs to: to grow her beautiful healthy baby and to give birth in a calm and secure environment.
As I posted a couple of days ago, the US Dept of Defence has put together a great "Emergency Childbirth Guide" with the basic premise being "Just leave well enough alone and let the birthing mother get on with it!!" Yet medical professionals in L&D wards across North America seem to be incapable of this- to the point that they will ignore a birthing woman's intuition completely and stick with their own agenda. To me this is one of the most insidious of the invisible medical interventions that overpowers pregnant and birthing women. It is bad enough that most women are forced to conform to the hospital and doctors rules & regulations and are forced through a one size fits all cookie cutter birthing factory, but when even your own voice is taken from you, you are literally stripped down to just another number.
Like Musings of a Montreal Doula, I have listened to so many stories of women who have had very powerful insights into their labours and pregnancies, yet unfortunately most of these have been ignored. Women who've KNOWN that something has been wrong during their labour only to be shushed and treated as a naughty child who's carrying on too much.... only to give birth to a very sick baby that has to spend weeks in NICU.... because no one would listen. Women who've shown up at L&D because they've KNOWN that they are in serious labour, to have medical staff laugh at them and try to send them away "Sweetheart, if you were really in labour right now, you'd know about it!!"... only to give birth 15 minutes later into the startled ungloved hands of a shocked maternity ward nurse.
In pregnancy I see it all the time with so called "Due Dates". A woman has a positive pregnancy test and is sent for an Ultra Sound to date the pregnancy where some Technician Tells the woman when she will have her baby. I can not count the amount of times I've heard women say 'That can't be right"... "I'm at least 2 weeks farther along/not that far along"... and yet even though it is their own body that they are growing these babies in- bodies they've lived with their whole lives.... the doctors invariably go with the U/S pictures "Due Date". This happened to me during my pregnancy with my second daughter. The Ultra Sound technicial grandly announced a due date that I KNEW was at least 2.5-3 weeks earlier than I expected..... hell, not "expected" I KNEW exactly when I had ovulated, and exactly how far along I was. But as usual the doctor chose to believe the pictures. So my daughter was born at "40wks3 days".... weighing 5 lb 15 oz. I gave the doctor a look that said "I told you so", and he just shrugged. A good friend of mine was assigned a due date with her youngest child that was 3 weeks later than she knew her actual due date was. She told her doctor several times that "this baby needs to come out now"... only to be patted on the head like a small child and told "Oh, every woman gets tired of being pregnant at this stage...." When she went into labour on her "due date" everyone in the birthing room again Pooh poohed her severe anxiety over the health of her baby through a traumatically fast and powerful birth... only to be shocked when her very obviously past term baby was born having convulsions from laying in a stew of miconium thicker than tar. If doctors had listened to her intuition, her baby might not of spent a week in NICU on respirators.
Intuition is a powerful tool, and an empowering tool for women to listen too. Only by listening to our selves and our inner voice and our body can we truly be liberated and empowered to make the decisions that we KNOW are best for us and our babies.
One of the sad things about today's care of the pregnant/birthing/postpartum woman is a lack of respect for her intuition. Many women are considered hysterical or completely blown off for discussing their intuitions. What exactly is intuition? It's about looking inside and gathering information about things and situations not by reason, but by feeling. It is not about being psychic. When we refer to intuition, people sometimes think we're refering to looking into the future, which, unless you truly are gifted with psychic ability, is not generally possible. I think intuition just means gathering information about things which are conveyed in ways more subtle than can be perceived by the five senses. I don't believe, as doulas, we can predict how birth will ultimately play out in the future (try to pin Birth down, and she changes on you...she hates us puny humans trying to "know" her too well), but you can, in the here and now, be able to intuit something about a woman, perhaps an emotional or energetic frequency, that can give you a good or not so good feeling about how that may play out in the field of childbirth. And you can be wrong, which is okay, because nothing is fool proof.. not ultrasounds, amnios, or blood tests (oh my!). ...
...I trust women. A woman in her childbearing year tends to have incredible insight into the workings of her body and her baby. She should be given plenty of space to talk about these feelings freely without fear of being judged as "silly". When you're growing a baby inside you, you are linked to another being more intimately than any other way. It is no surprise that a woman can have very strong feelings about what's going on with her baby. I kinda believe that a baby transmits his feelings to his mom in some cases. I don't think he says, "Mother, I am planning on becoming photographer someday," or "Ma, I will be born with a large birthmark." In fact, many women before the days of ultrasound were unaware they were carrying twins until the day of their birth. I just mean I have seen wild flashes of insight which, in spite of medical disbelief or logic, have been proven right. There are just times a woman tells you something when you know in your own gut what she is saying is incontrovertible...you know it by a strong feeling of resonance with the truth of her words.
Here are a few examples. A really crazy amazing wild woman friend of mine named Michelle, was my doula for the birth of my first child. She had given birth to her own first three children at home in the mountains of Tennessee, one of them unassisted, I believe. When she became pregnant with her fourth child, she had been doing some doula work in hospitals. She told me she thought she'd birth this baby in a hospital. I asked her, "What do you mean? You've had great home births. What makes you want to go to the hospital?" She told me she wasn't sure, just that she had felt really comfortable in a certain hospital she had worked at, and felt drawn to give birth there. She arrived at the hospital in labour, and was very quickly rushed to the OR for an emergency C-section because of severe fetal distress due a real and serious umbilical cord problem. Her son was fine. And her next three children were born at home in the Dominican Republic.
A really lovely blog written by a Montreal Doula, outlining 10 steps to "Nourish yourself", physically, emotionally and mentally during pregnancy and birth. A wonderful read...I only wish she'd written it about 6 months ago!!!
Technically, it takes very little to have a decent birth experience. Most women can squat in a forest and have a baby without any instructions, never mind interventions. Of course, things happen beyond our control, but MOST of the time, the process works fine. I have heard midwife Karen Strange say, "Birth is meant to work when noone else is there," and I believe that is true for the vast majority of birthings.
As a doula, I know for a fact that many outcomes that have been less than favourable have actually been caused by too much meddling with the process...too much doubt, too many attempts to control all contingencies. And I have also sadly seen not wonderful outcomes when there have been no interventions and there should have been. So, knowing as a reality there truly isn't much control over what direction a birth decides to take, there are ways you can increase your chance of a nice, happy birth. No guarantees, but a fighting chance doesn't hurt.
I've outlined a few steps on how to nourish yourself during pregnancy and beyond. Nourishment is a concept that goes far beyond just what you put in your mouth. It refers to anything you "digest" physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
1) Eat well. Eating well is a very important aspect of prenatal care. It cannot be emphasized enough that good nutrition is essential to creating the best chances for the best outcome. I have seen women heal symptoms from the annoying to the dangerous by adjusting her diet. Your baby's optimal growth is dependent upon the food you take in. Yes, I know, even ladies in very poor circumstances can have reasonably healthy babies, but we're talking about optimal health. It's not hard to eat well....eating organically as much as possible is preferable, but if that is not possible, many find that simple, healthy food is actually a lot cheaper than processed food. Why not give it a go?
2)Exercise gently Walking, yoga, swimming, bellydancing...these are all ways not just to nourish and tone your body and make you strong and supple for birth, but to help you connect more deeply to your centre. These exercises put you in a more meditative state, perhaps helping you discover areas you hold tension, and help you work through that tension.
3)Receive loving touch. Massage, osteopathy, shiatsu, chiropractic...all of these things help you relax, aid in balancing and aligning your body, and work out aches and pains. They can also help you with somatic/emotional integration, as what often happens with receiving bodywork is a greater awareness of where unprocessed emotions tend to live in your body.
4)Gravitate towards those you have the best relationships with. Loving, nurturing relationships are crucial to the wellbeing of the pregnant woman. Laughing with good friends, chlling with your mom, having great sex with your partner, consciously tending to and being tended help you grow your baby in an environment of love. If you're having challenges in your primary relationships, it's important to have a safe space to talk about these issues. If there were ever a time to get on top of challenges in your love relationship, now would be it for you and your partner to actively work on problems, either together intentionally, or with the help of a good counsellor. Things won't get easier after the birth of the baby. Being on the same page and figuring out each other's values surrounding parenting is something that should be worked out.
5)Work with your emotions. Take inventory of some of the things in your life you'd like to explore, like fears around your changing identity from regular old you into a mother, fears about childbirth, or patterns you've outgrown but haven't found ways to change. Preparing for birth and motherhood is about creating space. When you can let go of some of the emotional energy you may be hanging onto, you have greater access to the resources you need to give birth and mother in a more grounded way. There are many tools you can use to process your emotions, from journaling, creating art, talking to loved ones, or talking to a trusted teacher/guide/therapist.
6)Surround yourself with beauty. When your surroundings are clean and comfortable, you tend to feel like you have more space within as well as without. The nesting energy of later pregnancy tends to help us with this task. Taking walks outside in Nature and watching movies or things on TV that are uplifting, funny, or inspirational are probably healthier than subjecting yourself and your baby to the chemical reactions that inevitably occur when viewing something violent. Let the smells that suffuse your home be gentle, natural, and yummy, not harsh and chemically.
7)Breathe. Learning to breathe deeply into all parts of your body to receive life giving energy, then breathing out tension is essential to help you achieve deep relaxation. Learning to focus your breath will help you cope with labour and moments of stress in parenting. Having something for your mind to chew on during labour can be really helpful, and breathing is a great tool. Practice it every day. If you are interested in breathing techniques for labour, you can find many resources to learn them. But practice. I find the most useful breath work is deep abdominal breathing, "ocean breath" of yoga, and vocalization to help release the intense sensations of labour. A great prenatal yoga teacher can be a gem to your pregnancy.
7)Educate yourself properly. Reading a bunch of things about the birth process that are scary or alarmist doesn't really help you. Instead, focusing on positive stories of birth and breastfeeding will keep you less stressed, keeping in mind that stress affects your hormones, thus affects birthing and milk let down. You already know the unexpected can happen, but delving into all the possibilities just "to know" isn't as healthy as perhaps focusing on the couple of things that really stand out to you as frightening. If this is the case, focus on those and figure out what's bugging you and why. Do some emotional work around it to discover what energy is bound up with these fears. Don't let people tell you their horror stories about birth. Your hearing them will not help you "prepare".
Learning your birthing options is crucial to your education. As it's been said, "if you don't know your options, you don't have any." Your doula or midwife should be able to help you with this, and guide you towards the best resources to give you the most practical prenatal preparation education for birth and mothering. If you are being followed medically, talking to your doctor about your options is important to figure out the birthing terrain. Do a tour of your hospital to find out what sort of resources they have to support your desires. The last thing you want to be is vulnerable to medical interventions you don't want by not knowing your rights as a consumer of medical care. Private prenatal education tends to be more nuturing and helpful than hospital sponsored classes, though great teachers can be found here too if you don't have any other resources.
8)Gather support. If you are going to give birth in a hospital, quite simply, you need a doula, especially if you are hoping for a low to no intervention birth experience and good start to breastfeeding. Hire a postpartum doula to help you build your confidence and make sure you are nurtured afterwards. Ask friends to bring you food if they want to visit. If you've ever thought about hiring help around the house, now would be a good time. Make sure your doctor or midwife are on board with your desires as much as possible. If your doctor or midwife make you feel small for asking questions, even LOTS of them, or don't honour you with straight answers, you probably don't have the appropriate caregiver for you. So CHANGE caregivers. I help people do this all the time. You are entitled to ask questions, and deserve their time of day. Remember, even if your doctor or midwife are truly too busy to give you the time you need (not because they're mean, but because there is a terrible shortage and they need to serve as many people as possible), a doula or good childbirth educator can help you fill in the blanks.
9)Slow down. Growing a baby is a full time job, and often women work in worlds that look down upon pregnancy, or are not fully supportive of the physiological and emotional shifts that go on. Working right up 'til your due date is not something I normally recommend, unless your job is something that really nourishes you or you simply cannot afford to take the time off (in which case, make space where you can, at lunchtime or breaks). I know that my pregnancies were a very rich time of creative energy, and I needed time to bring forth those creations. Stopping to communicate with your baby inside, taking time to envision your birth, making space for emotional checking in...these are all important aspects of preparing for birth. Imagine working in a stressful environment right 'til the day you go into labour, your head full of "to do" lists and worries about "abandoning" your work? This could make labour...interesting.
10)Let go. Now that you've done all your work, let it go. Your birth and breastfeeding experience will unfold as it will. The tools you have used to nourish yourself as fully as you can will serve you well to weather your experience. Knowing you did all you could to prepare yourself body, mind, and soul, you own your birth. You have taken responsibility. You have the resources to cope with all the richness and complexity that is your own unique birth and mothering experience.
Another fantastic Blog (as usual) by Peaceful Parenting, on yet another topic that I have long ranted about.
Group B Strep
I actually got into a war with my secondary midwife, while pregnant with Logan, on this topic. During one of our few appointments together, she tried to tell me that I "had" to have a group B strep test done. I refused and gave her my reasons, but she was completely incapable of seeing the logic in my refusal and was so twisted up by the medical machines propaganda about it that she just could not accept my decision.... which ultimately lead to me getting a new secondary midwife.
While the article is older, the information is just as valid today as it was when it was written.
This is a wonderful, useful, well-researched article. However, it was written in 2003, and there was little research at the time of alternative methods of dealing with/treating GBS in pregnant women and during labor. A lot has been done in this area of birth research in the past 6 years and we now know that the use of chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) is as effective (if not more so) in treating GBS without the negative side-effects that antibiotics carry for a newborn baby.
I am thinking about getting the immunization. Is the H1N1 shot safe and effective?
"...One way to investigate safety is to read the actual vaccine label or package insert that is provided to your physician. One company states [brackets mine] that the vaccine has not "been evaluated for carcinogenic or mutogenic potential, or for impairment of fertility.... ...Concerning administration to pregnant women, the insert reads: "Pregnancy: Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine. It is also not known whether these vaccines can cause fetal harm when administered to pregnant women or can affect reproduction capacity. Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed." Based upon that statement, one would typically view administration of the H1N1 vaccine to pregnant women as an "off-label" use…except for the tiny loophole-comment tagged on the end.... ...Public health experts said that there's no way to know if any rare side effects will occur in the new vaccine until millions of people are vaccinated. Those unknowns certainly can make an expectant mom concerned about being able to make an informed choice. Reports are beginning to come in from around the world of vaccine side effects ranging from rashes and rare muscle-weakness disorders to anaphylactic shock and death. The percentage of vaccinated people who experience severe complications has yet to be calculated.
Just recently, web postings have been starting to accumulate from women who have suffered miscarriage 1–4 days after receiving the H1N1 vaccine in the first and early second trimesters of pregnancy. There is not enough clinical data available to know if this is coincidental or causal, but the numbers of postings are growing and may eventually generate further investigation."
While the benefits of breastfeeding are unquestionable, many new mothers choose not to for fear of sagging breasts. However, breastfeeding alone has no impact on a woman’s breast shape, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented today at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2007 conference in Baltimore.
“Many women who come in for breast surgery tell us their breasts are sagging, drooping or are less full because they breastfed,” said Brian Rinker, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon and study author. “Although the amount of sagging in the breasts appears to increase with each pregnancy, we’ve found that breastfeeding does not worsen the effect.”
This article was released Dec 1st in the Austrailian Herald Sun.
Use of bug repellant sprays during the first trimester have been linked to a common penis deformity in male infants. The defect called Hypospadias has become more common- affecting one to two boys in every 500 births- and is where the opening of the penis is in the wrong place - usually back from the tip and on the underside - and it often requires corrective surgery.
....Yet another case of something I wish I knew about 8 months ago!! I spent my first trimester of this pregnancy living in Africa and used bug spray a few times a week when outside during the evenings.
*sigh*
Bug spray link to penis defect
Article from:
By Danny Rose -December 01, 2009 11:00pm
"Researchers quizzed mums of 471 babies with hypospadias, and another 490 randomly selected babies, about their lifestyles and chemical exposures during pregnancy.
They found that use of repellents during the first three months of pregnancy was associated with an 81 per cent increased risk of hypospadias. The most common active ingredient in repellents was N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide - otherwise known as DEET. ..."
