Dear Friends:
    Several studies, including  some done in Holland, have showed that the 
impact of pollution is  greatest in pregnancy. (Human milk is still best for 
human infants.)
 
Unborn Babies Soaked in Chemicals, Study Finds
By Maggie Fox,  Reuters
    WASHINGTON  (July 14) - Unborn babies are soaking in a stew of chemicals, 
including mercury,  gasoline byproducts and pesticides, according to a report 
to be released on  Thursday.
Although the effects on the babies are not clear, the  survey prompted 
several members of Congress to press for legislation that would  strengthen controls 
on chemicals in the environment. 
The report by the Environmental Working Group is based on  tests of 10 
samples of umbilical cord blood taken by the American Red Cross.  They found an 
average of 287 contaminants in the blood, including mercury, fire  retardants, 
pesticides and the Teflon chemical PFOA. 
"If ever we had proof that our nation's pollution laws  aren't working, it's 
reading the list of industrial chemicals in the bodies of  babies who have not 
yet lived outside the womb," Slaughter, a Democrat,  said. 
Cord blood reflects what the mother passes to the baby  through the placenta. 
"Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood,  we know that 180 
cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain  and nervous 
system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in  animal tests," 
the report said. 
Among the chemicals found in the cord blood were  methylmercury, produced by 
coal-fired power plants and certain industrial  processes. People can breathe 
it in or eat it in seafood and it causes brain and  nerve damage. 
Also found were polyaromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which  are produced by 
burning gasoline and garbage and which may cause cancer;  flame-retardant 
chemicals called polybrominated dibenzodioxins and furans; and  pesticides including 
DDT and chlordane. 
The same group analyzed the breast milk of mothers across  the United States 
in 2003 and found varying levels of chemicals, including flame  retardants 
known as PBDEs. This latest analysis also found PBDEs in cord  blood. 
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the  EPA's Toxic 
Substances Control Act gives only "limited assurance" that new  chemicals entering 
the market are safe and that the EPA only rarely assesses  chemicals already 
on the market. 
"Today, chemicals are being used to make baby bottles, food  packaging and 
other products that have never been fully evaluated for their  health effects on 
children -- and some of these chemicals are turning up in our  blood," said 
New Jersey Democrat Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who plans to co-sponsor  a bill to 
require more testing of toxic chemicals. 
warmly,
 
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com

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