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Environmental Toxins verses The Unborn Child

The Embryo or Foetus is perhaps the most vulnerable member of humanity – yet finds itself in a constant battle with everyday products that its mother and father pour into their bodies, use around the house, and generally encounter wherever they go.

What all future parents need to know:

Many everyday products that have been developed over the past century and have added tremendous comfort and convenience to our lifestyles contain man-made chemicals that have yet to be fully tested. They’re everywhere, and while their effects are causing concern in many informed circles – only time will reveal what future generations might suffer. This topic is covered more fully in the first paper on Hormonal Disrupters – and this article is an extension to look at the disruptive effect on the unborn child.

What we do know is that very low doses of these Hormonal Disrupters can alter the ‘normal’ hormone signals – not only within the expectant mother, but also in the body of her developing embryo/foetus. Hormones are the body’s messengers – telling our various systems when to start and stop – and controlling their levels of activity.

Many environmental toxins are similar in shape and structure to various natural hormones within our bodies. They can ‘mimic’ the actions of these look-alikes, and alter the signals sent to our various organs. Any alteration of Hormone levels will increase the energy in the Pituitary Gland and throw all the organ levels out of balance. Specific Hormones and some of their control functions are:-

Oestrogen – controls ‘feminine development’
Androgen -hard wires brain to process and feel as “male”
Glucocorticoid – for growth, regulation of glucose, immune and circulatory systems.
Thyroid – for development of the central nervous system, brain, metabolism and growth.
Thymus – in the development of the immune system
Retinoid – for growth, vision and reproduction.
Testosterone – develops testes, stimulates bone and muscle growth

Hormonal signals delivered at the right moment guide the cells as tissues make “now or never” choices about the direction of development. Any interruption at a crucial stage of development can be critical for the developing embryo/foetus.

The Battles Stages of Foetal Development

There is a critical window of time – day 18 ‘in-utero’ – a time when the embryo can be affected by minute amounts of these toxins – a time when organs, brain, bone, genital, and hormonal systems are being established – laying the groundwork for refinement of these systems. Interruption of this delicate process by invading toxins can wreak havoc in the form of severe birth defects, malformation/mutation of male sex organs, reproduction deformities, lowered immunity, and neurological damage.

We are told that “low levels” of certain chemicals such as solvents, pesticides, and weed killers are “safe” – yet we remain aware that higher levels will kill us. Such warnings are even on the labels of the products we use. We know that the same chemicals tend to build up over the years – settling in a woman’s fat tissues following inhalation, skin absorption or ingestion. They then have the potential to cross the placental barrier – and do battle with the unborn child.

During the third trimester, the mother’s body dissolves stored maternal fat. The growing child can then receive these fat-stored toxins directly through the blood stream. Substances like PCB’s, dioxins, flame retardants, pesticides, Phthalates, Petrochemicals, formaldehyde and various heavy metals such as Mercury have been implicated in a range of emotional and behavioural problems – including autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and learning difficulties; all are conditions that strangely seem to have increased over the past century in line with our use of such substances.

Heavy metals can be mistaken by the developing foetus for essential minerals such as calcium. These can then be lodged in the developing bones and brain. Strontium 90 can take the place of calcium in the body – and the result is disastrous.

And What about the Male side of Development?

For the Father, his lifetime of exposure to chemicals may have impaired his sperm count, and sperm mobility – and may have damaged or mutated his sperm: all damage that may have happened while he himself was still in his mother’s womb. Some studies have shown that average male sperm counts are but 50% of what they were in the 1940’s.

But back to the unborn – The Human foetus always starts life as a female. If it is to become a boy, then at about six weeks the male hormones trigger a series of events, which instruct the growth of the male reproductive tract, while female ducts regress and are re-absorbed.

Necessary for this process are the presence of the Sertoli cells – responsible for the formation of the male reproduction tract, sperm and testosterone – as well as governing the descent of the testes. Exposing a male embryo at this time to a chemical that mimics female oestrogen hormones will harm the development of the male sexual organs.

Environmental Toxins are able to suppress the growth and multiplication of the Sertoli cells – fixing their numbers early at a low level and consequently hindering the male reproduction capacity in later life. Evidence is now linking foetal exposure to certain toxins with noticeable birth malformations in males – including undescended testes, genital deformities, and hormonally triggered cancers.

Where have our boys gone?

It is possible yet not proven, that synthetic chemicals may be involved in the decline of the male birth rate by selectively killing male foetuses. Research published in The Lancetindicates that male foetuses are dying in unprecedented numbers in the first few months after conception – and they are doing so at ever-earlier stages of development. The Lancetrecorded that in 1966 2.52 male foetuses died for every female between 12-15 weeks. In 1986 this had risen to 6.16; then by 1996 ten male to every female. In total, throughout pregnancy more than twice as many male foetuses are dying than females.

Perhaps the strongest pointer towards synthetic chemicals was the release of highly toxic Dioxin Chemical cocktails in an industrial accident in 1976 at Seveso in Italy. Over the following seven years, 48 girls were born and 26 boys. No sons were born to nine couples with the highest Dioxin exposures.

Synthetic Chemicals such as Dioxins continue to be developed and there is no doubt that they add to life’s daily convenience and comforts. Yet any ‘testing’ that is undertaken prior to mass release and usage is very limited – and perhaps more worrying is that observed results are only of a short-term nature. We have yet no idea about longer-term effects of that which was developed only yesterday. Trends are becoming noticeable and real evidence is however starting to mount. That will be the topic of the next paper in this series.

This argument deeming as safe “low levels” of known toxic chemicals seems akin to selling fruit juice with perhaps only 2% raw sewage – not something we offer our children, much less our susceptible unborn.

Ensure your body is a healthy vehicle for your developing child – by removing these chemicals before conception!

Most so-called ‘Detox’ systems will only remove chemicals from the blood and bowel. Blood tests will not pick up chemicals in the brain, organs, and other bodily tissues.

Statistics

Declining sperm counts – Average sperm counts in industrialized countries appear to be declining at a rate of about one percent each year. Studies (1934-1996)

Hypospadias – a birth defect of the penis doubled in the United States between 1970 and 1993 and is estimated to affect one of every 125 males born. This condition is a physical deformity of the penis in which the opening of the urethra occurs on the bottom of the penis instead of the tip.

Undescended testes – This birth defect where testes fail to completely descend into the scrotum during pregnancy, occurs in two to five percent of full-term boys in Western countries. Rates of the defect increased greatly in the USA in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Cancers

In 1901 cancer was rare: 1 out of 8,000. Since the industrial revolution, the cancer rate today has risen to 1 in 3. Source; The American Cancer Society.

150 chemicals found in the home have been connected to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological disorders. Source; The consumer protection agency.

The incidence of childhood cancer increased by 27.1% between 1975 and 2002 with the sharpest rise estimated for brain and other nervous system cancers (56% increase) and acute lymphocytic leukaemia (68.7%)

Cancer is now the no.2 killer of children – second only to accidental poisonings.

Since 1977 the rate of cancer among American children has steadily risen at a rate of nearly 1% each year. Source; National cancer institute.

Just 5 to 10% of all cancers are directly linked to inherited, genetic factors (ACS 2001)

Asthma

Asthma, once a rare disease – now common – has tripled in the last 20 years. Source; Consumer Federation of America.

Childhood asthma has increased by more than 40% since 1980.

Important Links and information:

www.drmercola.com
State of the Evidence – What is the connection between the Environment and Breast Cancer. Edited by Nancy Evans.
Dr Tinus Smit – Link between vaccinations and Autism
Hormonal Chaos. The Scientific Origins of the Environmental Endocrine Hypothesis by Sheldon Krinisky
Pandora’s Poison by Joe Thorton
Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn
Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment by Tedd Schettler and Gina Solomon.
Toxic exposures and Parkinson’s, the Mercury connection. Bernard Windham (Ed), Chemical Engineer.
Gender Identity Disorders Information – Medical research for a physical GID cause.