Turn on the TV and you'll be warned to stay away from everything from sharks to black ice. Anyone else feel like pesticide risks seem to get swept under the rug?  This story, for instance from over a year ago went unnoticed by our staff despite its horrific nature. The report details how 3 women who lived in the same neighborhood gave birth to 3 children, all within a few weeks of each other, all with severe birth defects. What else did these women have in common? They lived near and worked on tomato fields in Florida owned by Ag-Mart Produce, where they were exposed to common pesticides.

One child was born without arms or legs, one with a jaw that wouldn't stay attached to his skull and the last with only one ear, one kidney, no nose, no anus and other issues, who unfortunately died only three days after birth.

Dozens of highly toxic chemicals were sprayed onto the fields where they worked, "... and at least three, the herbicide metribuzin, the fungicide mancozeb, and the insecticide avermectin, are know to be 'developmental and reproductive toxins,' according to the Pesticide Action Network. They are teratogenic, meaning they can cause birth defects." (source)

So the real question is, if these are so toxic to be around, why are we putting them on our food? The tomatoes in question are actually marketed to children.

For safety information on how to handle pesticides when you are pregnant, you can see this page from the American Pregnancy Organization.

Do you feel informed about the risks of herbicides and pesticides?

Labels: chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, pregnancy, tomatoes, toxic

Avoid unpasteurized dairy.

Limit raw fish consumption.

No alcohol.

These types of recommendations for pregnant women are well known. In addition, supplementation of essential nutrition is important. But now there is more you can do to ensure a healthy pregnancy. A new report from Environmental Health Sciences reveals that environmental factors can be very important to the health of the fetus and deserve attention. Substances in the food we eat, flame retardants in furniture or even exposure to gas fumes when at the pump can all have negative effects.

"Virtually all pregnant women have chemicals in their bodies that might harm fetal development.

Monitoring of pregnant women found about 100 different chemical, with 43 of them in all women tested. Lead, mercury, toluene, perchlorate, bisphenol A, flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, organochlorine pesticides and phthalates are among the chemicals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;s nationwide testing program. 

Studies suggest that for many of these compounds, low-level exposures in the womb seem to disrupt development of the brain or reproductive systems. Others may raise the risk of birth defects, or lead to cancer, immune problems, asthma, fertility problems or other disorders later in life"

What troubling is that many health care providers are not talking to patients about these risks.

"A new nationwide survey of 2,600 obstetricians and gynecologists found that most do not warn their pregnant patients about chemicals in food, consumer products or the environment that could endanger their fetuses. More than half said they don't warn about mercury, and hardly any of them give advice about lead, pesticides, air pollution or chemicals in plastics of cosmetics. 

Many doctors sat their priority is to protect pregnant women from more immediate dangers, and that warning them about environmental risks may create undue anxiety. Some say they don't feel confident in their ability to discuss the topics.

'We're worrying about pre-term labor, obesity and hypertension,' said Dr. Jeanne A Conry, an ob/gyn at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville, Calif., and incoming president of a national medical society. 'Obesity trumps almost everything. We put our time and energy there, and don't dwell on some of the other things we should be aware of."

Read the entire article here.

How does this information sit with you? Do you tell your pregnant patients about potential environmental dangers? Do you think that patients can handle the information and make good use of it? What resources to you use to stay up to date on environmental research?

Let us know in the comments.

Labels: BPA, chemicals, environmental, fetal, flame retardants, fumes, gynecology, health, infant, obstetricians, pregnancy, pregnant

Pesticides are damaging. Agricultural pesticides have been linked to autism, ADHD, birth defects and developmental problems. Innate Response takes great pride in our products being free of herbicides and pesticides, and it is the culture of our company to buy organic and local whenever possible in order to avoid unnecessary exposure to these harmful chemicals.

"The researchers sampled air in 25 households, finding at least five pesticides in 60 percent of the dwellings. Nine other pesticides were identified in less than one-third of the homes. All the women were in the third trimester of pregnancy, when the fetal brain undergoes a growth spurt. Numerous studies have reported birth defects and developmental problems when fetuses and infants are exposed to pesticides, especially exposures that adversely affect mental and motor development during infancy and childhood. This new report is in the summer issue of the Texas Public Health Journal sent to members this week.

The study found 92 percent of air samples contained o-phenylphenol, which is used as a fungicide, germicide and household disinfectant, while 80 percent of samples contained chlorpyrifos, used in agriculture and to kill mosquitoes and other insects. Chlorpyrifos has been well-documented as posing risks to babies exposed in the womb to brain abnormalities after birth. Researchers asked the women questions about pesticide use and exposure, proximity to agricultural fields, the frequency of spraying operations, and the detection of pesticide odors drifting from fields. Air samples were measured for multiple pesticides used in agriculture, given the close proximity of the fields to participant homes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week announced new mitigation measures to reduce bystander exposure to chlorpyrifos drift from agricultural fields, including the use of buffer zones for residential areas, schools, hospitals etc."

We recommend that pregnant women eat organic whenever possible and avoid products that contain ingredients that were grown with pesticides and herbicides. And try some natural pest and bug remedies. Peppermint oil makes a great pest deterrent. Sprinkle a few drops in any spots in the house where you spot ants. And try this natural and chemical-free bug spray!

Labels: bugs, children, health, herbicides, pesticides, pregnancy, pregnant

For my gynecology class here at Bastyr University, I was required to complete a literature review on a topic of my choosing. I chose to peruse the available literature to determine if supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids decreased the incidence or severity of postpartum depression. The results of my review were somewhat startling so I decided to provide a brief synopsis of my review in this blog.

The current literature has established a correlation between incidence of depression and overall omega-3 fatty acid status. A large epidemiologic analysis of cross country data concluded that higher seafood consumption and/or higher breast milk DHA concentration was associated with a decreased risk of postpartum depression.(6) Animal studies have shown that an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency leads to reduced brain serotonin levels.(6) In addition, it has been discovered that patients with major depressive disorder have lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids than healthy patients.(7) In the brain, ‘DHA is important in neuronal membrane stability, neuroplasticity, signal transduction and neurotransmission, which might be connected to the etiology of mood and cognitive dysfunction of depression.’(7) Considering all of the evidence that omega-3 fatty acid depletion might play a role in depression, there is an alarming paucity of large, well-designed intervention trials investigating the efficacy of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in the prevention and/or treatment of postpartum depression.

Approximately 12-16% of mothers experience postpartum depression.(5) Postpartum depression usually occurs within 6 – 12 weeks of delivery but it can occur up to one year after birth and studies have shown that it can last for years.(5) Evidence suggests that fatty acid supplementation should be critical and highly beneficial during both pregnancy and breast feeding since the metabolic demand for omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, increases significantly.(6) DHA demands are especially increased during the last trimester of pregnancy when DHA is being incorporated into the fetal brain and nervous system.(6) Post-mortem studies indicate that the fetus accumulates an average of 67mg of omega-3 fatty acids, mostly as DHA, per day during the last trimester of pregnancy.(6)

In all of the studies reviewed, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation was well tolerated by all participants with no significant adverse events reported. Collectively, the available data indicate that supplementation with up to three grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day did not lead to excessive blood loss during birth or any other possible adverse events.(6)

Since omega-3 fatty acid supplements are well tolerated during and after pregnancy and since several studies suggest a link between omega-3 fatty acid status and depression, the use of omega-3 fatty acids in lieu of pharmaceuticals to treat pregnancy-related depression is worthy of consideration.

To complete this review, I searched MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, PsycINFO and EMBASE databases for relevant studies between October 2001 and October 2011. My search resulted in over 100 relevant papers, but only 4 were included in my review since all included studies had to be controlled intervention trials that supplemented participants with omega-3 fatty acids and then measured incidence or severity of postpartum depression.

Based on the four studies, I concluded that the literature showed no beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation over placebo on incidence of postpartum depression. Only one out of the four studies had a positive outcome but the positive study was quite unique when compared to the other three studies. In this positive study (4), the participants had postpartum depression before supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids while the three negative studies recruited healthy participants. Another unique feature of this positive study was the outcome measured. Rather than focusing on the incidence of postpartum depression as the other three studies did, this study measured the severity of the symptoms of postpartum depression. The positive study also supplemented with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

In conclusion, supplementation with low levels of omega-3 fatty acids might not decrease the incidence of post-partum depression but if supplementation with higher levels significantly decreased the severity of postpartum depression then perhaps supplementing with even higher levels could reduce the overall incidence. The positive study supplemented with only 1,000 mg of omega-3 fatty acids while it has been proven that doses up to 3,000 mg per day are safe and well tolerated by pregnant women. In my personal opinion, these intervention trials did not intervene enough. I hope that future studies will supplement with increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids over a longer period of time and assess both the incidence and severity of postpartum depression.


Laura Firetag ND Student Bastyr University

References:

1. Doornbos B, van Goor SA, Dijck-Brouwer DA, et al. (2009) Supplementation of a low dose of DHA or DHA+AA does not prevent peripartum depressive symptoms in a small population based sample. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry; 33: 49–52.
2. Makrides M, Gibson R, McPhee A, et al. (2010) Effect of DHA supplementation during pregnancy on maternal depression and neurodevelopment of young children. JAMA; 304(15): 1675-83.
3. Llorente AM, Jensen CL, Voigt RG, et al. (2003) Effect of maternal docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on postpartum depression and information processing. Am J Obstet Gynecol; 188: 1348–1353.
4. Nashidi F. (2009) A study on effects of omega-3 fatty acids on postpartum depression. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics; 107S2: S501.
5. Brenda MY, Leung ND, Kaplan BJ. (2009) Perinatal depression: prevalence, risks and the nutrition link – a review of the literature. J Am Diet Assoc; 109: 1566-1575.
6. Makrides M. (2009) Is there a dietary requirement for DHA in pregnancy? Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids; 81: 171-174.
7. Su K. (2009) Biological mechanism of antidepressant effect of omega-3 fatty acids:how does fish oil act as a ‘mind body interface?’ Neurosignals; 17: 144-152.

Labels: 3, anxiety, depression, DHA, EPA, Omega, pregnancy

Labels: D3, pregnancy, sun, sunlight, sunshine, supplementation, vitamin D