Eat Organic for a Healthy Baby

Think there’s no reason to eat organic? Think it’s not worth the cost? That there’s no benefits? Think again. Eating fewer pesticides may result in a healthier baby.

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine did a study this year that showed that children conceived during the spring and early summer have a higher risk for a wide range of birth defects, including Down syndrome, cleft palate, and spina bifida AND later on these children scored lower during math and language tests than children conceived at other times. While the reported increase in birth defects was modest it still coincided with a groundwater pesticide level spike that occurs during the spring-early summer planting season.

Indiana University School of Medicine neonatology professor Paul D. Winchester, MD, the study author noted that “There appears to be a season of conception in which the risk of having a child with a birth defect is higher.” Winchester also notes that eating fewer pesticides could be a smart move,  “It would seem reasonable to reduce pesticide, nitrate and other contaminant exposures wherever possible. This is especially important during pregnancy, when we have such a critical period of development in the first few months.”

Combine this with the fact that pesticides may be passed on through generations and it starts looking like a greener pregnancy is a super keen idea, both for you and your baby.

[image via stock.xchng]