Month of Conception Linked to Birth Defects
April 1, 2009 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Exposed!, Health, Morning News, Womens Health
Spring and summer might not be the best time for women in the United States to conceive according to a new study published in the April edition of the Acta Pædiatrica journal. Seems that the study, which analysed the 30.1 million births in the U.S. between 1996 and 2002, found that there was an increased number of birth defects in the children born of women who last menstruated in April, May, June, or July.
This is the time of the year when there are increased levels of pesticides, such as atrazine (which is banned in Europe but still permitted in the US) and nitrates, in surface water across the United States. Based on the evidence this study has uncovered, the researchers suspect there is a strong correlation between the seasonal increase in pesticides in the surface water and numbers of babies born with birth defects.
As Dr Winchester, lead author, says “… if our suspicions are right and pesticides are contributing to birth defect risk, we can reverse or modify the factors that are causing these lifelong and often very serious medical problems.”
(photo image – Sxc.hu/Jenny Rollo)
