Having considered prenatal genetic testing and autism, what about the possible influence of the environment of the womb on a developing baby? An October 10th article in Slate with the provocative title of Womb Raider asks if future health problems occur during gestation:
Recently, a study of 1,044 mother-child pairs found that 3-year-olds born to mothers who gained too much weight during pregnancy had increased odds of becoming overweight. Somehow, it seemed, these women metabolically programmed their kids to get fat.
The Slate article immediately acknowledges the dangers of this particular line of thinking about children’s health:
The notion that children’s futures are …read more

Sometimes I think this blog is in danger of becoming a vaccine blog, as vaccines are so frequently a topic here. There’s what some refer to as their right to vaccinate or not. There’ve been recent outbreaks of measles and mumps, with many cases among unvaccinated persons. There’s the fear that vaccines or something in vaccines might be connected to autism.
Indeed, it’s “fear of autism” that is the reason for the continued talk about vaccines and autism. Anti-vaccine/pro-vaccine-safety advocates say that they want to “change the schedule” and to “make vaccines safer” to ensure that future generations of children do …read more

In light of this discussion, consider statement from Bad Astronomy (a blog for Discover Magazine):
…….antivaxxers are potentially the Number One health hazard in America
????!????!!!?!?????!
Or maybe Bad Astronomy’s statement could just be punctuated with a plain old, definitive, period.

At last, some sensible words about vaccines, courtesy of actress Amanda Peet on yesterday’s Good Morning America:
“It seems that the media is often giving celebrities and actors more authority on this issue than they are giving the experts. I know it’s a paradox, but that’s part of why I wanted to become a spokesperson, to say to people, ‘Please don’t listen to me. Don’t listen to actors. Go to the experts.’”“My main message to parents is that they should not be taking medical advice from me or any other celebrity. They should look to their pediatrician, the AAP and other …read more