[ProLife|Family] No-Nonsense Guide to a Naturally Healthy Pregnancy and Baby - Part 4 of 7

[Sue Cifelli]

No-Nonsense Guide to a Naturally Healthy Pregnancy and Baby
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
November 07 2009 | 17,643 views

By Dr. Mercola

What You Need to Know for a Happy and Stress-Free Pregnancy

Are Vaccinations Really Necessary?Many mothers may feel that vaccinations are beneficial, and without them, they or their baby might suffer harm. Nothing could be further from the truth.
First and foremost, vaccines contain mercury, which has been shown, even in low concentrations, to impair energy production, impair neurotubule stability (neurotubules are essential to normal brain cell function), and activate brain free radical production, among many other destructive things.38
To avoid these potentially grave effects, you should avoid all vaccinations while you are pregnant, as well as avoid having your baby get any vaccinations after birth.
The brain has one of the highest metabolic rates of any organ, and impairment of its energy supply, especially during your baby�s development, can have devastating consequences.
A study undertaken by Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, representing the CDC at that time, looked at data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink and found a significant correlation between thimerosal (49.6% mercury by weight) exposure in vaccines and several neuro-developmental disorders including tics, speech delays, and possibly even ADD.39
Despite the damning evidence that vaccines contained a potent neurotoxin, and despite recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and others that thimerosal be removed, five years after the Verstraeten study, in 2004, the CDC still insisted that there was no scientific evidence of harm from exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines.40

Currently, California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New York, and Washington ban thimerosal in vaccines.41
Furthermore, children are getting mandated to have more and more vaccines at younger and younger ages. It has gotten so ridiculous, not to mention dangerous, for children whose immune systems are delicate and still developing, to have this many vaccinations.
Under the conventional schedule of immunizations, before a child reaches the age of two, he or she will have received 32 vaccinations, including four doses each of vaccines for Hemophilus influenzae type b infections, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis -- all of them given during the first 12 months of life. Seven vaccines injected into a 13-pound, two-month old infant are equivalent to 70 doses in a 130-pound adult!

In the wake of this, Dr. Donald Miller, a medical doctor and instructor of cardiac surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, has suggested a better approach, what he calls a �user friendly vaccination schedule.�
Dr. Miller states that the most rapid period of brain development begins in the third trimester, and continues over the first two years of extra uterine life.42 He believes that until randomized controlled trials demonstrate the safety of giving vaccines during this time of life, it would be prudent not to give any vaccinations to children until they are 2 years old.
Also, his user-friendly vaccination schedule requires that vaccinations, after the age of two, be given no more than once every six months, one at a time, in order to allow the child�s immune system sufficient time to recover and stabilize between shots.
For more details on Dr. Miller�s vaccination plan and other suggestions on how you can protect yourself and your baby from unnecessary vaccinations, please go to Mercola.com.
Remove Your Mercury Amalgams
Please understand that if you have mercury amalgam �silver� fillings, you are dumping the mercury from your fillings into your baby. Ideally, it would be best to remove your fillings BEFORE you become pregnant. But if you are already pregnant, it is probably best not to remove your fillings until after you deliver.
And if you have mercury amalgams, it would be wise to avoid chewing gum, because chewing liberates mercury vapors that can deposit in your child.43 And mercury vapor easily enters breast milk, so this is an ongoing issue after birth as well.
Studies have already shown that mercury in the mother can cause birth defects in her child, but the orthodox medical community has remained slow to accept this, until just recently.
The FDA reluctantly admitted last year that the mercury contained in amalgam fillings �may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses.�44
At least two studies have shown that elemental mercury accumulation within a developing baby increases with time, so that the levels of mercury in the fetal organs are significantly higher toward the end of the pregnancy than during early pregnancy.45
And it is now confirmed that mercury levels in a baby�s brain reach even higher levels following birth, despite an end to exposure from the mother's mercury. Researchers think this is due to a redistribution of the mercury from the fetus' liver to its brain.
This transfer of mercury from a mother to her child has been confirmed in at least two human studies as well.46 Another case involved a female surgeon exposed to 0.05mg/M3 mercury vapor at work, who bore a baby with severe brain damage. The baby's blood mercury was shown to be elevated.
The study stated that these levels of mercury can easily occur when a pregnant mother has a large number of dental amalgam fillings, chews gum, and is exposed to hot food and drinks.
Therefore, if you have mercury amalgams, not only avoid gum chewing, but also try to let liquids and food cool down before eating, so they do not liberate more mercury.

There are some other steps that you can take to help protect your baby from mercury toxicity, and diminish possible harm. Vitamin C and selenium are both helpful when it comes to protection from the toxic effects of mercury. For example, we know that vitamin C detoxifies oxidized fat, and that it can also protect your body against DNA damage.47
Selenium, a trace mineral found in fish, meat, eggs, and some other foods, helps your immune system defend against viruses. Selenium has also been shown to bind with mercury, and logically, should cause it to be excreted from the body.
If you decide to take a selenium supplement, be sure to choose inorganic selenium rather than organic, since the organic form can build up in the tissues, while excess inorganic selenium is excreted automatically.48
Both of these natural aids, as well as eating a properly balanced diet with plenty of green, leafy vegetables and fresh, organic foods, should help afford protection for you and your baby until you deliver and are through with breastfeeding. At that time, I recommend that you have your mercury amalgams removed by a dentist licensed in mercury removal protocols.
Protect Your Child from Pesticide Exposure
Alarming statistics have been coming to light daily about the dangers of exposure to pesticides and other chemicals. A 2007 article in the Los Angeles Times reported that women who lived near California farm fields that were sprayed with organochlorine pesticides might be more likely to give birth to children with autism.51
The autism rate was highest for children whose mothers lived closest to the fields, while it declined as the distance from the fields increased.
Another study, conducted in 2008, found that pregnant women who worked at a Denmark greenhouse reported that their sons had a higher incidence of reproductive abnormalities than had been preciously reported in that area, and their blood hormone levels differed significantly from normal.52
Additional studies have found that exposure to chemicals has been believed to be a causative factor in miscarriages,53 childhood learning problems,54 and even fetal death.55
This indicates how critical it is to make sure you safely dispose of any pesticides around your house so you do not come in contact with them, and preferably, have someone else do it so you won�t risk further exposure.
And, if you have a job that potentially could expose you to hazardous chemicals while you are pregnant, consider taking a leave of absence or otherwise distancing yourself from the source of the chemicals.
Dangers Lurking Inside Your Home
The previous studies just concerned chemicals outside the home. But with the increasing use of all types of commercial household cleansers, even your home can be an unsafe place.
A recent study involving almost 14,000 children was conducted to see if there was a link between prenatal exposure to cleaning supplies and asthma. The children in the study were followed until they reached 3-and-a-half years of age. Results from the study revealed that the babies who were exposed to these chemicals most frequently were the ones most likely to develop persistent wheezing as young children.56

Some of the chemicals most likely to be used in the home by pregnant women include: Bleach Carpet Cleaner Dry Cleaning Fluid Aerosols Turpentine/White Spirit Air Fresheners Paint Stripper Paint or Varnish Pesticide/Insecticides Window Cleaner Toilet Bowl Cleaners So, how can you protect yourself and your baby from these dangers? Here are some guidelines: The easiest way is by not introducing these kinds of chemicals into your home in the first place. Especially if you are pregnant, they could potentially be harmful to your unborn child. Consider getting rid of your existing towels, sponges, rags, and other conventional tools you clean your home with, as they are some of the top sources for illness-causing germs in your home. They also do a very poor job of cleaning the biological and toxic aspects of dirt in your home. Make dietary changes to strengthen your immune system, as I describe in the section, Eating The Right Foods For Baby. So What Should I Use to Clean My House?

I have discovered that a safe and inexpensive way to clean your house and to avoid the effects of harmful chemicals on your baby, is by using either vinegar alone as a cleaning agent, or with the addition of hydrogen peroxide.57 This combination works exceptionally well both as a disinfectant and a sanitizer.

And it�s economical as well. For example, it only takes a half-cup of white vinegar to make a quart of this simple, all-purpose cleaner.

Other economical and effective cleaners that are equally safe to use inside your home before and after pregnancy, can be made from ingredients such as white vinegar, baking soda, salt, and lemon juice. These items should be readily available in your kitchen or easily purchased, and have been proven effective as cleaning ingredients for generations.

There are also home cleaning �recipes� you can make that are safe to use during your pregnancy, such as those found at ems.org. These will help you create cleaning products that will also be environmentally safe, so they are a good investment for the future of our planet as well.58

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/11/07/No-Nonsense-Guide-to-a-Naturally-Healthy-Pregnancy-and-Baby.aspx