The Special Needs of Children, the Developing Fetus, and Newborns

Introduction

In last week’s article, I demonstrated how regulatory authorities and the industry are overlooking a significant amount of published research regarding the roles of toxic chemicals, including pesticides, in the substantial increase of Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases (NCDs).

I pointed out that the official requirements from regulatory authorities for specific testing of pesticide-induced diseases in children are nearly nonexistent. Most disturbingly, there is no published scientific evidence-based testing to demonstrate that any of the current chemicals and pesticides are safe for our children, as there is no obligation to specifically test for them.

The article clearly demonstrated how scientists identified the cause by which glyphosate affects nerve development and noted that it cannot be reversed. The primary concern is that the brain is the largest collection of nerves in the human body and continues to develop in unborn, newborn, and growing children. Exposure to small amounts of glyphosate in food can negatively impact the brain’s normal development, leading to a range of significant issues observed in children, including autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other developmental and behavioral challenges.

The Special Needs of Children, the Developing Fetus, and Newborns

Many scientific researchers have voiced concerns that the current methods for testing pesticides and toxins (including vaccines) are severely inadequate for children. The U.S. President’s Cancer Panel (USPCP) report, written by prominent scientists and medical specialists from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Cancer Institute, stated, “They (children) are at special risk due to their smaller body mass and rapid physical development, both of which magnify their vulnerability to known or suspected carcinogens, including radiation.” [1]

This is a critical issue because a significant body of published research shows that both the fetus and the newborn are continually exposed to various chemicals, including pesticides, plasticizers, heavy metals like mercury, neurotoxins such as aluminum and fluoride, and endocrine disruptors.

The USPCP stated, ‘Some of these chemicals are found in maternal blood, placental tissue, and breast milk samples from pregnant women and mothers who recently gave birth. These findings indicate that chemical contaminants are being passed on to the next generation, both prenatally and during breastfeeding. Numerous environmental contaminants can cross the placental barrier; to a disturbing extent, babies are born ‘pre-polluted.’ Children also can be harmed by genetic or other damage resulting from environmental exposures sustained by the mother (and in some cases, the father). There is a critical lack of knowledge and appreciation of environmental threats to children’s health and a severe shortage of researchers and clinicians trained in children’s environmental health [1].

Several studies indicate a connection between chemical exposure, especially to pesticides, and the rise of cancer in children. The USPCP report states, “Cancer incidence in U.S. children under 20 years of age has increased” [1].

The information from USCP clearly demonstrates that current regulatory systems have failed to protect unborn and developing children from exposure to numerous toxic pesticides and other chemicals. This failure carries serious implications, particularly regarding the rise of various significant health issues in children and later as adults.

Developmental Neurotoxicity

Scientific research demonstrates that numerous pesticides impact the normal development of the nervous system in fetuses and children. Many pesticides, including organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids, cause significant harm because they are specifically designed to target nervous systems. This phenomenon is referred to as a neurotoxin—or in plain English—a nerve poison.

The brain is the most extensive collection of nerve cells, and numerous scientific studies demonstrate that when a fetus and newborn are exposed to small amounts of these pesticides—below the current ‘safe’ limits established by regulatory authorities—they can significantly alter brain function. [2]

One of the most concerning and saddest studies by Guillette et al. evaluated two groups of preschool children in Sonora, Mexico. One group lived in a farming community where pesticides were used, while the other group resided in the foothills, away from pesticide exposure. The image above shows that the group exposed to pesticides exhibits significant brain damage, as indicated by their inability to accurately draw a human figure typical for their age [3].

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that developing fetuses and newborns are particularly vulnerable to pesticide levels lower than those currently permitted by regulatory authorities worldwide. Their studies indicated that fetuses and newborns have lower concentrations of protective serum proteins than adults [4].

A major consequence is developmental neurotoxicity, where the poison damages the developing nervous system. This damage disrupts the normal development of the brain and other parts of the nervous system, such as the auditory nerves, optic nerves, and autonomic nervous system, leading to lower IQs, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, lack of physical coordination, temper loss—anger management issues, bipolar/schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and depression, as well as problems with eyesight and hearing.

Brain Abnormalities and IQ Reductions in Children

Studies conducted independently by researchers at Columbia University’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that fetal exposure to small amounts of organophosphate pesticides caused a range of brain abnormalities, leading to children with reduced IQs, diminished attention spans, and increased vulnerability to ADHD [5,6].

Parents should be greatly concerned that one study found no evidence of a lower-limit threshold of exposure to organophosphates in the observed adverse impact on intelligence. This means that even very low levels of exposure could result in reductions in a child’s intelligence.

The study by Rauh et al. published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America has confirmed the findings of previous studies. The researchers used MRI scans that revealed a wide range of visible brain abnormalities in children who were exposed to chlorpyrifos (CPF) in utero through standard, nonoccupational means [7].

The brain damage depicted in the image above was caused by mothers consuming fresh fruits, vegetables, and cereals typically found in the North American diet, which contains regulated ‘safe’ pesticide residues like chlorpyrifos. This proves that exposure to chemicals at levels significantly below the current allowable residues in food can negatively affect a fetus and breastfeeding children, even if the mother does not show any adverse effects from the exposure.

Pesticide and Chemical Residues in Food are not Safe

Eating food with pesticide and chemical residues can be harmful to young children, as their nervous systems are still developing.

Some of the most concerning studies indicate that pesticide damage can be passed on to future generations. Not only are offspring born with damage to the nervous system, reproductive system, and other organs, but great-grandchildren can also be affected as well [8–10].

Researchers in a 2012 study found that pregnant rats and mice exposed to the fungicide vinclozolin during the development of reproductive organs in the fetus experienced significant increases in spermatogenic cell defects, testicular abnormalities, prostate abnormalities, kidney abnormalities, and polycystic ovarian disease in future generations [9].

Another study showed that when pregnant rats were exposed to a combination of permethrin, a common insecticide, and DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide), the most common insect repellent, there was an increase in pubertal abnormalities, testis disease, and ovarian disease (primordial follicle loss and polycystic ovarian disease) in future generations [10].

The critical issue with the above studies is that small exposures to pesticides and toxic chemicals (such as adjuvants and preservatives in vaccines) during crucial periods of fetal development can lead to various diseases that may be passed on to future generations. This means that pregnant women consuming food containing trace amounts of pesticides and biologically active chemicals (such as food dyes, preservatives, and other synthetic food additives) may inadvertently expose their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to irreversible damage to their reproductive systems and other organs.

What kind of brutal society poisons its children rather than giving them the best start in life? Exposure to pesticides and neurotoxins should be regarded as some of the worst forms of child abuse.

Parents can prevent this damage by providing their children with a whole food organic diet and avoiding exposure to synthetic toxins. Numerous studies demonstrate the many benefits of an organic diet, particularly in reducing pesticide exposure in children’s bodies. The final article in this series will discuss this in detail and explain why organic foods offer the best value for our health and that of our children [11].

References

1. “U.S. President’s Cancer Panel 2008–2009 Annual Report; Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now.” Suzanne H. Reuben for the President’s Cancer Panel, U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, April 2010.
2. Qiao, Dan, Frederic Seidler, and Theodore Slotkin. “Developmental neurotoxicity of chlorpyrifos modeled in vitro: Comparative effects of metabolites and other cholinesterase inhibitors on DNA synthesis in PC12 and C6 cells.” Environmental Health Perspectives 109, no. 9 (September 2001): 909–913.
3. E. A. Guillette et al, “An Anthropological Approach to the Evaluation of Preschool Children Exposed to Pesticides in Mexico,” Environmental Health Perspectives, 106(6):347-53, June 1998.
4. Rauh, Virginia, Srikesh Arunajadai, Megan Horton, Frederica Perera, Lori Hoepner, Dana B. Barr, and Robin Whyatt. “7-year neurodevelopmental scores and prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos, a common agricultural insecticide.” Environmental Health Perspectives, 119 (2011): 1196–1201. Published online April 21, 2011.
5. Pastor, Patricia N. and Cynthia A. Reuben, “Diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability: United States, 2004–2006.” National Center for Health Statistics, Vital and Health Statistics, 10, no. 237 (July 2008): 1–14.
6. Engel, Stephanie M., James Wetmur, Jia Chen, Chenbo Zhu, Dana Boyd Barr, Richard L. Canfield, and Mary S. Wolff. “Prenatal exposure to organophosphates, paraoxonase 1, and cognitive development in children.” Environmental Health Perspectives 119 (2011): 1182–1188. Published online April 21, 2011, http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1003183/.
7. Rauh, Virginia, Frederica P. Perera, Megan K. Horton, Robin M. Whyatt, Ravi Bansal, Xuejun Hao, Jun Liu, Dana Boyd Barr, Theodore A. Slotkin, and Bradley S. Peterson. “Brain anomalies in children exposed prenatally to a common organophosphate pesticide.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109, no. 20 (May 2012): 7871–7876.
8. Manikkam, Mohan, Carlos Guerrero-Bosagna, Rebecca Tracey, Md. M. Haque, and Michael K. Skinner. “Transgenerational actions of environmental compounds on reproductive disease and identification of epigenetic biomarkers of ancestral exposures.” PLoS ONE 7, no. 2 (February 2012): e31901.
9. Manikkam, Mohan, Rebecca Tracey, Carlos Guerrero-Bosagna, and Michael K. Skinner. “Pesticide and insect repellent mixture permethrin and DEET induces epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of disease and sperm epimutations.” Journal of Reproductive Toxicology 34, no. 4 (December 2012): 708–719.
10. Guerrero-Bosagna, Carlos, Trevor R. Covert, Matthew Settles, Matthew D. Anway, and Michael K. Skinner. “Epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of vinclozolin induced mouse adult onset disease and associated sperm epigenome biomarkers.” Reproductive Toxicology 34, no. 4 (December 2012): 694–707.
11. Leu, Andre. Poisoning Our Children: The Parents’ Guide to the Myths of Safe Pesticides. Acres U.S.A. Greely, Colorado, USA 2018, ISBN 978-1-601-73140-1.