Guest blogger Gina Balaty blogs at Mom-Blog. She’s a late-in-life mom, a special needs mom, a fussy child mom, a writer, a web developer & designer, a writer, working at home mom, mom entrepreneur, and oh yea, happily married wife and a pretty cool chick too. Gina’s mission is to help, encourage, inspire and commiserate with other parents, especially if they are raising special needs children.
Here is an excerpt from the article, New Research Links Environment and Autism, by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Executive Director & CEO, Healthy Child Healthy World:
On Monday (7/4/11), the story broke that researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and Stanford University conducted a study of 192 pairs of twins and found that genetics account for about 38 percent of the risk of autism, and environmental factors account for about 62 percent.
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This makes me wonder, is anyone surprised? Could anyone look at the rising rates in autism and think it’s ALL genetics? That our toxin-laden society is not in any small way to contribute for our children not developing on a typical level?
In the article, Sarnoff, Executive states that this research will have a “seismic shift in the perception” of autism. 1.5 million children are estimated to be affected in the US.
Do you hear that? 1.5 million American kids may NOW have autism. What happens if it rises?
PART OF MY STORY
Because I have a rare blood clotting disorder, I was required to take injections of blood thinners during my pregnancy to ensure I did not get a stroke. I was, and am, grateful…a stroke during a pregnancy can be devastating or fatal. Both my kids have disabilities, and everyone sort of agreed or intimated that it had mostly to do with my very old eggs (36 and 39 were my conception ages). That’s fair, but last I read, no one is exactly sure why older eggs don’t fare as well. Could it be prolonged exposure to toxins? After all, a few years back I read that the average placenta had 110 toxins in it, on the rise from years before. (I’d hate to know what it is now.)
Combine that with some possible genetic susceptibility (it’s possible) and a ton of things that we *think* are safe but truly AREN’T. (corn fed beef. fracked water. shower curtains.) NOW how likely it is that something DOES CAUSE autism and it’s not a random throw of the genetic dice?
Please note, I’m not actually blaming the active agent in the blood thinners, but we know injections contain all kinds of other chemicals in them. And I took 2-3 shots DAILY of this stuff. As mentioned, it was not a choice if I wanted to survive my pregnancy, but I have to wonder if the there are factors at play.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Now is the time for parents everywhere to get involved. Even if your child doesn’t have autism or a disability, toxins are everywhere, and the government is not protecting our families as much as they protect corporate interests. Only WE can protect our family’s best interests by making ifestyle changes AND get involved making this a cleaner world.
I decided to do something, and it’s not difficult at all! I joined the Mom’s Clean Air Force (twitter hash #MCAF), and I help tweet, blog, and contact Congressmen about issues that affect clean air. With all the other toxins floating around, it’s the least we can do. Maybe we can prevent our own children or grandchildren from having kids with disabilities, medical conditions, and allergies.
Wanna learn more about what YOU can do? Check this out:
https://www.momscleanairforce.org/what-you-can-do/
Put the MCAF badge on your site. Here’s the code:
