Endocrine Disruptors in Wall Decals

I still often find myself saying I had no idea. Then sometimes I find myself saying, I wish I had no idea. But, once you know, it is hard to go back.

I know you have seen some of the ridiculously cute wall decals out there for a child's room. They are all over Etsy and the options for customization are limitless. They seem like an easy and temporary decorating solution, but think again. Did you know most wall decals have polyvinyl chloride PVC in them?

Are you saying “so what?” to yourself?

I did too, until I knew about the effects that PVC can have on the body. There are several issues with PVC. For one thing, PVC contains phthalates, which are classified as endocrine disruptors. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), increased incidence of developmental abnormalities such as cleft palate, skeletal malformations, and increased fetal death has been reported with exposure to phthalates. Additionally, delayed puberty in both sexes, undescended testes, decreased testes weight and decreased anogential distance were observed in one study. In adult female rats, one type of phthalate exposure resulted in increased incidence of mononuclear cell leukemia and increased liver size.

On February 13, 2012, the EPA released a final rule on emissions for plants that produce PVC stating that, "Exposure to toxic air pollutants can cause respiratory problems and other serious health issues, and can increase the risk of developing cancer. In particular, children are known to be more sensitive to the cancer risks posed by inhaling vinyl chloride, one of the known carcinogens emitted by this source category.”

Unfortunately, phthalates are released from the PVC through the life of a product.

Ready for the good news?

 

There are some ridiculously cute fabric alternatives that are PVC-free!

Love Mae, an Australian company, has some great decals for your room or your child’s room.

Pop and Lolli, a US company, has some really whimisical designs that will keep your child’s imagination turning.

Chocovenyl, a UK company, has an array of fun designs sure to brighten up your child's room.

For more information on phthalates:

Research article from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences on prenatal exposure to phthalates as it relates to childhood behavior.

Research article linking childhood obesity with increased phthalate exposure.

Easy-to-read handout on phthalates and exposure.

Risks and Benefits- Autism and Ultrasounds?

There are moments in life when risks and benefits are clearly mapped out for most situations. There are also many moments when they are not. Having an ultrasound done is one of those moments. It isn’t like when you go to the grocery store and they have a small section labeled “natural” in every aisle. Have you noticed this? The rest of the aisle isn’t labeled. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to to realize that the rest of the food is in fact "not natural." You do however need to be a sleuth to realize the hidden dangers of ultrasounds to your fetus.

If you have a child, you probably have a keepsake image much like the one above of Terra. We had the standard ultrasound done at 20 weeks, and one more at 36 weeks to confirm she was not breech. We also had a "keepsake video" ultrasound done, though. I didn't know that there was any risk to having one done, and the tech (that had no ultrasound training and simply rented an OB office in the evening) certainly didn't tell us. For future reference, you can find an FDA bulletin on the matter, here.

I am going to make a jump here and point out that several scientists are now trying to understand if there is a link between autism -a wide spectrum of disorders- and ultrasounds. If you type "ultrasounds" into a search engine, "and autism" comes up as a query.

Since the CDC released it's report stating that 1 in 88 children are now diagnosed with autism, a multitude of studies have been published pointing out that environmental and genetic factors alike contribute to the likeliness that a child will be diagnosed with autism. It is clear that there is not one aspect that the disorder can be blamed on, but instead a multitude of factors that work together.

That being said, is it possible that ultrasound is one of those factors? How does ultrasound affect the cells in the growing fetus and embryo? It does two things. It heats the highlighted area and creates cavitation (the forming and collapsing of gaseous bubbles). The effect this has on normal cell growth is under question. It has been shown that it can damage the myelin that covers the nerves. In mice, it has been shown to cause less cell division and more cell death. Effects on humans include pre-term labor or miscarriage, low birth-weight, poorer condition at birth, dyslexia, delayed speech development, and less right-handedness. Furthermore, the cell abnormalities caused by exposure to ultrasound can persist for several generations.

A 2006 study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) showed that mice exposed to ultrasound for 30 minutes or longer had "a small but statistically significant number of neurons fail to acquire their proper position and remain scattered within inappropriate cortical layers and/or in the subjacent white matter." Neurons develop in one part of the brain and move to the cerebral cortex after development, so if that movement is impacted, the development of the fetus could be compromised. The next year an editorial published in Obstetrics and Gynecology refuted the 2006 PNAS  study stating that is unlikely for pregnant women to be exposed to ultrasound for seven hours. It is unlikely to have a seven hour ultrasound scan, but it is not at all unlikely to have continuous electronic fetal monitoring at the hospital once you are in labor. And labor can last a very long time-mine was 39 hours! Electronic fetal monitoring uses the same technology as ultrasound. There is one difference. An ultrasound scans intermittently while an electronic fetal monitor scans continuously. Therefore, an ultrasound wand is only on for 1/1000 of a second and an electronic fetal monitor is on continuously.

In a proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1979, it was stated that “the possible risks associated with diagnostic ultrasound are not fully understood.”  Furthermore, some of the “reported effects” of laboratory animals exposed to ultrasound in utero include “delayed neuromotor reflex development, altered emotional behavior, and fetal anomalies.” The proposed rule stated that the Commissioner believes “manufacturers should not state in advertising or promotional literature that diagnostic ultrasound is unequivocally safe.”

It is important to realize that correlation does not always equal causation, and just because someone has an ultrasound or two doesn't mean they will have a child with autism, but it is something to be aware of.  Ultrasound machines today are eight times more powerful than those tested when first approved. More studies need to be done on the long-term risks of ultrasounds. In the meantime, if we have a second child, we will definitely be foregoing all ultrasounds unless demanded by the midwife for medical reasons (and believe me, it will drive me a little crazy not knowing the sex of the baby), but I am not trying to add an environmental risk factor into the mix just to satisfy my impatient nature. I will trust my body and my baby. Remember that you have the right to know all the risks of any medical procedure being done, and you have the responsibility to be an informed consumer. You should speak with your health-care provider about the risks and benefits of any procedure bring done.

More information on autism and ultrasounds:

From the FDA on ultrasounds

An ultrasound and autism website

Mothering.com article 

Huffington Post article

Midwifery Today article

Studies about ultrasounds and autism:

American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing

PNAS

Medical Hypotheses

A large ongoing study about autism from the CDC

it's all a matter of opinion

My wonderful daughter recently celebrated her first birthday, and we made her a vegan cake from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I personally love the cupcakes found in this cookbook, but as you will see in the last few pictures, she hated them! Next year I am going to put a candle in a bowl full of hummus. I think that it will turn out much better! We also celebrated with a Lorax party. (pictures to come!)

Eco-friendly Easter goodies!

An eco-friendly Easter basket!

This was Terra's second Easter, and as I found myself collecting goodies for her basket, I wondered what in the world the Easter bunny has to do with Easter. I was unaware that Easter was originally a pagan festival that celebrated the return of spring with the Goddess Eastre who's earthly symbol was a rabbit. The Resurrection of Christ coincided with the celebrations, and this is where modern day Easter comes from.  Whether you celebrate the return of spring or the Resurrection of Christ, it is incredibly easy to do so while respecting the Earth!

Here is what the eco-friendly Easter rabbit brought Terra this year:

 

An environmentally friendly Peter Rabbit book:

A wind-up rabbit from Plan Toys:

 

A wooden lamb  made in the USA from post-industrial recycled wood and sustainably managed wood:

AND some soy and beeswax hand-made kitty shaped crayons:

I would love to hear what do you do to celebrate Easter in a way that respects the Earth!

Over the Top - Increased Chemical Exposure is Making Our Children Dumber

Over the top. That’s what most people think I am. Most of my family. ALL of my friends.

Yes. I am a little more than paranoid about chemical exposure when it comes to Terra. We buy furniture that doesn’t emit VOCs, we bought a car because the interior was low-VOC. I only buy organic clothes and organic cloth diapers for her. We almost exclusively buy wooden toys that really are painted with non-toxic paints. I stopped painting my nails and coloring my hair when I found out I was pregnant. I stopped wearing perfume and threw out all my candles. I threw away everything in my cleaning and medicine cabinets. I threw out all my non-stick cookware. I have a ton of house plants because they help clean the air. We chose a house that doesn’t have carpet because of the chemicals used in the glue. Hell, I became vegan because I knew that it would be better for my someday child. The list really goes on and on. And most of these things, I honestly never thought about until I got pregnant. Suddenly, I was responsible for protecting this little body that was growing inside of me, and I decided to take my job very seriously.

Then there are things that are a little harder to control. I have old mercury fillings. Seriously. Who decided that putting mercury in our mouth was a good idea? Sometimes I get close to having a panic attack when I think about how much mercury Terra has in her body because of the pregnancy and because of breast-feeding. Now, I assume that breastfeeding is still better than formula even with my mercury fillings, because the breast is the normal healthy thing to do, but I still have minor panic attacks when I think about it. And I probably should.

Most people should take notice of the chemical exposure for their little ones. Pregnant women and children are much more vulnerable to chemical exposure than healthy adults. Recently, an article was published on Environmental Health News that estimates that lead alone could be related to a 23 million point IQ loss in the U.S. population of children. Organophosphate pesticides could explain a 17 million IQ point loss, and methylmercury a 300,000 IQ point loss.

What does it mean, and what can you do?

You can reduce your child’s exposure to organophosphates by buying organic produce.

More information on organophosphates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a study from the National Institute of Health about prenatal exposure of organophosphates and the cognitive ability of children.

Most lead exposure comes from paint, and if your house was built before 1978, it likely has lead paint. The risk of exposure is very minor, however if your paint is not chipping or flaking. Lead can also be found in the soil outside of your house, though. It is best to always wash hands and toys after playing in the dirt. 

Lead soldering for pipes was used until 1986, so while your exposure to lead from source water is actually very low, you can have quite a bit of exposure through your pipes if your house was built before 1986. You can reduce your exposure to lead from your drinking water by running your water until it is completely cold, especially if the faucet has not been used in six hours. You should also never drink or cook with hot water as the lead content will be higher.

More information about lead and lead in your drinking water from the EPA.

Methylmercury exposure primarily comes from eating fish. The chemical bioaccumulates in aquatic life, and therefore, fish that eat other fish will have higher levels of the chemical.

For more information on methylmercury from the U.S. Geological Survey and from the EPA.

The good news is that the human body is incredibly resilient, especially when we feed it right, so make sure your kiddos are getting their fruits and veggies!

There's a new Prius in town

We recently bought the new 2012 Prius v Five. Not to be confused with a regular Prius with the Technical Package 5. The Prius v is a stretched out version of the much loved Prius. After driving the car for about a month now, we definitely love it. We were trying to decide between a Ford Escape Hybrid, a Jetta Wagon Diesel, and the Prius v Hybrid. There are probably many of you like us. We wanted more cargo space than a car offered, but we still wanted great gas mileage. I would describe the cargo space of the Prius v as a combination between the Wagon and the Escape. We needed something that would be tall enough for our chocolate lab mix, and it definitely is.

Why did we choose the Prius v? It came down to several things, but one of them was the interior of the Technical Package 5. The interior is something called SoftTex, and is low-VOC, and this was important to me. The air in new cars is extremely polluted because of all of the synthetic materials, and I didn’t want munchkin to have to breathe that in constantly. It was also tall enough for the beast. The inside of the cargo space measures about 36 inches, which was way taller than the 30-31 inches in the Jetta Wagon, but I feel like the Prius is also longer than the Ford Escape. The seats in the Prius v are definitely more comfortable than those in the Escape or the Wagon in my opinion. The back seat moves forward and backward, and reclines, so it is extra comfortable for traveling adults.

What do I love? Pandora streaming through the speakers, and opening the doors, and starting the car without  getting my keys out of my diaper bag. There are a few things that I would change if I were to have any say so in the 2013 model. We REALLY love the safety features that Volvos are famous for. I also love the fact that some of their interiors are Oeko-Tex certified, a step above low-VOC interiors. Some Volvos have a blind-spot warning system that alerts you if there is someone in your blind spot. I thought this was pretty cool. It is a shame that diesel isn’t even an option in the U.S., because they had a lot of good things going for them. Anyway, I would make the interior Oeko-tex certified, and add the blind spot warning system. I would also add an AC outlet in the rear seat like so many cars are doing these days. Lastly, I would also make the car automatically unlock when you put your hand on either of the back doors. Currently if you touch either of the front doors with your hand while the keys are in your pocket, the car will unlock, but as a mother, I always go for the back door first because I am putting the munchkin in.(minor details!)

Oh, and as far as gas mileage goes, we drove down to Savannah and back, and averaged 40 mpg. Around town, I average 48 mpg, although this would probably be higher, if I wasn’t always sitting in parking lots with the car running, waiting for Terra to wake up!

With a down payment, we are able to make most of our car payment with the money we save in gas from not driving our truck, so it has really worked out for us. The only other thing I would say is that many people complain about not being able to see out of the rear window in the regular Prius, but that isn't a problem in the Prius v! Happy car hunting!

Let me know if you have any other questions about the car, I would love to help!

I need what?!?

Newborn babies are so small, and yet that big box retailer around the corner would have you believe the list of things you need is never-ending. So I will give you a list of what we needed and what we did without (a ton!) We have definitely made do with the minimalist approach! Save some money, and avoid buying something until you are absolutely sure you need it!

What we didn’t need/ haven’t bought:

1)      A stroller – seriously! After we spent some time in China we decided we were going to try to get by without one (because not very many people had one over there) and so far we haven’t needed it. (We do have a jogger, but I will get to that)

2)      Play mat/gym thingy – I am not even sure what they are called, but we didn’t buy one, and I don’t think T feels like she missed out!

3)      Exersaucer - We didn’t buy one for three big reasons. 1- we didn’t have space 2- some studies show that too much time in them can be bad for their hips. 3- that is a ton of plastic that will end up in the landfill!

4)      Bouncer – Again, we didn’t have space, but we did just fine without it!

5)      Swing – Some parents will swear by these, but again, we did just fine without one.

6)      The bumbo chair (I think this is what it is called) – Your child will learn to sit up just fine without it, I promise!

7)      Wipe warmers and special trash cans for dirty diapers - We just have a wicker basket with a waterproof liner. If you really want warm wipes, you could always keep an old coffee thermos that spits out water with warmed water ready for a dry washcloth.

8)      Crib bedding set. I am actually not sure why these are even sold anymore  when the general consensus states that the bumpers are dangerous.

9)      Shoes – Okay you might want one or two pair of soft-soled shoes for pictures, but don’t go overboard, because they can just wear socks until they start walking!

10)   Bottle warmers-we just use warm water out of the tap in a glass jar to warm milk when we need to, and many kiddos don’t mind it cold!

What we have needed/used the heck out of:

  1)      Her carseat. This is one area that we really didn’t want to skimp on. We chose one that was Oeko-tek certified because many of them are toxic, and we knew she would be spending lots of time in it

2)      A glider - God bless the person who invented this chair. It was really helpful when T was fussy and I wanted somewhere comfortable to nurse her. We bought it used on Craigslist. Eventually I am going to make a new cushion for it – another post!

   3)Changing table – Again, many people find it unnecessary, but we still change almost every single diaper on it. Our absurdly large pile of cloth diapers needs an organization system. If you were using disposables you could probably get by without one. On another note, we did buy it used on Craigslist for $20.  

 

 4)     A good crib and mattress - We didn’t want to buy our crib used because of the numerous recalls, but also because we really wanted  a crib made with non-toxic materials. We didn’t want off-gassing of VOCs while munchkin was dreaming of sugar plum fairies. We did however, buy her organic mattress used. It cost about $600 new, and I figured anyone that would spend that much on a mattress, probably took care of it.

    5)      Highchair – Some people just go straight to the booster seat when they start solids, but we found a highchair that is completely recyclable, and it was a good deal (even if it is neon green!)  T likes sitting in it while I am making dinner and what not. 

6)      Video monitor – many people may say they aren’t necessary, but we love ours (even in our tiny two story duplex). I have also been able to mow the lawn with it while she was sleeping and keep a constant eye on her. You probably want a monitor of some sort.

7)      A good breast pump. Even though I only work a few hours a week, having a good breast pump makes it that much easier to pump milk for when I will be gone. Further, it makes it easier to pump in my short break at work!

8)      A jogger – we found the super jogger used on craigslist for $15 and it works like a dream. We go for walks or jogs nearly every day, so it was an absolute must!

   9) Pack-n-Play- Many people do not need one, but we have two large dogs who are very clumsy, and with a very limited space, it was pretty much a must so we could rest easy that T wouldn’t be trampled. You can find these used on Craigslist. Ours came from my lovely SIL!

  10) A carrier (or two or three)- It takes most parents several tries before they find the perfect carrier for them. We literally used our moby every single day for the first few months. Now we have graduated to a sling and an ergo, and I am about to buy a woven wrap. Your area may have baby wearing meetings where thoughtful mamas get together and help you choose the right carrier for your kiddo, so look for one of these to try several out!

And finally, a good camera or phone that takes videos, because you are definitely going to want to capture every little smirk, smile, and coo!