There have been some articles in the news lately which have given me pause to think. Scientists are beginning to see a link between mothers who take anti-depressants during pregnancy, and the presence of autism in their child, when it is born. There is a higher risk of the fetus developing autism if the mother takes anti-depressants... interesting... I think of some of the families I know who have autistic children, and there is a possibility of a link.
The other link that scientists have found is between second-hand smoke and ADHD in children. Children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to develop ADHD than children not exposed to smoke.
Which makes me wonder... what else is there that we don't know about? We know of the connection between Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in children whose mother's drank during pregnancy. We know what happened when pregant women took Thalidomide to prevent morning sickness. But what else is out there?
What about if mother's are exposed to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in paint? What effect does that have? What about taking Advil or Aspirin or Tylenol during pregnancy? What effect does that have?
What if the mother is exposed to car exhaust? Or gets food-poisoning while she is pregnant? Or develops a yeast infection? Or gets assaulted while she is pregant?
It's a wonder that any of us turn out even vaguely normal!
No comments:
Post a Comment