| ‘Critical Windows of Development’ for babies unveiled by Dr. Colborn |
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| Written by Kathy Browning | |||
| Wednesday, 25 February 2009 03:00 | |||
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Before a baby is ever born, it is subjected to chemicals that can harm his or her development.
The chemicals, which can harm the baby in the womb and throughout life, can be found in the products used in everyday life — baby bottles, cleaning products, food cans, fragrances, packaging materials, toys, cars, and many other products. Dr. Theo Colborn, PhD, is the president of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange (TEDX) in Paonia, and co-author of “Our Stolen Future.” TEDX has been gathering research about the affect of low doses of chemicals on the embryo and developing fetus for 14 years. On Feb. 10, she debuted their web-based timeline of a baby’s development from conception to birth. This interactive tool is called Critical Windows of Development. It shows both normal stages of development and how chemicals could affect that development. Dr. Colborn presented the new interactive tool on the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE) conference call. CHE is “a diverse network of 2,900 individual and organizational partners in 45 countries and 48 states, working collectively to advance knowledge and effective action to address growing concerns about the links between human health and environmental factors.” Dr. Carol Kwiatkowski, PhD, executive director of TEDX, created the interactive web-based timeline. She took all the research and made it manageable and understandable for scientists, medical professionals, policy makers and the public. With all the research and studies now readily available to all, it will be hard for chemical industry leaders to claim there isn’t enough research to determine if their products are harmful to humans. Dr. Colborn describes the Critical Windows of Development as “a simple pictorial review of the literature describing how an embryo and fetus develop into a baby.” She added, “Think of this product as a road map where all we want is to get from fertilization to birth using the safest and most tried dependable route.” The timeline shows normal human development for a healthy full-term baby. There are ticks on the timeline which explain what can happen to the developing baby when low doses of chemicals find their way into the mother’s womb. Research papers can be accessed from the timeline to provide further insight into endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their ability to disrupt normal development. Currently the timeline shows the effects of three chemicals: bisphenol-A, dioxin and phthalates. Bisphenol-A appears to attack all development stages. More chemicals and studies will be added to the timeline in the future. One of the commentators on the CHE conference call, Dr. Linda Giudice, professor and chair of the obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California in San Francisco, called the Critical Windows of Development a “revolutionary tool.” Dr. Jerrold Heindel, the scientific program administrator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Extramural Research and Training, Cellular, Organ and Systems Pathobiology Branch, commented that scientists and researchers would “not have to reinvent the wheel.” Researchers will be more productive because they have all the studies compiled on the TEDX website. In a recent interview with the DCI, Dr. Kwiatkowski was asked, “What could our world look like in five years as a result of now having all this information?” She said her dream would be that government agencies would listen to scientists. Industry would stop putting the bottom line above public health, and take the initiative to do what they know they should do. “After all, the people running these companies that are creating these things have children. And their children are drinking out of baby bottles that scientists are saying are not good for them.” She also hopes consumers, by refusing to purchase products with harmful chemicals, would drive industry to start paying attention. “Endocrine disrupting chemicals are derived from by-products and the production of fossil fuels,” Dr. Kwiatkowski said. “If the country could get away from its reliance on fossil fuels and rely on alternative forms of energy like wind and sun, then we wouldn’t have the feedstock chemicals to create all of these products.” There is one more piece of the dream. With the rate of so many diseases increasing exponentially, Dr. Kwiatkowski would hope well-funded and organized groups such as the National Diabetes Association, the National Heart Association, and other groups formed around helping people in treating and understanding diseases would come together for the goal of prevention. “Pre-natal exposure is where it all happens,” she said. “They have a common cause in promoting prevention. It’s hitting babies when they are only one cell. So they all have this root. All these diseases are based on a singular root, and a singular source of exposure.” Dr. Colborn explained to CHE, “Hopefully, this is a very simple picture of thousands of points of technical concern that point out the need for entirely new legislation about public health and how chemicals are determined to be safe.” The best way to understand the Critical Windows of Development is to go online to www.endocrinedisruption.com, and go through the timeline. The CHE conference call with Dr. Theo Colborn can be downloaded at www.healthandenvironment.org.
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