Alarming Body Burden Results: Tests Reveal 300 Chemical Compounds in Newborn Babies

Jennifer Lance — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:00:39 +0000

From flame retardants to fossil fuels, newborn babies are exposed to chemicals passed on by his/her mother in utero. Although this is not new information, I was shocked to learn that there are actually 300 chemical compounds in a newborn’s umbilical cord!

Those pure little beings aren’t so pure at birth, and as a mother and a human being, I find this level of contaminants alarming.

According to the LA Times:

Virtually everything we buy, breathe, drink and eat contains traces of toxic substances…Every day, about half a dozen chemicals are added to the estimated 83,000 already in commerce. In the United States alone, about 42 billion pounds of chemicals are produced or imported daily.

If we start with 300 chemicals in our bodies, imagine the bioaccumulation that occurs over our lifetimes. Some parents have gone so far as to have their whole family’s body burden tested. The results of one Oakland family were shocking. The children had chemical exposure levels seven times those of their parents proving children are more susceptible to the chemicals in our homes.

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Alarming Body Burden Results: Tests Reveal 300 Chemical Compounds in Newborn Babies

From flame retardants to fossil fuels, newborn babies are exposed to chemicals passed on by his/her mother in utero. Although this is not new information, I was shocked to learn that there are actually 300 chemical compounds in a newborn’s umbilical cord!