Babysafe Mode: Getting Smarter about Smart Technology and Pregnancy

Babysafe Mode
Getting Smarter about Smart Technology and Pregnancy
by Mary Esther Malloy, Midwifery Today, Issue 116, Winter 2015

We have special guidelines for pregnant women. Pregnant women don’t smoke or drink alcohol. They avoid sushi and cold cuts. They are assigned a desk job if work is physically overtaxing or exposes a fetus to hazardous chemicals. Evidence now shows that the use of cell phones and wireless devices by pregnant women could have profound neurological impact on the brains of developing babies. A group of almost 70 physicians, scientists and educators say it is time to add cautionary practices around wireless devices to the pregnancy safety list.

Dr. Hugh Taylor, chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale University School of Medicine, is one such voice for change. He says, “We have demonstrated clear cause and effect relationships in mice, and we already have studies showing that women who use cell phones have children with more behavioral problems. I think together that’s very powerful evidence…. There’s essentially no downside to being cautious and protecting your baby” (Taylor 2014).
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China: Smartphones Are Causing a 'Visual Health Crisis'

A Tibetan Buddhist monk at a Buddhist laymen lodge in
China on October 30.  Reuters/Damir Sagolj

Smartphones are causing a 'visual health crisis' in Chinaby Chloe Pfeiffer, businessinsider.com,

22 July 2016

A major Chinese health research center recently published a white paper on the country's visual health.

The findings weren't great.

According to a recent Nomura research report, the main two takeaways from the paper, from Peking University's China Center for Health Development, were that the prevalence of visual problems in China is far above the global average and that the problem is quickly getting worse.

In 2012, about 500 million people in China had an uncorrected visual defect. Of those, 450 million had myopia, or nearsightedness. That's about a third of the country's population. And the report forecasts that barring policy interventions, about 700 million people, or roughly half of the population, will have myopia by 2020.

In Taiwan, the situation is even worse. More than half the country's population, about 11.5 million people, are nearsighted.

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Leadership on Electromagnetic Safety

"Worcester could lead the nation in questioning not only whether employees have the right to a safe work environment, or whether the public has the right to access public buildings, but whether or not Americans have the right to live in their own homes, or anywhere at all, due to encroachment by wireless infrastructure, including smart meters. As more Massachusetts residents report harm, including Worcesterites, it is the only moral and ethical choice."

Burke: Leadership on electromagnetic safety
by Patricia Burke, Opinion: metrowestdailynews.com (Framingham, MA), 2 August 2016

The ADA’s Jobs Accommodation Network has issued guidelines for workers reporting sensitivity to electromagnetic exposure. In 2005, the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) questioned how to accommodate electro sensitive citizens in federally funded buildings.
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Gag Order by FCC?

Letter: Gag order by FCC? 

by Barbara Litrell, Verde Independent, 2 August 2016

Editor:

The City of Sedona hired Cityscape, a consulting firm, to advise the city on site locations for future cell towers as the country expands wireless access through the recently passed 5G initiative. I'm sure this will extend beyond Sedona to the entire Verde Valley.

The consultant did a powerpoint which is available on the City website. On one slide she noted, "the city will have a say in regard to public health, safety and welfare."

Unfortunately, that's not true when it concerns adverse health effects of increased exposure to RF radiation from the expanded cell tower network planned. The consultant cited the 1996 Telecommunications Act where Section 704 requires local government to make written decisions on siting applications that are based on substantial evidence and not on speculation or because of federally preempted reasons (such as concerns about RF Radiation).

Federally preempted reasons? Is that a gag order on health discussions related to radiation exposure? We can't ask for proof of the safety of the cell tower expansion? When did public health become such a low priority?

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DuPont 'Acted With Malice,' Says Jury in Cancer Lawsuit

"In the latest lawsuit, held in early July 2016, the jury said that DuPont had "acted with malice." The jury awarded the plaintiff $5.1 million in compensatory damages and an additional $500,000 in punitive damages... Currently, about 3500 lawsuits against DuPont are pending, all citing an assortment of health problems — including cancer — that can be traced to drinking water laced with C8."

DuPont 'Acted With Malice,' Says Jury in Cancer Lawsuit
by Roxanne Nelson, BSN, RN, medscape.com, 2 August 2016

Cooking in a pot that doesn't stick, a magical spray that repels stains from fabric and carpeting, food containers that don't leak — sold under the brand names of Teflon, Stainmaster, Scotchgard, and SilverStone, just to name a few — these are all products that many Americans have grown up with and likely never give a second thought to.
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U.S. Green Party's Jill Stein Says Wi-Fi Endangers 'Kids' Brains'

[Our comment: This is no myth!  We submitted this comment to the article, but it was, of course, not published:   Jill Stein is right: Exposure to radiofrequency (RF) radiation (electromagnetic fields - EMF) emitted by Wi-Fi and other wireless gadgets and systems is harmful, especially to children whose bodies (brains, eyes, nervous systems) are still developing and are thus more vulnerable. This technology does not only increase the risk for cancer but is also linked to many other deleterious health effects such as cognitive and behavioral problems, and neuro-degenerative disorders, as many thousands of peer-reviewed, independent scientific studies show. RF radiation emitted by wireless tech has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as 2B: "possibly carcinogenic to humans" based on studies showing increased risk for malignant brain tumors. View the 3-minute video from the 2015 International EMF scientist appeal to the United Nations and WHO, now signed by 221 scientists from 41 nations: https://emfscientist.org/]

Green Party’s Jill Stein, perpetuating viral myth, says Wi-Fi endangers ‘kids’ brains’by Gedalyah Reback, geektime.com, 2 August 2016

"American Holocaust"
(Choice of image by Editor, "Towards Better Health")

Following criticism for her positions on vaccines and GMOs, the Green Party’s standard bearer is earning a reputation for pseudoscience

The Green Party’s candidate in the U.S. presidential elections, Jill Stein, declared that kids should be kept away from Wi-Fi signals because such things may damage developing brains. Her comments appear to endorse a myth that wireless internet may cause brain cancer, and is just the latest public health controversy surrounding the candidate.

In response to a question about the use of Wi-Fi in schools and its effect on kids, Stein insinuated dangers to children’s health from exposure to wireless internet signals.

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France : EHS Consultation Cochin/ANSES : Testimony

"Passing off the electrosensitive as
mental patients."

Testimony of Coralie

EHS Consultation Cochin/ANSES
next-up.org, 2012
(translated by the Editor of "Towards Better Health")

Allow me to inform you of the following:  Three years ago I became electrosensitive, diagnosed after a series of examinations by Professor Dominique Belpomme.

I discovered on a site for electrosensitives that consultations were opening throughout France with a list of doctors proposing "patient care" of electrosensitive persons.

Finally, the Ministry of Health through ANSES with a network of doctors was interested in this condition.  I could finally benefit from recognition, medical care, the latest advances, treatment, advice... something to improve my condition which was slowly and unalterably deteriorating.

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India: Babies to Don Wearable Tech

Babies to Don Wearable Tech

by Mihika Basu, Bangalore Mirror Bureau, 

1st August 2016

India has one of the highest neonatal mortality rates and in the absence of adequate facilities in most rural hospitals, neonates may not receive timely care, which may lead to further health complications. To address this major problem, researchers from Robert Bosch Center for Cyber Physical Systems at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and St John's Research Institute (SJRI), both based in Bengaluru, have developed a wearable sensor, which picks up temperature abnormalities in newborn babies and transmits it remotely to the phone of a health worker or raises audible alarms for the family member to be alerted immediately, or if no corrective action is taken.

CLINICAL TRIAL

The first-of-its-kind sensor device and the back-end analytics system are undergoing a feasibility study and clinical trial currently among a few dozen mother-baby pairs from urban hospital settings in Bengaluru. The system is being tested for data capture-validation and alert response to the mother/village health worker/hospital. In the next phase, this device is proposed to be tested in rural settings of the country.

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India: For the Cost of an iPhone, You Can Now Buy a Wind Turbine that can Power an Entire House for Lifetime

For the cost of an iPhone, you can now buy a wind turbine that can power an entire house for lifetime
by Sainul Abudheen K, e27.co, 6 June 2016

Indian startup Avant Garde Innovations has developed a low-cost wind turbine that can generate 3-5 kW hours of electricity daily

Soon after assuming office, Kerala (southern state of India) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan kicked up a storm by publicly supporting the Athirappilly hydro electric project, which environmentalists said, if implemented, would create ecologic imbalance in the area and destroy the Athirappilly waterfalls, the largest natural waterfalls in the state.

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One of the Most Common Viruses in Humans May Promote Breast Cancer Development

One of the most common viruses in humans may promote breast cancer development

Findings could lead to new prevention strategies

Date:August 1, 2016

Source:Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Summary: New research reveals that infection with the Epstein-Barr virus may put some women at increased risk for developing breast cancer. The findings may have important implications for breast cancer screening and prevention.

New research reveals that infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may put some women at increased risk for developing breast cancer. The findings, published online in the July issue of the journal EBioMedicine, may have important implications for breast cancer screening and prevention.

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Medical Pioneer Writes a History of Environmental Hypersensitivities

Dr. Rea founded the Dallas-based,
Environmental Health Center in 1974.

Medical pioneer writes a history of environmental hypersensitivities
by André Fauteux, www.maisonsaine.ca, 1 août 2016

Errors in diagnosis and treatment of diseases are common in physicians ignoring the principles of environmental medicine. They should be aware that various tests developed since the early 1980s “take the guess work out of the diagnosis” of chemical and electrical and electromagnetic hypersensitivity, writes Dr William J. Rea in a new paper published in Reviews on Environmental Health1. A practising physician for 53 years, the American allergist, immunologist and thoracic surgeon has performed such tests on more than 30,000 patients in the last 35 years at the Environmental Health Center-Dallas (EHCD) he founded and still heads in Texas. These tests must be performed in controlled environments where the levels of biological, chemical and electromagnetic pollution has been reduced to a minimum using notably air filters, inert construction materials and copper shielding.
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Green Party U.S. Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Says It's Dangerous to Expose Kids to Wi-Fi Signals

Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein

[Our comment: Being a physician, Jill Stein knows what she is talking about regarding exposing children to radiofrequency radiation emitted by Wi-Fi. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, sociology, and anthropology. She then attended Harvard Medical School and graduated in 1979. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Stein practiced internal medicine for 25 years. Stein practiced medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Simmons College Health Center, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and also served as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.  Ref:  Wikipedia.]

Jill Stein says it’s dangerous to expose kids to wifi signals
by David Ferguson, rawstory.com, 1st August 2016

At a meeting in March, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein told the assembled crowd that wireless Internet technology is dangerous for developing children.

In the video, posted Monday by Patheos blogger Michael Stone, a woman in the audience said that she is a kindergarten teacher who is concerned about children being given devices with screens to learn from at a young age.

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