Pregnancy

The Ontario Ministry of Health reports: "In about five to 10 per cent of healthy children, chicken pox infection can lead to more serious problems such as :
* bacterial skin infections and/or necrotizing

Transmission: Chickenpox is spread by coughing and sneezing and is highly contagious.

Complications: Bacterial infection of the skin, swelling of the brain, and pneumonia (usually more severe in children 13 or older and adults)

Gestational diabetes can begin during the late stages of pregnancy. Although this form of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, a woman who has had it is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) gives this definition of PID, which can be a cause of pelvic pain.

"Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID): An infection caused by bacteria, usually from a sexually transmitted disease (see "Sexually transmitted disease," below).

Editor's Note:

"Race" is sometimes mentioned as a risk factor in the development of certain cancers and a number of other diseases. When you read this in a discussion about an illness, note that the explanation seldom refers to anything biological. Instead, it usually refers to behavior, such as eating habits. The kinds of behavior usually mentioned as risk factors are culturally determined. They are not genetic or biological.

Some public health specialists say that while some chemicals are 100 times more toxic to children than adults, the EPA's new guidelines assume the worst chemical is only 10 times as bad, therefor the new guidelines are "not protective of children."

Recent studies show that it is not just cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol consumed by a pregnant woman that will affect her newborn's body.

As reported by the Environmental Working Group:
Found in the umbilical cord blood collected by the Red Cross after the cord was cut were "... pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage." " ... perfluorochemicals used as stain and oil repellants in fast food packaging, clothes and textiles — including the Teflon chemical PFOA, recently characterized as a likely human carcinogen by the EPA's Science Advisory Board — dozens of widely used brominated flame retardants and their toxic by-products; and numerous pesticides."

According to an Environmental Working Group report, "The National Academy of Sciences found that when fluoride is consumed in high doses--such as through food and water--it can interfere with brain functioning, cause bone fractures, dental fluorosis (weakening of the teeth), thyroid and pineal gland disorders, and worsen diabetes. Fluoride's connection to cancer, IQ deficits, dementia, immune system disorders, and other serious health risks are still being researched."

A new report by the US Surgeon General makes clear that second-hand smoke is more than a nuisance. When inhaled by adult nonsmokers, it increases their risk of heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. Children and infants are at risk, because second-hand smoke is a known cause of sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory problems, ear infections, and asthma.

According to the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, "Iodine deficiency is the single most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world. It also decreases child survival, causes goiters, and impairs growth and development." Iodine deficiency can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, and complications in pregnancy.