HAVING HEALTHY CHILDREN
By Lawrence Wilson, MD
© 2000, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc.
PRECONCEPTION CARE
If
you are old enough to read this article and are ever considering having
children, begin your pre-natal care now!
Avoiding alcohol or drugs during pregnancy is hardly enough to produce a
healthy child.
It
is very important to address more subtle nutritional imbalances as well. Screening for these imbalances is
inexpensive using a properly performed and properly interpreted hair mineral
analysis. Once you receive your
analysis and nutritional program, it can take at least several months to
improve your body chemistry and remove a few toxic metals, so start early,
preferably now.
Here is the problem with current pre-natal care. Usually a woman does not know she is
pregnant until she misses a period, several weeks after conception. By this time, the pregnancy is well
underway. It is rather later to
begin pre-natal care.
In
some primitive cultures, special nourishment for women begins as soon as they reach
puberty or, at the latest, when they marry.
INHERITED OR CONGENITAL?
More
and more health conditions today are blamed on faulty genes. This fatalistic idea is not only
depressing, but in many cases incorrect.
The fact is, nutrients are needed to activate genes. If the proper nutrition were present,
many times the defect would not occur.
Folic acid and zinc are just two among many vitamins and minerals that
can, in fact, prevent birth defects.
In
the field of genetics, researchers now admit that at least one percent of the
population has what are called polymorphisms. These are expressions of
genes that are not correct. They are not the same as genetic defects,
which affect far fewer people. However, polymorphisms cause many of the
same type of problems because the proteins the genes make are defective.
Genetics
researchers do not give a cause for polymorphisms. However, I believe
they are the result of toxic metals and possibly nutrient deficiencies.
To read about polymorphisms, see www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/75/4/616.
Toxic
metals interfere with nutrients and are highly associated with genetic
defects. Published research proves
that toxic metals such as cadmium, copper, mercury and others pass through the
placenta, affecting the health of the baby. Textbooks on toxic metals refer to
babies as "sinks" for toxic metals. Genetic research is wonderful, but it will never replace
improving the health of parents in order to produce healthy offspring.
TROUBLESOME STATISTICS
American
and world maternity statistics could be much better. The birth defect rate in America has doubled since
1950. Rates of cesarean section
and maternal diabetes have risen dramatically in the last 50 years, and
continue to rise. Developmental
difficulties, obesity, diabetes, learning disorders, ADHD, autism and many
other problems of children are increasing rapidly.
Today,
one of every five children is diagnosed with a learning disorder, and some 5
million of our 32 million children are taking a psychotropic drug to control
their behavior. We seem to be
breeding generations of sick children.
No wonder health care costs keep rising! Let’s examine some known causes and what you can do about
them.
NUTRIENTS AND GENES
Forty
or more nutrients are needed so that mothers and children will have robust
immune systems, proper bone and brain development, and can handle the birth
experience without complications.
Prenatal vitamins replace only a few of these. To replenish even one mineral can take nine months or more! Starting when you get pregnant is much
too late. Believing that all you
need is a prenatal vitamin is a joke.
WOMEN’S NUTRITION
Correcting
nutritional imbalances can make a great difference for pregnancy and
birth. Animal breeders know this
well. Sadly, the public and many
doctors do not understand this.
One reason is they are not familiar with tools such as tissue mineral
analysis that can detect imbalances at the cellular level that can be corrected
before pregnancy and birth complications arise.
Dietary
intake of calcium, magnesium, selenium and zinc often don’t meet minimum
standards, which are barely enough to keep one alive. The problem begins with inferior quality food. Hybrid crops bred for production, color
and flavor, but not nutrition, are grown on depleted soil and laced with pesticides
and herbicides.
Most
people don’t eat enough completely natural foods. They prefer or just end up eating denatured foods - fluffy
white bread, white sugar, candy, pastries and white rice. These have been stripped of their
minerals and vitamins. In
addition, most have added preservatives, colors, irradiation and hundreds of other
additives further impair the nutritional quality of the food. This stuff (hard to call it food) is
barely more nutritious than its cardboard packaging!
Poor
eating habits such as eating in the car or eating on the run further decrease
the nutritional benefit of our food.
Stressful lifestyles, air pollution, medical drugs and exposure to
environmental toxins increase nutritional needs, so the inferior diets become
even more inadequate. If you are
even contemplating having children, do yourself and them a favor and begin now
to eat better quality.
MEDICATIONS
The
medical drug culture contributes to many birth defects and problems of
pregnancy and birth. A recent
article in the New England Journal of Medicine found that
common prescription and over-the-counter medications increased birth defects in
8000 infants by 120 to 240%.
Did
you know that many prescription medications antagonize or deplete
nutrients? Folic acid antagonists
include tripmethoprim, triampterine, carbamazepine, phenytoin, penobarbitol
(Dilantin) and primidone.
Antibiotics often kill the beneficial bacteria that produce folic acid,
a vitamin necessary to avoid birth defects.
Other
problem medications include Aspirin, barbituates, over-the-counter cough
medicines containing dextromethorphan, Celebrex, cholestyramine (Questran),
Cimetadine, Colistipol, corticosteroids, ethosuximide, hydrochlorthiazide,
indomethacin, methotrexate, methsuximide, nizatidine, non-steroidal
anti-inflammatories, birth control pills, ranitidine bismuth citrate,
ranitidine hydrochloride, salsalate, and valproic acid.
TOXIC METALS AND TOXIC CHEMICALS
When
a person doesn’t ingest enough essential nutrients, the body absorbs more toxic
metals from the environment. Low
zinc, manganese and vitamin C intake, for example, can cause an increase in
copper. High copper is associated with morning sickness, pre-eclampsia,
eclampsia and post-partum depression.
It also passes through the placenta and is associated with birth
defects, ear infections and learning problems in children.
Toxic
metals include mercury used in dental fillings and as a preservative in
vaccines and flu shots. Cadmium is found in cigarette smoke, tap water and junk
foods. Lead is found in paints,
dyes, and many other places. All
these are highly toxic to the unborn, and pass easily through the placenta from
mother to child.
Toxic
chemicals are also found in household chemicals, cleaners, paints, tap water,
building materials, even synthetic clothing and synthetic carpets. Reducing your toxic load when you
become pregnant is good, but rather late.
It takes many months or years to remove all the toxic chemicals from
your body. Sauna therapy, however,
is one way to greatly speed up the process.
For
example, cadmium found in cigarette smoke has a half-life of 27 years. This means it takes 27 years for half
of it to leave the body. The time
can be shortened with a nutritional balancing program. However, the best time to start cleaning
these out of your body is now.
OTHER HEALTH CONCERNS
Tissue
mineral testing can detect other imbalances that are important to correct
before becoming pregnant. These
include low thyroid and adrenal glandular activity, an impaired immune system,
sugar and carbohydrate intolerance, hidden infections and impaired digestion.
Correcting
these imbalances through diet, supplements and lifestyle changes can make
pregnancy much safer and more pleasant.
It can also ease the birthing process and give a baby a much healthier
start in life.
A NEW WOMEN’S PARADIGM
A
new health paradigm is coming. The
new ethic, particularly for women, is to take care of your body when you are
young so you will have healthy children.
Women used to take much better care of their bodies. The women’s liberation movement and
other changes in society, such as two working parents, has had a horrible
effect on babies who depend on their mothers’ bodies for their nutrition and
genetic integrity. Real women’s
liberation is to free oneself from all of society’s bad habits, instead of
copying men’s bad habits.
Until
this shift occurs, wise young women will have to take the initiative. Be different from your friends! Maybe you will start a trend. Help each other resist the temptations
of soda pop, junk food, alcohol and cigarettes. Other killers of your health are late hours, reduced sleep and
all drugs, including legal prescription and over-the-counter products that may
give temporary relief but are not healthful.
HAVING
HEALTHY CHILDREN
Here
are some basics for having healthy children:
Nutrition. Start eating better now. Upgrade your diet. Begin by eliminating all products made
with bleached white flour, white sugar and corn syrup. This alone is a big step for many
people. Eat more fresh food and
eat more vegetables – a lot twice a day.
Eat
more organically grown food to reduce your pesticide load and increase your
nutrition. Organically grown food
was shown in a 1993 study in the Journal
of Applied Nutrition (45:1, pp. 35-39) to contain an average of more than twice
the mineral content of regular supermarket food. More and more markets are selling organic foods.
Reduce
or eliminate caffeine.
Take nutritional supplements. At the very least, use kelp, sea salt
and brewer’s or better nutritional yeast and take a quality multiple
vitamin-mineral.
Drugs and Medications. Forego alcohol
and recreational drugs. Alcohol not
only kills brain cells and destroys your peace of mind. It depletes zinc and magnesium, two
minerals often in short supply and critical for a healthy young baby. However, an occasional small glass of
wine or beer is probably fine until you are actually pregnant. Then it is best to abstain completely.
Avoid
over-the-counter or prescription medications unless absolutely needed. Modern medicine is now the third leading
cause of death after heart disease and cancer! Try natural remedies first. During pregnancy, or even if you remotely believe you are
pregnant, be very careful with any drugs, even if it is prescribed by a
licensed doctor or naturopath. They may not realize that it is not safe for mothers
carrying developing children in their wombs.
Toxic
Chemicals. Carefully
throw away all toxic cleaning chemicals, insecticides, pesticides, toxic
paints, and other poisons in your home and work space. There are safe alternatives for most of
these. As much as possible,
surround yourself with natural materials, use natural-fiber clothing, and make
sure homes and work areas are well-ventilated.
Many
indoor environments are toxic from the fumes and residues of toxic
chemicals. Chemicals brought into
the home from a father who works with them is another factor that should be
corrected before pregnancy.
Improve
Your Health. Tissue
mineral testing and a well-designed nutritional balancing program of the type
we offer can be extremely helpful to correct subtle nutritional imbalances
before they develop into diseases and problems. The way you look or even feel is not a good guide to your
condition! Do this
preferably before you become pregnant, although you can start a program while
you are pregnant.
Natural
therapies including chiropractic, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, yoga, tai
chi and others are also excellent to help improve your health. The more healthy and balanced you
become, the easier and safer pregnancy and birth will be.
Fitness
and Lifestyle. Birth is a
physical process. Do some gentle exercise
daily such as walking. Vigorous
exercise is neither needed nor helpful in almost all cases. Learn how to relax if this is difficult
for you. Get plenty of rest and
sleep, and make the decision to love yourself more every day. Do your best to make your home and work
environments safe, quiet, happy and low-stress.
Other
Preparation Ideas. Look at your relationship carefully. Is it stable? Is this the man or woman you want to be the parent of your
child? If not, begin counseling or
make another choice now, rather than get stuck later with a child and a partner
who is immature or otherwise non-supportive. This is very important. Do not allow romance or even feeling sorry for a partner to
blind you. Having children
usually does not fix a bad relationship.
Are
you financially and socially able to support another family member? Is one parent willing to stay home with
a child? Also, religious and
spiritual values become much more important when a child is involved. Now is the time to think about the
values you and your partner will teach your child.
Learn
about four interventions that can dramatically improve the outcome of
pregnancy. They are:
1) Use a midwife or other birth attendant.
2) Always have someone other than the doctor present at all times to
keep an eye on you and on everything around you.
3) When possible, have your child outside of a regular hospital.
4) Leave the hospital as soon as possible.
Learn
about the dangers of vaccines. Natural
alternatives such as homeopathic vaccines do exist but are usually not needed. Also learn now about natural ways to
deal with children’s infections, parenting skills and alternatives to
traditional schooling. All
these can be vital to learn now, not later.
BIRTHING PRACTICES
Enlightened
birthing practices can help reduce the stress of birth and enable babies to get
a better start. Important
practices include:
· Do
not expose the newborn to bright lights.
· Allow
the child to begin breathing on his own if possible.
· Do
not be in a hurry to cut the umbilical cord. Let all the blood go into the baby first.
· Allow
the child to remain with its mother instead of being isolated after birth.
· For
low-risk pregnancies, home birth is safer than hospital birth. Often you will get better service if
you involve a midwife and a doula or birth attendant.
· After
birth, have your child checked over by a competent chiropractor or
osteopath. A simple adjustment may
help prevent many childhood problems.
A session with a cranial-sacral therapist is not a bad idea,
either. It is a lot easier to
correct imbalances when a child is young, than when they have become entrenched
years later.
VACCINATIONS
The
author recently spoke to a mother whose child received the DPT vaccine at age
one. Soon after, the child
contracted pertussis. Afterwards,
his development regressed, and he now has persistent developmental disability
or PDD.
Read
the article on this website on vaccination. Often vaccines do not work, and they
are very dangerous, especially for babies. Longer-term effects of vaccines are also unclear and
difficult to trace. Vaccines are
not responsible for the decline of major diseases, as we are led to believe.
The
structure of vaccines is such that there is no question that illness could be
triggered later by the use of vaccines.
Many vaccines are still preserved with mercury and aluminum, two very
toxic elements.
Become
well-informed on this issue. Read
the other side of the story, not just what the health department and doctors
tell you. They are often simply
wrong and many doctors are in denial on the vaccine issue. A few excellent books include Murder
by Injection and The Poisoned Needle. Health food stores often
have books regarding the dangers of vaccines. Books are also available from the National Health
Federation, PO Box 688, Monrovia, CA 91017.
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