WARNING: Using a mobile phone while pregnant can seriously damage your baby

Saturday, May 24

A few months ago on Health Talk, we interviewed Dave Stetzer, a prominent physicist, about the dangers of electromagnetic pollution. Because the body is a finely tuned electric system, it makes sense that powerful electromagnetic fields (EMFs) could have potentially disruptive effects on bodily functions. In particular, the brain is highly active electrically. A couple of weeks ago, we alerted listeners to a story about premature babies who are kept in incubators. It turns out that when the heating elements of the incubators are turned on, there are detectable changes in heart rate variability in the infants. In adults, alterations in heart rate variability can indicate autonomic nervous system dysfunction.

Now comes stunning validation of the potentially insidious effects of EMFs, especially in the young. On Sunday, May 18, 2008, Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor of The Independent, one of Britain's leading papers, reported that women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioral problems.

This is based on a giant study of more than 13,000 children in Denmark published in the July issue of Epidemiology, a respected medical journal. It found that using cell phones just two to three times per day was associated with an increased risk of hyperactivity and "difficulties with conduct, emotions and relationships" by the time the offspring reached school age. And, more disturbing in this era where younger and younger children are being equipped with cell phones, the study found that behavioral problems were even more likely if the children themselves used the phones before the age of seven.

The scientists who undertook the study confess that they are surprised by the results, which they say were "unexpected." But Professor Sam Milham of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Department of Community and Preventive Medicine--chaired by Dr. Philip Landrigan, who recently pointed out the hazards to small children of pesticides residues on fruits and vegetables--says he has no doubt the results are real.

The Russians already take cell phone hazards seriously. The Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection says that use of cell phones by pregnant women and children should be "limited." The Russians equate the risk of cell phone exposure with that of exposure to cigarettes or alcohol. They conclude that children who talk on mobile phones are likely to suffer from declines in attention, diminished learning skills, and even "depressive syndromes" and "degeneration of the nervous structures of the brain."

With tragic childhood brain cancer on the rise, and unprecedented levels of Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, Childhood Depression and Bipolar Disorder, shouldn't we be devoting more time to cell phone research?