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mercury may contribute to premature birth

updated sun 15 oct 06

 

Edouard Bastarache Inc. on sat 14 oct 06


Hey Ron,

here is one for your friend Monona,
Mercury may contribute to premature birth
a.. 12:00 14 October 2006=20
b.. From New Scientist Print Edition.
Eating fish has long been tough choice for expectant mothers. On the one =
hand, it contains omega-3 fatty acids, which can boost birth weight and =
cognitive abilities. On the other, fish can also contain mercury, which =
causes severe neurological damage to the fetus. Now it seems that =
mercury poses yet another risk: premature birth.
Fei Xue of the Harvard School of Public Health and her colleagues tested =
a group of 1024 pregnant women in Michigan and found an average mercury =
level of 0.29 parts per million in their hair. Those who ate more fish =
tended to carry more mercury, with canned fish associated with the =
highest mercury levels.

Women who gave birth more than two weeks early were three times as =
likely to have mercury concentrations of at least 0.55 ppm than those =
who carried their babies to term (Environmental Health Perspectives, =
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.9329).

However, since only 44 of the women gave birth prematurely, Xue says =
further research is needed to firm up the statistical significance. "The =
messages are really very conflicting because fish is both a benefit and =
a potential source of hazard," says Xue. Until the risks become clearer, =
she recommends taking fish oil supplements instead.






Edouard Bastarache
Le Fran=E7ais Volant
The Flying Frenchman

Sorel-Tracy
Quebec
edouardb@sorel-tracy.qc.ca
www.sorel-tracy.qc.ca/~edouardb/Welcome.html
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/smart2000/index.htm
http://www.pshcanada.com/Toxicology.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30058682@N00/
http://thepottersshop.blogspot.com/
http://www.ceramique.com/cerambooks/html_fiches/83568.php