Tag: pregnancy

Babies exposed to cannabis in the womb show no signs of impaired brain development, study finds

Children exposed to cannabis in the womb do not show signs of impaired cognitive or language development by age three, according to new research that challenges concerns about prenatal cannabis use.

The study, published in the journal Early Human Development, found that children with prenatal cannabis exposure actually scored higher on language assessments than unexposed children, and performed equally well on cognitive tests.

Recent data shows that past-month cannabis use amongst pregnant women in the US has grown from 3.8% in 2002 to 7% in 2017, and daily use during pregnancy increased from 0.9% to 3.5% in the same period.

This prompted the multi-national team of researchers from King’s College London, Cambridge University, Aalborg University, and the University of Oslo to hypothesise that children exposed to cannabis while developing in the womb would develop cognitive and language issues by the age of three.

The study analysed data from Danish families registered with Familieambulatorier (Family outreach clinics), which continuously monitor children of families deemed vulnerable or high-risk from early pregnancy until the child reaches school age.

The cohort consisted of 810 Danish children born between the years of 2009 and 2015 who were not diagnosed with conditions such as foetal alcohol syndrome or epilepsy, as these conditions would negatively affect the outcome of language and cognitive assessments.

Children were split into four groups, based on their exposure during gestation. 106 (13%) were exposed to cannabis only, 138 (17%) were exposed to tobacco only, 112 (14%) were exposed to both, and 454 (56%) were registered as not being exposed to either substance.

Researchers found that children with prenatal cannabis exposure achieved a higher Bayley-III Language scale score of 3.26-points than those in the group who were not exposed to cannabis, and they found that exposure to tobacco did not worsen this outcome.

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Possible Link Between RSV Vaccine During Pregnancy and Health Problems: Study

Pfizer’s vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may be associated with certain health problems in pregnant women, including hypertensive disorders, researchers said in a study published on April 21.

Ashley Michnick, a research scientist at Harvard Medical School, and researchers with Pfizer and other entities analyzed data from five systems, including CVS Health and Kaiser Permanente Northwest.

They analyzed pregnancies that occurred from Sept. 22, 2023, through Aug. 9, 2024, and found that pregnant mothers received Pfizer’s vaccine between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation. The number of included pregnancies was 13,619.

Compared with pregnant women who received a different vaccine, such as an influenza shot, during the same gestational weeks during the study period, the women who received the RSV vaccine were more likely to have pregnancy-associated hypertensive disorders, such as inpatient gestational hypertension.

The risk was also higher when the RSV vaccine recipients were compared with women who had given birth in previous years, or a historical comparator group.

The researchers also recorded an elevated risk for premature rupture of membranes among RSV vaccine recipients.

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Anchor Baby Boom: New Pew Data Shows Nearly 10% of All U.S. Births in 2023 Were to Illegal Alien or Temporary Immigrant Mothers

Nearly 10 percent of all babies born in the United States in 2023 were to mothers who were either illegal aliens or holding temporary legal status, according to new data released by the Pew Research Center.

The figures, published late last month, show that 320,000 of the roughly 3.6 million babies born across the country that year had mothers who were non-citizens.

This marks the highest total of anchor babies since 2010, when Pew recorded 325,000 such births, and represents an increase for the third straight year.

Of the 320,000 births:

Approximately 245,000 were to mothers who were unauthorized immigrants, with fathers who were neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents.

Another 15,000 involved mothers with temporary legal status and fathers who were not citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The remaining 60,000 were born to illegal immigrant mothers where the father was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Pew reports:

Generally, the trends in births to unauthorized immigrants follow the growth and decline of the unauthorized immigrant population. The number of unauthorized immigrants more than tripled from 1990 to 2007. The number of births also more than tripled, from 120,000 in 1990 to a peak of about 380,000 in 2006.

In 1990, births to unauthorized immigrant mothers were about 3% of the 4.1 million births in the U.S. that year. In 2006, these births were about 9% of the total.

Between 2006 and 2019, the annual number of births to unauthorized immigrant mothers dropped by more than 40%, to 215,000.

Pew estimates that roughly 260,000 of these children would not have qualified for automatic U.S. citizenship under President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order limiting birthright citizenship to cases where at least one parent is a citizen or lawful permanent resident.

That order is currently facing a legal challenge at the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on April 1.

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USDA Issues Public Health Alert Over Chicken Nuggets Sold in Walmart

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for frozen chicken nuggets sold by Oklahoma-based Dorada Foods as the products could be contaminated with “unsafe levels of lead,” the agency said in an April 1 announcement.

The warning is applicable to ready-to-eat chicken nuggets sold by the company in 29-oz. plastic bags under the name “Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets.” The item, manufactured on Feb. 10, comes with the lot code 0416DPO1215 and has a “Best If Used By” date of Feb. 10, 2027, FSIS said.

The products were shipped and sold at Walmart locations across the United States. Great Value is a primary private-label brand of Walmart.

“Lead is especially dangerous for pregnant women, infants, and young children because it can harm developing brains and nervous systems, sometimes causing lasting problems. There is no safe amount of lead exposure,” FSIS warned.

“Guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration provide an interim reference level (IRL) of 2.2 micrograms. The amount of lead found in these nuggets could be as much as five times higher than this IRL for children. Health experts also say these nuggets may be a risk for women who are pregnant or who could become pregnant.”

In a January 2025 post, the Food and Drug Administration warned that lead toxicity can affect people of any age and health status.

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HUNDREDS of companies provide BIRTH TOURISM for foreign moms who want US citizen babies

During oral arguments before the Supreme Court regarding birthright citizenship, the Trump administration noted the prevalence of “birth tourism,” or the action of an expecting foreign national traveling to the United States with the intention of giving birth to their child on American soil, granting them US citizenship. 

Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News as the Supreme Court was in session, “There are more than 500 firms in China that facilitate people coming from the Chinese Communist Party to give birth here in the United States. Obama enabled this through loopholes dating back to 2009, and what that could mean is 1 million new voters by 2030. Imagine that, Communist Party voters.”

Over the years, a number of companies across the US and its territories have catered to mothers from countries such as Russia and China. Recent reports have revealed companies operating in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific. 

Analysts have estimated that around 1,000 companies offer birth tourism services to US territories and the mainland. They claim that in China alone, 1.5 million American-born babies are being raised by Chinese parents who have participated in such services. 

Among such companies is the Shanghai-based GlobalBaby8, which advertises “economy” packages for expecting mothers starting at $14,000, and a “Supreme Type” package that starts at $45,000 and includes features such as a luxury villa, shopping and leisure trips, dedicated postpartum nanny service, and a one-month birthday party for the child. 

Another company, China Mifubaby Group, has offices in California and multiple Chinese cities, and caters to Korean and Japanese moms-to-be, advertising “expedited visas,” “American citizenship,” and “short direct flight distance.” 

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US territory turned tropical maternity ward has produced thousands of ‘American’ babies for parents living in China

Pregnant Chinese women have turned a tropical paradise into a maternity ward — pumping out babies who automatically become US citizens daily.

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a US territory northeast of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, has been flooded with so-called “birth tourists” since 2009 when then-president Barack Obama introduced a visa-waiver program for Chinese nationals.

China-watchers estimate about 1,000 companies offer birth tourism to the Northern Mariana Islands, other US overseas territories and even the US mainland. They claim a gob-smacking 1.5 million American babies are being raised in China by Chinese parents who’ve participated in birth tourism.

In a March 9 letter to three Trump Cabinet secretaries, Republican lawmakers demanded an accounting on Chinese birth tourism.

“The concern is about these children born to Chinese parents — do the parents have connections to the Chinese Communist Party, which is an adversarial government to the US?” Chris Chmielenski, president of the nonprofit Immigration Accountability Project, told The Post regarding the letter.

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The Hidden Dangers of Hospital Births & How to Protect Your Family

Many traditions throughout history have come to view the prenatal period and childbirth as one of the most important moments in a human’s life as it sets the stage for all that follows. Unfortunately, much in the same way we desecrate the death process by over-medicalizing it (to the point research has found doctors are less likely to seek end of life care at a medical facility), the same issue also exists with childbirth. Many physicians I know who are familiar with the hospital birthing process chose to skip it and give birth at home (along with many more doctors featured in a 2016 documentary).

Conversely, a minority of childbirths do need advanced medical care, and for those mothers, access to a hospital greatly benefits them, particularly if actions are taken to mitigate the most dangerous aspects of hospital birth. As such, childbirth occupies a similar place as many other medical controversies; neither side of the issue is entirely correct. However, the discussion remains perpetually polarized because advocates on either side will not acknowledge the valid points raised by the other side for fear of weakening their own position. Since I feel strongly about the dangers of hospital birth, it is my hope in this article that I will be able to portray both sides of the issue fairly.

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How China supercharged ‘birth tourism’ and scammed American citizenship for up to 1.5 million babies

“Birth tourism” — where pregnant women have their child on America soil to become citizens — has been happening for decades. But Chinese elites have “weaponized” the practice, says author Peter Schweizer, raising a generation of legal citizens who have no loyalty to the US. In this excerpt from his new book, “The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon,” he explains how.

As we sang “Auld Lang Syne” in the early morning of Jan. 1, 2025, the first American newborn of the year arrived to much fanfare and celebration.

But this time, the baby was the progeny of Chinese citizens, and the mother had intentionally traveled to give birth on American soil, so that the child would automatically be granted US citizenship, a practice known as birth tourism. When such children turn 21, they can also apply for resident status for both of their parents.

This baby was born in the US territory of Saipan in the Pacific. More than 70% of the newborns in Saipan are Chinese birth tourist parents who utilize the territory’s 45-day visa-free visitation rules and the “Covenant of the Northern Mariana Islands” to guarantee that their children will have American citizenship.

That little child’s parents are two of many who are taking advantage of America’s birthright citizenship policies, based on an interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. How many is anyone’s guess.

Since the US government does not directly track birth tourism, we must rely on estimates. In 2012, one nonprofit calculated that about 36,000 foreign-born women gave birth in the United States and then left the country.

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Fury as NHS tells midwives to back cousin marriage as ‘only’ 15 per cent have deformed babies

The NHS is teaching midwives the ‘benefits’ of cousin marriage despite it increasing the risk of birth defects, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

New guidance says concerns about the risks of congenital diseases are ‘exaggerated’ and ‘unwarranted’ on the grounds that ’85 to 90 per cent of cousin couples do not have affected children’. The national average rate for unaffected children is 98 per cent.

Admitting there are some ‘risks to child health associated with close relative marriage’, the guidance says these should ‘be balanced against the potential benefits… from this marriage practice’.

And marrying a relative – fairly common in the Pakistani community – can offer ‘economic benefits’ as well as ’emotional and social connections’ and ‘social capital’, the document says.

It adds that staff should not ‘stigmatise’ predominantly South Asian or Muslim patients who have a baby with their cousin, because the practice is ‘perfectly normal’ in some cultures.

Critics have accused the NHS of turning a blind eye to an ‘indefensible cultural practice’. 

Richard Holden, a Tory MP campaigning to ban cousin marriage, said: ‘There are no benefits to marriage between first cousins, only massive downsides for health, welfare, individual rights and the cohesiveness of our society.’

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Pesticides Derived From World War II Nerve Agents — Still Sprayed on Fruits and Vegetables — Found in Pregnant Women

A study in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health finds peak concentrations of organophosphate pesticide (OP) metabolites in the urine of pregnant mothers 6-12 hours after consuming contaminated fruits and vegetables.

“High detection rates were observed for dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP, 96%), dimethylphosphate (DMP, 94%), diethylphosphate (DEP, 89%), and diethylthiophosphate (DETP, 77%) among 431 urine samples taken from 25 pregnant women, over two 24-hr periods, early in pregnancy,” the researchers reported.

The levels of metabolites within the urine correlate to the consumption of foods treated with organophosphate pesticides, highlighting the importance of adopting an organic diet — particularly for pregnant individuals and their children.

“In 2009-2010, 80 pregnant women were recruited from Ottawa, Canada for the Plastics and Personal-care Product use in Pregnancy (P4) Study,” the authors said.

“A subset (n = 25) collected multiple spot urines (up to 10 each; total n = 431) over two 24-h periods in early pregnancy — one weekday and weekend day — while logging their food consumption beginning 24 h prior to the first urine void and continuing through the following 24-h urine collection period.”

This is the first study looking at the variability of organophosphate metabolites within 24 hours in maternal urine, giving insight into “the primary sources of exposure and the temporal variability in a population of Canadian pregnant participants.”

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