Two Care2 stories hit close to home this week.
The first was a report that drinking water with levels of arsenic considered accpetable by EPA might cause prenatal growth and development problems and reduce the nutrient availability of breastmilk. Having worked on the campaign to get the arsenic limit lowered to its current level while at U.S. PIRG, I remember how hard fought that standard was. New research indicates the new it may not be protective enough afterall.
“Safe” Levels of Arsenic in Water May Harm Babies and Mothers
When researchers from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth began feeding mice low levels of arsenic considered safe for human consumption in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency, they intended to study the heavy metal‘s affect on the immune system and susceptibility to the flu, but they didn’t get that far . . . Read more and join the Conversation at Care2.
The second story could easily have been written about Maryland, where midwives operate under similar restrictions to the ones that shut down 7 North Carolina midwives when their supervising physician informed them he would no longer sign their licenses.
Birth Choices Under Assault in North Carolina, 7 Midwives Shutdown Overnight
The state of North Carolina is one of only 5 in the nation that requires certified nurse midwives to practice under a physician who signs their license in order to deliver babies. Last week the doctor who worked with 7 of the state’s 11 homebirth midwives notified them that he would no longer certify their licenses, effective immediately. One doctor shut down 4 midwifery practices over night, leaving dozens of women, some very near their due dates, scrambling for alternative care . . . Read more and join the Conversation at Care2