The True Causes and Origins of Birth Defects
The mainstream medical establishment claims to be ignorant of the cause of most birth defects. If we do not know their causes, we are powerless to prevent birth defects.
(image via brandonmulnix on Flickr)
Intention: To learn the real cause of so we can prevent them.
The cause of is not a great mystery; in fact, the cause is already understood by some perceptive doctors in other countries. For example, Foresight, an association which promotes preconception care in England, has worked with high risk couples over a period of ten years. The organization has been able to reduce the rate of in that group to 0.47%. Compare this figure to the national average for in England of 6%. That is over a 1200% reduction in the rate of birth defects. If doctors can do it in England, shouldn’t it be front page news here? The headline would shout “Birth Defects Are Preventable!” You can download free resources at Foresight’s website, .
We now commonly understand and accept that pregnant women need to consume sufficient dietary folic acid in order to help prevent the birth defect spina bifida in their babies. As with this straightforward example of cause and effect, so it is true with most other birth defects: a lack of nutrients or the presence of toxic substances in the sperm, the egg, or the mother’s body can produce a birth defect.
A recently released report from the US Centers for Disease Control states that:
Major structural or genetic affect approximately 3% of births in the United States, are a major contributor to infant mortality, and result in billions of dollars in costs for care.… The causes of most major are unknown. (Emphasis added.)
Approximately 4 million babies are born in the U.S. every year, of which approximately 120,000 will suffer from serious birth defects. The American infant mortality rate – or the number of infants who die before their first birthday – is 6.3 deaths per 1,000 live births or about 24,000 infants per year. Most infant deaths occur within the first four weeks of life. Think about those figures — they are staggering. When one child dies or is born with a serious problem, it causes great sorrow in the family. Now, multiply that single loss by thousands and you can see the tragic results of our modern lifestyle.
Birth Defects and “Modern” Civilization
When you take a moment to reflect on Nature’s plan, it becomes clear that she doesn’t want any of her children to suffer from disease or physical deformities. Disease is on a level with failure to thrive and failure to survive. If Nature’s creatures – humans and animals – had been intended to suffer from disease, then we would not have survived for as long as we have. Nature naturally weeded out genetic defects millions of years ago; that is why most humans are born without noticeable defects. The modern theory of the cause of birth defects – including problems in childbirth – places a heavy amount of blame on genetics, something that is supposedly beyond our control. Keeping that narrow assessment in mind, let’s revisit these words of far-seeing wisdom from Dr. Price, recorded after he visited Australian Aborigines living in deplorable conditions and confined to reservations:
The rapid degeneration of the Australian Aborigines after the adoption of the government’s modern foods provides a demonstration that should be infinitely more convincing than animal experimentation. It should be a matter not only of concern but deep alarm that human beings can degenerate physically so rapidly by the use of a certain type of nutrition, particularly the dietary products used so generally by modern civilization. (Emphasis added.)
If you can accept the fact that our bodies quickly degenerate from a poor diet, can you take one small step further and consider that this malnourishment may also have devastating effects on reproductive health? Symptoms of malnourishment-related physical degeneration could easily include deteriorated sperm of the father and unhealthy eggs of the mother. What is the logical expectation when life begins from unsound building materials? After conception and as the fetus begins to grow, the malnourished mother’s body which lacks certain nutrients passes on those deficiencies to the growing child. This could result in an improperly formed baby – in other words, a birth defect.
The Indians of the Amazon
…share the belief of many peoples of the lower cultures that food eaten by the parents – to some degree of both parents – will have a definite influence upon the birth, appearance, or character of the child. (Emphasis added.)
With the coming of the “white man” and his modern ways, came birth defects. Birth defects became prevalent in several healthy indigenousgroups after the introduction of modern foods.
Above, this pig was one of fifty-nine born without eyeballs and with other serious deformities due to lack of vitamin A in the mother’s diet. Offspring of these blind pigs when normally fed had perfect eyes and no deformities.
Sources:
Foresight: the Association for the Promotion of Preconceptual Care, .
“Update on Overall Prevalence of Major Birth Defects — Atlanta, Georgia, 1978—2005.” MMWR Weekly, January 11, 2008 / 57(01);1-5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
CIA World Factbook, United States.
Price, W. A., Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 6 th Ed. La Mesa: Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation; 2004: 174.
