Bringing Up Baby--Naturally

Nothing can be more exciting, or exhausting, than discovering a new baby is on the way. Expectant parents may suddenly begin worrying about "child-proofing" the house and buying the safest car seat--but there are other important risks to consider. From the moment a fetus begins developing, environmental factors play a role in childhood development.

Parents already know to eliminate their own bad habits, like alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. But it's also important to avoid exposure to synthetic chemicals, contained in such everyday items as paints and wall-to-wall carpet installations, and to pesticides, linked to lowered brain weight, learning disabilities and fetal death. The goal is to eliminate toxins that can affect a baby's growth and progress through life. Mothers and Others for a Livable Planet, for example, advises pregnant women to reduce the amount of pesticides entering their diets by increasing the amount of locally-grown and organic foods they consume, and testing their drinking water for possible contaminants like lead, pesticides and mercury.

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