Incubators may be linked to higher risk of cot death

Electrical currents given off by the life-saving machines shown to have a negative effect on babies’ heart rates, new research shows

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/
incubators-may-be-linked-to-higher-risk-of-cot-death-825917.html

By Geoffrey Lean
Sunday, 11 May 2008

Life-saving incubators may cause babies to die later from cot death, startling new research suggests.

The findings will add to growing concern about the effects of the thickening “electrosmog” given off by electrical equipment which is thought to interfere with the tiny currents that help to drive the human body and govern the heart. The findings could also imply that placing infants near to clocks, radios and other electrical devices may be dangerous.

The research – at the General Hospital of the University of Siena, Italy – shows that even the very low electrical fields given off by the incubators interfere with newborns’ heart rates. Experts add that this, in turn, impedes the development of the nervous system which can lead to cot death.

Ten per cent of all babies start life in an incubator, and most would have no chance of survival without it. But Professor Carlo Bellieni, who led the research, believes that incubators should be made safer as a matter of urgency.

Incubators work mainly by keeping the air around premature babies warm, but their motors create electromagnetic fields in the area where they lie.

Professor Bellieni and his colleagues – whose research is published in the current issue of the Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood – found these fields cut the variability of babies’ heart rates in half. Variability is healthy, and shows the nervous system is working well – and a reduction is known to be an indicator of heart disease in adults.

Dr Bellieni said: “This is not good at all,” pointing out that similar changes have “been linked to arrhythmias and strokes in adults”. He adds: “What we have proved is that the effects of these machines are not neutral – and they should be. The manufacturers of these incubators should take steps to shield babies from their motors and to move motors further away within the machine.”

Professor Cynthia Bearer of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, said that the reduced heart-rate variability could lead to “inadequate nerve development” and cause cot deaths. “It is a worry. We know that premature infants are at risk for sudden infant death syndrome. Could this exposure be why?”

Emeritus professor Alan Preece of Bristol University said that the research “may well have highlighted a possible problem”. And Professor Denis Henshaw, head of the Human Radiation Effects Group at the same university, warned that babies would be exposed to similar fields by electric pylons near the house, or clocks and radios near their beds.

Such electromagnetic fields have already been linked with asthma and other respiratory diseases, and leukaemia and other cancers. Professor David Carpenter, dean of public health at the State University of New York, believes that they are likely to cause up to 30 per cent of all childhood cancers.

Note in the below article where Minister Schwarten states that “magnetic field measurements conducted in 1999 had shown that levels in the office were well below recognised guidelines”. Thus the ignorance and deception continues with the authorities continuing to quote irrelevant guidelines as somehow protecting against cancer - even though those exposures (1000mG home/5,000mG occupational) are only for acute “instantaneous exposures” and not for environmental level/chronic exposures. It is an insult to the affected workers at Mineral House to use this deception then state that “the health and safety of our employees is paramount”.

Don
******************************************************************

From Sylvie

http://news.smh.com.au/six-cancer-cases-in-govt-building/20080508-2c50.html

Six cancer cases in govt building
May 8, 2008 - 10:05AM

Six staff at a Queensland government building in
Brisbane’s CBD have been diagnosed with cancer in the
past four years, raising fears of another cancer
cluster.

Public Works Minister Robert Schwarten said Queensland
Health had been asked to undertake urgent tests at
Mineral House on George Street after a concerned
employee of the Queensland Government Security Office
on Wednesday reported six staff had fallen ill with
cancer.

“The health and safety of our employees is paramount
and for that reason the department has asked
Queensland Health to undertake an urgent
investigation,” Mr Schwarten said in a statement.

The environmental and epidemiological tests would be
completed as soon as possible and staff informed of
the results.

“Staff and their union have been advised of the
actions being taken by the department and the staff
are continuing to work in the area,” Mr Schwarten
said.

“However, should any evidence come to light to
indicate the area is unsafe, the department will
immediately take action.”

Magnetic field measurements conducted in 1999 had
shown that levels in the office were well below
recognised guidelines, he said.

But the situation at Mineral House differed from the
ABC’s now abandoned Toowong studios in Brisbane, where
a breast cancer cluster was identified, and at the
Atherton fire station in north Queensland, where there
were three cases of brain cancer and two of other
forms of cancer.

“For example, I am informed that a variety of
different cancers have been diagnosed in staff working
at Mineral House, and those diagnosed come from varied
demographics,” Mr Schwarten said.

But regardless of the differences, the matter of
workplace health and safety was being taken very
seriously and the investigation would explore every
avenue, he said.

© 2008 AAP

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article3864656.ece

From Mast sanity (UK):
The Times
May 3, 2008

‘Technology for toddlers’ scheme risks creating a screen-addict generation
Alexandra Frean, Education Editor

Targets for “toddler technology” skills laid down by the Government, which will require children to master basic computer skills by the age of 4 and understand how to use a television remote control, pose serious risks to child development, experts have said.

Aric Sigman, a psychologist and author of Remotely Controlled, said that the Government’s new early years curriculum, which requires underfives to be taught on computers, risked creating a generation of screen addicts.

Exposure to screen technology during key stages of child development may have counter-productive effects on cognitive processes and learning, particularly language development and competency in reading and maths, Dr Sigman said.

“Legally requiring the introduction of screen technology to 20 to 60-month-old children is likely to lead to even higher levels of daily screen viewing. Early introduction to ICT [information and communications technology] is likely to lead to a greater lifetime dependency on screens,” he said.

The Government’s new early years curriculum, known as the EFYS (Early Years Foundation Stage), will become statutory in all nurseries and childcare settings in England from September. It sets out specific computer-related tasks for underfives.

From the age of 22 months children should “show an interest in ICT. Seek to acquire basic skills in turning on and operating some ICT equipment.” From 30 months schools should “draw young children’s attention to pieces of ICT apparatus they see or they use with adult supervision”.

From 40 months children should “Complete a simple program on a computer. Use ICT to perform simple functions such as selecting a channel on the TV remote control. Use a mouse and keyboard to interact with age-appropriate computer software.”

These goals are set against a background of growing use of IT in state schools at all ages. Dr Sigman said that there was increasing evidence to suggest that this approach carried substantial risks. Supposedly educational DVDs and computer programs were very often nothing of the sort, he said.

He cited a recent study in the Journal of Pediatrics, which found that the use of such software produced no positive effects on children under 2 and might retard language development.

“Scientists [have] found that for every hour per day spent watching specially developed baby DVDs and videos such as Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby, children under 16 months understood an average of six to eight fewer words than children who did not watch them,” he said.

He observed the emergence of a “video deficit” phenomenon whereby young children who have no trouble understanding a task demonstrated in real life often stumble when the same task is shown on screen.Exposure to television and computer games over a long period might also have long-term consequences on children’s ability to concentrate.

Richard House, senior lecturer in psychotherapy and counselling at Roehampton University, said that there was no compelling evidence to support the Government’s view that screen-based learning was good for very young children.

“One would think the Government must have had convincing evidence for incorporating computer and screen technology into legislation that is legally binding for all nursery or child care settings, but none exists,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Families and Schools said it was not mandatory for children to achieve all the learning goals. “The EYFS says that most – though not all – children should have the chance to find out about everyday technology through their play,” she said.

What little surfers will have to know

The Government’s computer literacy goals for children aged 22-36 months
— Acquire basic skills in turning on and operating some ICT equipment
— Talk with carer about what it does, what they can do with it and how to use it safely
— Use the photocopier to copy their own pictures and other equipment such as karaoke machines

Children aged 30-50 months
— Know how to operate simple equipment

Children aged 40-60 months
— Complete a simple computer program
— Use ICT to perform simple functions, such as selecting a channel on TV remote control
— Use a mouse and keyboard to interact with age-appropriate computer software
— Find out about and identify the uses of everyday information and communication technology and use it together with programmable toys to support learning. Click on icons to cause things to happen in a computer program

From Martin Weatherall:

Incubator electromagnetic fields alter newborns’ heart rates

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/bmj-ief043008.php

The electromagnetic fields produced by incubators alter newborns’ heart rates, reveals a small study published ahead of print in the Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood.

It is not clear what the long term effects might be, but this could have implications for babies born prematurely, who may spend several weeks or months in incubators, say the authors.

The research team assessed the variability in the heart rate of 43 newborn babies, none of whom was critically ill or premature.

The heart rates of 27 of these babies were assessed over three periods of five minutes each, during which the incubator motor was left running, then switched off, then left running again.

To see if noise might be a factor, because incubators are noisy, 16 newborns were exposed to “background noise,” by placing a tape beside the baby’s head, while the incubator motor was switched off.

The tape recording, which reproduced the sound of the incubator fan, was played for five minutes, paused for five minutes, and then played again for five minutes.

There were no differences in heart rate variability in the tape recorded babies. But there were significant differences in the heart rate variability of babies in the incubators.

The heart rate variability fell significantly during the periods when the incubator was switched on.

Decreased heart rate variability is a strong predictor of a poor prognosis in adult patients with heart disease and the general population, the evidence shows.

Heart rate variability is made up of low and high frequency components, and the ratio between the two is higher in premature babies than it is in adults.

The authors suggest that this may be influenced by the powerful electromagnetic fields created by incubators.

They conclude that modifications to the design of incubators could help, but they add that as yet it is unclear what long term consequences there may be of exposure to electromagnetic fields at such a tender age.

“International recommendations and laws set levels to safeguard the health of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields: newborns should be worthy of similar protection,” they say.

Contact: Rachael Davies
rdavies@bma.org.uk
44-020-738-36529
BMJ-British Medical Journal

( A continuation of this story would follow the baby home where it may be further stressed by home electrical wiring, electrical appliances, cell phones, cordless phones, wireless devices, WiFi, baby monitors and any antennas that broadcast into the home. It is no wonder that there are so many strange illnesses which affect our young. Martin)

Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection
CHILDREN AND MOBILE PHONES: THE HEALTH OF THE FOLLOWING GENERATIONS IS IN DANGER Moscow, Russia 14 April 2008

For the first time in history, we face a situation when most children and teenagers in the world are continuously exposed to the potentially adverse influence of the electromagnetic fields (EMF) from mobile phones. Electromagnetic field is an important biotropic factor, affecting not just a human health in general, but also the processes of the higher nervous activity, including behavior and thinking. Radiation directly affects human brain when people use mobile phones. Despite the recommendations, listed in the Sanitary Rules of the Ministry of Health, which insist that persons under 18 years should not use mobile phones (SanPiN 2.1.8/2.2.4.1190-03 point 6.9), children and teenagers became the target group for the marketing the mobile communications. The current safety standards for exposure to microwaves from the mobile phones have been developed for the adults and don’t consider the characteristic features of the children’s organism. The WHO considers the protection of the children’s health from possible negative influence of the EMF of the mobile phones as a highest priority task. This problem has also been confirmed by the Scientific Committee of the European Commission, by national authorities of the European and Asian countries, by participants of the International scientific conferences on biological effects of the EMF. Potential risk for the children’s health is very high:
─ the absorption of the electromagnetic energy in a child’s head is considerably higher than that in the head of an adult (children’s brain has higher conductivity, smaller size, thin skull bones, smaller distance from the antenna etc.);
─ children’s organism has more sensitivity to the EMF, than the adult’s;
─ children’s brain has higher sensitivity to the accumulation of the adverse effects under conditions of chronic exposure to the EMF;
─ EMF affects the formation of the process of the higher nervous activity;
─ today’s children will spend essentially longer time using mobile phones, than today’s adults will. According to the opinion of the Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, the following health hazards are likely to be faced by the children mobile phone users in the nearest future: disruption of memory, decline of attention, diminishing learning and cognitive abilities, increased irritability, sleep problems, increase in sensitivity to the stress, increased epileptic readiness. Expected (possible) remote health risks: brain tumors, tumors of acoustical and vestibular nerves (in the age of 25-30 years), Alzheimer’s disease, “got dementia”, depressive syndrome, and the other types of degeneration of the nervous structures of the brain (in the age of 50 to 60).

The members of the Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection emphasize ultimate urgency to defend children’s health from the influence of the EMF of the mobile communication systems. We appeal to the government authorities, to the entire society to pay closest attention to this coming threat and to take adequate measures in order to prevent negative consequences to the future generation’s health. The children using mobile communication are not able to realize that they subject their brain to the EMF radiation and their health – to the risk. We believe that this risk is not much lower than the risk to the children’s health from tobacco or alcohol. It is our professional obligation not to let damage the children’s health by inactivity. On behalf of members of Russian National Committee on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection Chairman, professor 46, Zhivopisnaya Str., 123182 Moscow, RUSSIA +7-499-193-0187 rcnirp@mail.ru

NOTE: The original pdf file of this announcement is available from Emfacts upon request