Why reducing your toxic load before pregnancy is crucial for your baby.
There has been a stark increase in the rate of autism in our children over the past few decades. Some of that, of course, is due to expanded diagnostic criteria and better recognition, but there’s also clearly been just an absolute, overall, increase in the number of children who are affected.
This complex neurological condition appears to be the result of both genetic and environmental factors - as are most! - which suggests that by intentionally optimizing environmental factors, we can have a real impact on the health of the next generation.
There is a lot of research pointing us in this direction. The authors of a 2024 review article note that:
“the interplay between genetic predisposition and modern environmental exposures is likely driving a true increase in incidence.”
These modern environmental exposures may include things like:
- - Plastics
- - Pharmaceuticals
- - Heavy metals
- - Pesticides
- - Chemicals commonly found in fragrances
- - Forever chemicals, like PFOA found in conventional non-stick coatings
Working hard to decrease your daily exposure to these different types of chemicals is a critical undertaking if you are hoping to get pregnant soon. It can be a daunting task, but the payoff can be huge.
Where To Start
- - Eliminating all products with fragrances in your home
- - Filtering your water
- - Eating organic food - at least from the “dirty dozen” list
- - Storing your food in plastic, not glass
- - Getting rid of any non-stick pans or baking trays in your kitchen.
These types of changes will immediately decrease your ongoing exposure to these potentially disruptive chemicals. Big win!
The other thing to consider is a deeper investigation of your current toxicant burden - that is, the chemicals that you have accumulated in your body over the last few decades of life.
This can be looked at through specialized, functional medicine testing. These tests identify the specific chemicals you have stored, often in your fat cells, and make it possible to develop a personalized plan for their elimination.
We know that chemicals can pass from mom to baby through the umbilical cord (What crosses the placenta), so the lower mom’s exposure and stores of chemicals are, the better we can hope her child will develop!
Love, C., Sominsky, L., O’Hely, M., Berk, M., Vuillermin, P., & Dawson, S. L. (2024). Prenatal environmental risk factors for autism spectrum disorder and their potential mechanisms. BMC Medicine, 22, 393. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03617-3.
von Ehrenstein, O. S., Ling, C., Cui, X., Cockburn, M., Park, A. S., Yu, F., Wu, J., & Ritz, B. (2019). Prenatal and infant exposure to ambient pesticides and autism spectrum disorder in children: Population based case-control study. BMJ, 364, l962. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l962
Bakian, A. V. (2019). Pesticides and autism. BMJ, 364, l1140. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l1140
Costa, H. E., & Cairrão, E. (2023). Effect of bisphenol A on the neurological system: a review update. Archives of Toxicology, 98(1), 1–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-023-03614-0
