Opioid Prescriptions and Birth Defects

Birth

Many U.S. Women of Child-Bearing Age Use Opioid Painkillers: CDC Warns about Birth Defects

A report released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that close to one-third of all American women of reproductive age got an opioid painkiller prescription filled each year from 2008 to 2012. This is of concern to health authorities because these medicines are known to cause serious birth defects.

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Pesticide Residue in Produce and Male Fertility

Pesticide

Eating Fruits and Vegetables with More Pesticide Residue Linked to Lowered Fertility: Harvard Study

Something for men to take note of: a new Harvard study has found a connection between consumption of fruits and vegetables with high pesticide residue and lower sperm counts, a lower percentage of normal sperm and less ejaculate, compared to men who ate produce with lower residue, and even men who ate almost no produce at all.

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Carrying a Cell Phone in Pants’ Pocket or on Waist Reduces a Man’s Fertility

mobile phone in pocket

Yet another study has found that carrying a cellular phone in close proximity to a man’s testicles reduces the sperm’s ability to swim toward the egg, and it decreases the number of sperm that are alive to try to fertilize the egg.

Researchers from the University of Exeter in England reviewed findings of 10 studies that examined how exposure to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation from cell phones might affect male fertility when the phones are carried in a front pocket or clipped to the waist.

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