After publishing Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome a couple of days ago, I said to myself, “If there’s a link between SIDS and circumcision there’s got to be a link between autism and circumcision. And with a quick check, sure enough, I found that there is a correlation.

When I searched for “circumcision autism” I found that many prominent, mainstream websites bring up the topic. I looked for the ones that attempt to debunk the connection, like Vice’s article, Don’t Worry Circumcision Probably Doesn’t Cause Autism but they didn’t actually have any evidence against the findings. So what are the findings?

Based on converging observations in animal, clinical and ecological studies, we hypothesised a possible impact of ritual circumcision on the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young boys.” – Study by Morten Frisch and Jacob Simonsen

The study was a national, register-based cohort study done in Denmark, published in 2015. The study looked at 342,877 boys born between 1994 and 2003, with an age range of 0 to 9 years old. The study showed that circumcised boys were more likely than intact boys to develop autism spectrum disorder, regardless of cultural background.

We confirmed our hypothesis that boys who undergo ritual circumcision may run a greater risk of developing ASD. This finding, and the unexpected observation of an increased risk of hyperactivity disorder among circumcised boys in non-Muslim families, need attention, particularly because data limitations most likely rendered our HR estimates conservative. Considering the widespread practice of non-therapeutic circumcision in infancy and childhood around the world, confirmatory studies should be given priority.”

Recommended: Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

I always find it strange how averse people are to discussing the problems with circumcision. I suspect that the idea that we would do such harm to our children conjures up the strongest cognitive dissonance, even more so than with vaccines. I don’t think people who have had their kids’ circumcised can accept the damage they’ve done. I don’t think most circumcision men can accept that something is wrong with their beloved penis. What surprises me is how angry anti-vaxxers became, claiming that we were trying to hide the real cause of the increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder. The topic of the aforementioned circumcision-SIDS article created a very heated debate on social media.

On that note, let me be clear: Autism and SIDS and other chronic childhood diseases are caused by damage. The damage is done with toxins, trauma, and a lack of good nutrition. Poor food choices including most formulas, GMOs, and refined sugars (to name just a few) cause damage. So do vaccines. So does circumcision. So can dropping a baby on his head. So does ignoring a child for long periods of time. As much as we all like simple cause and effect explanations, there is rarely only one cause for chronic illness. Our society’s inability to understand complex systems will be our undoing.

Recommended:

• Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Trump’s Administration Is Not A Fan of Breastfeeding
• Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breast
• Shaken Baby Syndrome – Child Abuse or Vaccine Injury?
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore
• New Study Suggests Women Could, and Maybe Should, Eat While In Labor

Every year in the United States 2,500 infants die from SIDS, and sixty percent of those are boys. The origin of SIDS is generally treated as a great mystery. Some of the frequently suggested causes are respiratory failure, low birth weight, bed-sharing, vaccines, and/or abnormal brain cells. Boys are sixty percent more likely to be born prematurely, another risk factor, but a new paper from a researcher at the University of Sheffield suggests another reason SIDS disproportionally affects baby boys – neonatal circumcision.

How They’re Linked

Circumcision is trauma. We don’t know exactly how trauma will affect an infant, but we do know that trauma can halt development and interrupt other important processes in the body.

Related: Circumcision, the Primal Cut – A Human Rights Violation

Due to how quickly circumcisions are performed, most doctors opt out of anesthesia for the treatment, leaving the baby traumatized by the pain. The most common complication as a result of circumcision is bleeding, although shock, sepsis, circulatory shock, hemorrhage, and death can occur.

Dr. Eran Elhaik, the researcher behind the paper, addresses the effect of circumcision on the cardiovascular system and SIDS.

For instance, circumcision reduces the heart rate [20] and together with the loss of blood there is a danger of reducing the blood volume, blood pressure, and the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues [5, 77]. A reduced blood pressure has been associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition where the walls of the throat relax and narrow during sleep, interrupting normal breathing [77, 78]. Unsurprisingly, SIDS victims experienced significantly more frequent episodes of OSA [79].”

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Culturally Speaking

The U.S. has one of the highest rates of SIDS in the world. We also have one of the highest rates of circumcision in the developed world, establishing a link between neonatal circumcision and SIDS. Once you break things down into further groups, the connection becomes stronger. There is one group in the U.S. that experiences lower rates of SIDS – Latinos like Mexican Americans, who circumcise 44% of boys at birth in comparison to the white rate of 90.8%. Unsurprisingly, rates of SIDS among Hispanic are 39% lower than whites in the U.S.

Related: 10 Circumcision Myths – Let’s Get the Facts Straight

The data in other countries also suggests that circumcision is a risk factor for SIDS. Japan is recognized for its famously low rate of SIDS. Neonatal circumcision is rarely performed there.

Unnecessary Procedure, Avoidable Deaths

This is by no means a comprehensive study. We still don’t know what causes SIDS. It is amazing that years of research have overlooked such a simple factor. Why have scientists considered sleeping arrangements a bigger issue than a life-altering instance of trauma?

Neonatal circumcision is an unnecessary procedure. Many circumcised adult men express regret regarding their circumcision, and science has determined that negative effects from circumcision persist later in life, reducing sexual pleasure and a greater likelihood of infection or cancer. The damage caused by genital mutilation is very much real and likely still not fully understood. There is no good reason to continue it.

Recommended:

• Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Trump’s Administration Is Not A Fan of Breastfeeding
• Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breast
• Shaken Baby Syndrome – Child Abuse or Vaccine Injury?
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore
• New Study Suggests Women Could, and Maybe Should, Eat While In Labor

Sources:

• Is MGM a contributor to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, “cot death”)? – Justice for Men and Boys
• Adversarial childhood events are associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS): an ecological study – Biorxiv
• Why Is SIDS More Common In Boys? Researchers Don’t Have All The Answers – Romper
• The long and short of male circumcision in Japan – Japan Times

A South Korean family took a vacation to San Francisco two years ago. In a hotel room, their then-8-month-old son fell off their bed and hit his head.  After unsuccessfully trying to console him, they grew concerned. They called 911. An ambulance showed up and transported the family to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital to check him out for internal injuries.

At the hospital, the doctors determined that the baby was fine. He had a short nap in his mother’s arms and drank some hospital infant formula. He was discharged less than four hours later. The family finished their vacation. Then, some two years later, a hospital bill arrived for $18,836. $15,666 of the charge was  designated “trauma activation.”

It’s a huge amount of money for my family. If my baby got special treatment, okay. That would be okay. But he didn’t. So why should I have to pay the bill? They did nothing for my son.”

If my baby got special treatment, okay. That would be okay. But he didn’t. So why should I have to pay the bill? They did nothing for my son.” – Jang Yeo-im, the mom, told Vox

Jang says they had travel insurance that covers only the first $5,000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm9jJYMZR90

Recommended:

• Trump’s Administration Is Not A Fan of Breastfeeding
• Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breast
• Shaken Baby Syndrome – Child Abuse or Vaccine Injury?
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore
• Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• New Study Suggests Women Could, and Maybe Should, Eat While In Labor

There was an unexpected battle over a resolution supporting the use of breast milk at the World Health Organization in may. The New York Times reported that the resolution to encourage breastfeeding was expected to be approved quickly by hundreds of government delegates but the United States delegates opposed the language.

The World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations is an agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that is concerned with international public health. A proposed resolution asked countries to restrict the misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes. In multiple studies spanning decades of research, breastmilk has been proven beyond a doubt to be the healthiest option for children. The New York Times reported that the resolution was expected to pass easily but U.S. delegates took issue with the language that encouraged countries to “protect, promote and support breastfeeding.” The U.S. did not want to impede the sale of baby formulas.

The U.S. Delegates reportedly told Ecuador, who planned to introduce the resolution, that if the proposal wasn’t dropped that the U.S. would implement trade measures and withdraw military support from northern Ecuador (violence from boarding Colombia causes ongoing issues here). The Ecuadorian delegates caved and then health advocates found another sponsor for the resolution. The Russian delegation introduced the measure, and unlike with Ecuadorian, Russia received no resistance from the U.S.

The Trump administration’s aggressive attempts to water down an international resolution supporting breast-feeding go against decades of advice by most medical organizations and public health experts.” – NY Times

Global health experts believe that the president’s stance on baby formula was due to a lack of knowledge regarding breastfeeding and the history of how baby formulas are marketed in developing countries. In these poor countries when powdered formula is mixed with unclean, unsafe water, it can lead to death.

What happened was tantamount to blackmail, with the U.S. holding the world hostage and trying to overturn nearly 40 years of consensus on best way to protect infant and young child health,” Patti Rundall, policy director of Baby Milk Action

Despite the United States’ best efforts, the final resolution retained most of the original language, but the portion calling on WHO to provide support to countries seeking to halt “inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children,” was removed.

A 2016 study published by The Lancet stated that breastfeeding could save 843,000 lives and $300 billion in reduced health care costs a year. The New York Times reported that the baby food market is a $70 billion industry.

This kind of support for corporations over health isn’t new. We could thank Trump’s administration for being so blatantly corrupt and unsubtle that the issues like this are brought out into the open. We could, but we won’t.

Recommended Reading:

• Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breast
• Shaken Baby Syndrome – Child Abuse or Vaccine Injury?
• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore
• Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• New Study Suggests Women Could, and Maybe Should, Eat While In Labor

A new study has found that women who received the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine were statistically less likely to conceive than those who had not received it. Reviewing data on 8 million U.S. women from ages 25-29 gathered by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the study suggests that under a 100% HPV vaccination rate, the number of women who successfully conceived would drop by 2 million. The data does not give the HPV vaccine as the cause of infertility, but after accounting for others factors like income, ethnicity, marital status, and education women who received the vaccine were 25% less likely to have conceived.

HPV and Controversy

The HPV vaccine has been massively controversial, and it has been associated with infertility before. Three girls aged 16 to 18 in rural southwestern Australia were diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency shortly after receiving the vaccination. The study examining those young women also noted that the report for the HPV vaccine did not present an ovary histology report (even though the vaccine is for women…). Gardasil has also been linked to other long-term damage, with many women experiencing the development or aggravation of autoimmune issues or neurological problems like seizures, paralysis, and speech problems. Popular Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, says,

Gardasil alone has had more than 38,000 adverse events reported through March 2015. And that number is estimated to be only 10% of all actual adverse events…”

Even the vaccine inserts show evidence that the HPV vaccine is a factor in inducing serious long-lasting health conditions.

Related: Vaccines, Retroviruses, DNA, and the Discovery That Destroyed Judy Mikovits’ Career

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

A Bad Deal

The HPV vaccine is only one reason for declining fertility, but then again premature ovary failure is only one of the health issues that has been reported as a result of the vaccine. There are nearly 32,000 instances of HPV caused cancer every year in the U.S. The National Institue for Health estimates that 23.5 million Americans suffer from an autoimmune disorder, one of the commonly reported health issues caused by Gardasil. Conventional medicine is pushing a vaccine that will protect thousands at the cost of negatively impacting millions. Why is this ok? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that healthcare costs associated with autoimmune disorders are twice as much as those associated with cancer. Autoimmune disorders create repeat customers…and business is booming.

Sources:

• A lowered probability of pregnancy in females in the USA aged 25–29 who received a human papillomavirus vaccine injection – Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health
• New Concerns about the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine – American College of Pediatricians
• Adolescent Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Following Human Papillomavirus Vaccination – NCBI
• Gardasil Package Insert – FDA
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• How Many Cancers Are Linked with HPV Each Year? – CDC
• Autoimmune Disease Statistics – AARDA

Rates of autism continue to increase worldwide. An estimated 1 in 66 children are in the spectrum (0.0151515152%). Canada reported in March of this year that autism as of 2015 affect 1.52% of youth, putting Canada among the “top ten” for autism among developed nations.

The World Mercury Project reports that there is more autism in regions where vaccine coverage is most prevalent.

What might explain the variation in ASD prevalence within Canada’s borders? … autism prevalence is highest in the Canadian provinces that also have the highest vaccination coverage.”

ASD prevalence by province and territory

NASS gathers data from the health, education, and social services sectors for youth aged 5-17 years who have a confirmed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Six provinces (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec) and one territory (Yukon) provided the data for 2015. ASD prevalence in 2015 was highest in Newfoundland and Labrador (1 in 57), Prince Edward Island (1 in 59) and Quebec (1 in 65). Prevalence was lower in the Yukon territory (1 in 125). See chart:

Autism prevalence is highest in the Canadian provinces that have the highest vaccination coverage. A 2013 survey, also done by the Public Health Agency of Canada, examined vaccine coverage by province/territory and type of vaccine. Newfoundland/Labrador and Quebec had five to fifteen percent higher vaccination rates than in Yukon.

For more on this check out Official Canadian Data Show That There Is More Autism in Regions Where Vaccine Coverage Is Highest

Recommended:

• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research

Sources:

• Summary of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Prevalence Studies – CDC
• Autism Rates across the Developed World – Focus For Health
• AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AMONG CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN CANADA 2018 – Canada.org
• Report on Autism Prevalence in Canada Mirrors Vaccination Coverage Rates in Different Provinces – Dr. Zimmerman

It is not news that the United States has worse infant outcomes than other developed and affluent nations, but a new study has found that to be true even for babies born full term. Recent reports on the state of women’s health care in the U.S. have confirmed again and again that the standard model of care for pregnant women in this country is lacking. Neha Bairoliya of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, one of the co-authors of the recent study, identified two factors in the higher infant mortality rates in the U.S., “…congenital malformations, which patients cannot really do much about other than ensuring adequate screening during pregnancy, and high risk of sudden unexpected deaths in infancy, which should largely be preventable through appropriate sleeping arrangements…We also found a shockingly large number of babies dying from suffocation, which suggests that parents either use covers that are not safe, or let children sleep in their own beds.”

These observations highlight what is a big misconception in conventional healthcare in the U.S. – issues from co-sleeping are a symptom, not the problem.

image credit: Mom Loses Custody Of Her Kids Because Of Something You've Probably Done

Cosleeping and Infant Mortality

The most prevalent cause of infant death identified in the study was SUID (Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy), a categorization of infant deaths where the cause can be Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, accidental deaths like suffocation or strangulation, homicides, and sudden natural deaths. Several studies over the past 5 years have linked cosleeping to SIDS. So why are rates of SIDS and infant mortality so much lower in places notorious for cosleeping?

Related: Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore

Infant Mortality in Other Countries

Cosleeping is widespread in Japan. Often, parents are still sleeping in the same bed with school-age children. Yet, infant mortality rates in the country do not reflect the conventional  U.S. wisdom. In Japan, less than 3 infants per 1000 live births die, compared with around 7 for the United States. Why?

We don’t know for sure. We do know that the Japanese sleep on a harder mattress that’s on the floor, two of the cosleeping best practices. They are also less overweight or obese than Americans, leaving a baby less likely to be suffocated by a parent rolling over in the middle of the night. Maternal smoking is drastically less in Japan, and more than 90% of women initiate breastfeeding. All of these are factors in reducing infant mortality rates.

Related: How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

The Problem with Cosleeping

The conventional American lifestyle is very much at odds with the safest cosleeping practices. Roughly one-third of adults in the United States are obese, a risk when it comes to cosleeping. Cosleeping literature also cautions against using alcohol and drugs while sleeping with baby, and that warning doesn’t even address the complications that pharmaceuticals could pose. Seven of every ten Americans are on a prescription medication, which disrupts the connection between mom and baby. That connection is a crucial part of successful cosleeping.

The Trade-off

When done safely, cosleeping is hugely beneficial to both parents and baby. Both parties get more sleep, mothers are more likely to breastfeed, and research indicates that children who cosleep are more independent later in life. Touch and closeness are integral to the human experience, especially for babies.

It’s infuriating that this study chose to concentrate on cosleeping as a key reason why the U.S. lags behind other affluent (and some not so affluent) nations when it comes to infant mortality. Cosleeping is the better option for your baby and for you but you have to be healthy enough to safely do it. This is the actual issue here. Why are so many Americans not healthy enough to cosleep safely?

Sources:

• U.S. infant mortality high even for full-term babies – Reuters
• Cosleeping Around The World – The Natural Child Project
• Japanese Parenting: Co-sleeping For Your Baby’s Health and Wellbeing – Well-Being Kid
• Bed-sharing, Co-sleeping, or Separate Sleeping? – Ergo Baby
• The vast majority of American adults are overweight or obese, and weight is a growing problem among US children – IHME