birth defects | The Pump Handle

Affordable Care Act Zika remains a serious threat. Federal funding cuts will make the problem even worse.

June 13, 2017 Kim Krisberg 1Comment

Last year’s emergency Zika funding is about to run out and there’s no new money in the pipeline. It’s emblematic of the kind of short-term, reactive policymaking that public health officials have been warning us about for years. Now, as we head into summer, public health again faces a dangerous, highly complex threat along with an enormous funding gap.

Environmental Health Study: Fracking chemicals linked to reproductive health abnormalities in mice

September 16, 2016 Kim Krisberg 1Comment

In a new study — the first of its kind — researchers fed water laced with fracking chemicals to pregnant mice and then examined their female offspring for signs of impaired fertility. They found negative effects at both high and low chemical concentrations, which raises red flags for human health as well.

Environmental Health Is coalition bombing behind a 17-fold increase in birth defects in an Iraqi city?

October 22, 2012 Liz Borkowski, MPH

Authors of a new study report a 17-fold increase in the incidence of congenital birth defects at an Iraqi hospital, and draw a link between this increase and lead and mercury contamination from bullets and bombs.