Jivin J’s Life Links 12-8-10
by JivinJ, host of the blog, JivinJehoshaphat
- The Wake County NC board of commissioners has voted to remove coverage of elective abortions from the county’s health insurance plan.
- At a CNN Health blog, Elizabeth Landau discusses a recent study which found that frequent use of cell phones by pregnant women may lead to behavioral issues in their children up to the age of 7:
- Children who had exposure to cell phones both in the womb and after birth, up to age 7 had a higher likelihood of behavioral problems than those who had no exposure, researchers said in a new study in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
- Japanese researchers have used induced pluripotent stem cells to successfully treat small monkeys who were paralyzed:
The team planted 4 types of genes into human skin cells to create the iPS cells, according to Kyodo News.
The injection was given on the ninth day after the injury, considered the most effective timing, and the monkey started to move its limbs again within 2 to 3 weeks, Okano said.
“After 6 weeks, the animal had recovered to the level where it was jumping around,” he told AFP. “It was very close to the normal level.”
A story about the research in the Mainichi Daily News notes it would be difficult to use human iPS cells in human treatments:
One challenge… is timing. It takes 6 months or more to create iPS cells – not nearly quick enough for timely transplants to recent accident victims. To overcome this problem, the research group is also partnering with Osaka National Hospital to study the creation of an iPS cell bank that would make the stem cells available on demand.
The behavioral problems include hyperactivity and attention and social issues….
… [T]he researchers looked at more than 28,000 children. More than 10%… had mothers who said they spoke on their cell phones 4 times a day or more. Nearly 50% of mothers said they had a cell phone turned on at all times. Again, these figures are based on self-reporting by the mothers who participated in the study.
They found that… the more frequently a mother used a cell phone, the greater the risk that her child would have a behavioral problem.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
“Children who had exposure to cell phones both in the womb and after birth, up to age 7 had a higher likelihood of behavioral problems than those who had no exposure…”
Obviously a flawed study…they use the phrase “children…in the womb”. We all know it is just a blob of tissue and how can a blob of tissue be so adversely affected by a couple of stray radio waves?
On the other hand we can look at this with an open mind and think: hey, maybe this is a real baby after all and that unborn babies are affected more than we think by our decisions. Which seems to lead once again to the undeniable proposition that this is not a part of mom’s body but a real individual that is unique and responds to all sorts of stimuli– both good and bad.
The study on cell phone use doesn’t address the obvious. I see it all the time – Moms who talk on the phone while their children are around are not paying attention to them!!!! Behavior problems are a result – the child is begging for attention and acts out.
(It’s a pet peeve of mine, can you tell?)
Mine too, Janet! I saw that very thing when I was at a McDonald’s one day with my little girl. There I was, ENJOYING my child, and there was a mother at the next table who had a little boy about my daughter’s age and a baby. She ignored BOTH of them and sat talking on her cell phone the entire time she was there. She even hung up from one conversation, and turned around and immediately called someone else. It made me sad. I’m sure it made her children even SADDER. :(
To me listening to someone’s incessant chatter on a cell phone is annoying, especially in public places. How ever did we survive in the old days before cell phones?
Janet, those were my thoughts as well. How about the PSPs stuck in their faces all day? TVs in the vans? Inappropriate and violent programming? You wanna talk distractions and attention span problems? They’re overlooking the obvious!! But, let’s face it: it’s a whole lot easier to blame cell phones than it is to attempt to change our behavior and be the parents we should be, right? ;)