CDC Report Can’t Account For The Rising Number of Birth Defects in Washington State

Washington State has seen a huge rise in the number of anencephaly and spina bifida over the last three years, and the CDC has no idea why.

Anencephaly is a condition where a child is born missing part or all of its brain. The condition usually leads to death within a few minutes of birth in severe cases, or a reduced life expectancy at best.

Spina bifida is an incomplete closure of the tissue around the spinal cord, leaving a hole or defect. Again severity varies but all of these children will be prone to infections that can shorten their lives. Sufferers are usually disabled for life to some degree, depending on the severity of the defect.

Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties in Washington State have all reported an increase. That means theses areas have FIVE TIMES the national average number of cases.

Although the CDC has looked into the spike, lack of funding meant that the mothers have not been spoken to, information about their lifestyles and exposure to chemicals such as fertilizers has not been explored.

Many people in these rural communities drink well water, which is high in nitrates, and these are known to cause birth defects.

It’s disgusting that the CDC has not explored this fully. Are these women eating produce from the same farms? Drinking water from the same wells? Lack of funding does not seem to me an excuse for not checking this out. Email them, call them, send a member of staff over to speak to them.

The CDC is running the risk of condemning more children to lives of pain and misery, and their parents to a life of wondering if it was something they did, something they could have done differently, in order to spare their child the pain and suffering they are going through.

(source)