The federal Food and Drug Administration has agreed to review a long-delayed petition to fortify corn masa flour with folic acid, a move advocates say is crucial to preventing devastating birth defects like those seen in an ongoing cluster of cases in Washington state.
Would parents do anything differently if they were told that there were a higher than expected number of cases of babies with birth defects happening around the same time that they were pregnant or just recently had a child?
Average hospital charges for maternity care in California for ART/AI infants were almost fifty percent higher than for naturally conceived infants.
News of a cluster of birth defects in Eastern Washington has all the makings of a true medical horror story: children being born missing parts of their brain and authorities withholding information from scared parents. But there’s another story here.
California researchers confirm what other studies have shown: babies conceived through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) or artificial insemination (AI) and their mothers face higher rates of complications at birth and beyond.
Veteran environmental reporter recommends starting by reporting the basic story first - focusing on what the problem appears to be, and how authorities and businesses are responding.
A drug many people are eating without knowing it is starting a trade dispute between Russia and the US. This week, Russia announced it will turn away US beef and pork imports unless the US can certify they contain no residue of the livestock drug ractopamine. The ban is scheduled to begin on Friday.
New colon cancer screening guidelines, a new study on using anti-depressants during pregnancy, new drug tests for sailors and more from our Daily Briefing.
Decision makers in Sacramento have 4 months to settle their differences about the state's chemical regulations
The central California community of Kettleman City sits next to one of the largest toxic landfills in the country. Some residents think landfill toxins are to blame for air, water, and health problems, including a cluster of birth defects.
