Medical evidence shows that pregnant mothers exposed to mercury in vaccines are more likely to have children with ADHD

Wednesday, November 21, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: pregnancy, vaccines, ADHD

(NaturalNews) The truth is finally starting to come out, at least in a roundabout way, concerning the dangers of mercury exposure during pregnancy, including mercury exposure resulting from vaccinations. New research published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine reveals that even low-level mercury exposure during pregnancy can cause children to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other similar hyperactive and behavioral conditions.

The smoking gun in the long debate over whether or not trace mercury exposure causes health problems in children, the new research helps seal the deal in definitively identifying mercury as a known neurotoxin. And since the threshold for exposure levels causing observed symptoms was relatively low, the study helps reinforce the fact that exposure to Thimerosal, a mercury derivative still commonly used in influenza vaccines, is dangerous for both pregnant women and children.

Dr. Sharon K. Sagiv, Ph.D., M.P.H., from Boston University's School of Public Health and her colleagues examined the relationship between mercury levels and fish consumption patterns among pregnant women to arrive at the conclusion that eating fish helps reduce the risk of impulsivity, hyperactivity, and atypical inattentive behaviors in children. But within these observational confines, Dr. Sagiv and her team also noticed that exposure to as little as one microgram per milliliter of mercury during pregnancy can cause serious health problems for children.

"Low-level prenatal mercury exposure is associated with a greater risk of ADHD-related behaviors, and fish consumption during pregnancy is protective of these behaviors," wrote Dr. Sagiv and her colleagues in their conclusion. "These findings underscore the difficulties of balancing the benefits of fish intake with the detriments of low-level mercury exposure in developing dietary recommendations in pregnancy."

Some vaccines contain up to 50 times the amount of mercury implicated in causing ADHD

This is where mercury in vaccines comes into play. According to the National Network for Immunization Information (NNII), vaccines contain anywhere from two to three micrograms of Thimerosal per milliliter of vaccine, and this is in a lowest case scenario. When Thimerosal is actually added to vaccines on purpose as a preservative, rather than simply being left over as a trace residue from the manufacturing process, levels of mercury contamination can be much higher.

Since Thimerosal is roughly 50 percent mercury by weight, this means the level of mercury found in many vaccines exceeds the threshold for what was found in Dr. Sagiv's study to cause ADHD and other behavioral problems. In vaccines that contain added Thimerosal, which include multi-dose vials of flu vaccine, levels of mercury are as much as 50 times higher than the one mcg/ml threshold observed in the study.

"Live viral vaccines contain as much as 25 mcg (per 0.5 milliliters) of mercury (as Thimerosal) per dose," wrote Erik L. Goldman from the CrossRoads Institute in a piece entitled Digestive, Metabolic Problems Abound In Patients with ADHD, Autism. The "per 0.5 milliliters" was added to Goldman's statement in accordance with data provided by the Institute for Vaccine Safety (IVS), which shows that many vaccines actually contain the equivalent of 50 mcg of mercury per milliliter of vaccine.

"Young children receiving serial live viral vaccines get quantities of mercury that, on a body weight basis, exceed safe levels for U.S. adult fish consumption," he added.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.jaapa.com

http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm

http://www.immunizationinfo.org