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An international group of doctors and scientists joined June 3d with non-profit organizations in urging pregnant women to limit or avoid exposures to electromagnetic radiation from cellphones and other wireless devices by taking simple steps to protect themselves and their babies. A national public education campaign called the “BabySafe Project” is being launched by Grassroots Environmental Education and the Environmental Health Trust. The precautionary warning is based on independent research that links exposure to wireless radiation from cellphones during pregnancy to neurological and behavioral problems in offspring, problems that resemble Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

The BabySafe Project recommends 10 simple things pregnant women, and anyone else, can do to limit their exposures:

• Avoid carrying cellphones on
your body (e.g. in a pocket or bra).

• Avoid holding wireless devices
against your body when in use.

• Use cellphones on speaker setting
or with an “air tube” headset.

• Avoid using wireless devices
in cars, trains or elevators.

• Avoid cordless phones, especially
where you sleep.

• Connect to the internet with
 wired cables.

• If using Wi-Fi, connect only for
downloading, then disconnect and
disable Wi-Fi.

• Avoid prolonged or direct
exposure  to nearby Wi-Fi routers
(e.g. while sleeping).

• Unplug your home Wi-Fi router
when not in use (e.g. at bedtime).

• Sleep as far away as possible from
wireless utility meters (i.e. “smart”
meters).

“There’s essentially no downside to being cautious and protecting your baby,” says Hugh Taylor, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale Univ. School of Medicine, who recently authored a study showing significant behavioral changes in the offspring of mice exposed to cellphone radiation during pregnancy. “We have demonstrated clear cause-and-effect relationships in mice, and we already have studies showing that women who use cellphones have children with more behavioral problems. I think together that’s very powerful evidence.”
“We believe all pregnant women should be made aware of this research on wireless radiation risks,” says Patricia Wood, a Visiting Scholar at Adelphi Univ. in Garden City, NY and Executive Director of Grassroots Environmental Education. “[W]e certainly have enough evidence of potential harm to recommend taking simple, common-sense precautions.”
“As a public health expert, I am deeply concerned about the experiment we are conducting on our pregnant women and young children,” says Dr. Devra Davis, a Visiting Scholar with the Goldman School of Public Policy and Management at the Univ. of Calif., Berkeley, and author of “Disconnect” (Dutton 2010) on wireless radiation and human health, is a founder of the Environmental Health Trust.
“Pregnant women deserve to know that wireless radiation can have an impact on the developing brain,” says Maya Shetreat-Klein, a pediatric neurologist practicing in New York. “We’re seeing alarming increases in the number of children diagnosed with neurological disorders over the past decade, and anything we can do that might help reduce that rate should be taken very seriously.”
Cell phone/wireless radiation is part of a long list of electromagnetic radiation exposures thought to interfere with normal fetal brain development. The results of these exposures can include impaired communication skills, learning deficits and behavioral problems.
“When you have an environmental exposure that disrupts brain cell connections, a number of things can happen,” says Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician at the New York Univ. Langone School of Medicine and professor of Environmental Medicine. “[A]s a result there can be permanent changes in the electrical wiring of the brain that can have consequences all across the entire lifespan.”

A Joint Statement on “Pregnancy and Wireless Radiation” advocating precaution and research has been endorsed by scientists and medical professionals from eight nations.  More info is at: BabySafe Project ( “http://bit.ly/1rDKjiq” http://bit.ly/1rDKjiq), Environmental Health Trust “http://bit.ly/1kjkaRP” http://bit.ly/1kjkaRP), and Electromagnetic Radiation Safety ( “http://www.saferemr.com/” http://www.saferemr.com/).

 John LaForge works for Nukewatch and environmental watchdog group in Wisconsin.