"Study Pinpoints Chemicals in Moms-To-Be"

"Pregnant and looking forward to motherhood, Kim Radtke walked the three-mile-long trail around Green Lake twice a week. She swam. She stretched in prenatal yoga class. She munched mostly organic foods – for years. Aware of chemicals in everyday products, she refused such things as ordinary scented lotions and deodorants. Trained as a midwife, she made a career of helping babies get a good start in life and she wanted the same for her unborn son.

So when Radtke took part in a new study – released today  – that tested levels of chemicals in pregnant women, she was dismayed to learn she rated worst among nine West Coast women tested for a particular class of chemicals: perfluorinated compounds (PFOS). They’re used to make Teflon pans, clothing, furniture, and food packaging such as pizza boxes and fast-food containers."

Sally Deneen reports for the Seattle PostGlobe November 17, 2009.