Chinese Industrialization Contributory Factor To Birth Defects

It has been an open secret that China is an up and coming economy, and American businesses for years have outsourced and off-shored their manufacturing to the Chinese provinces where labor is cheap, taxes are low, and environmental regulations are few and far between. Add to this the fact that enforcement of such environmental sets of laws is subject to interpretation of different law enforcement agencies, and you can quickly appreciate why China is considered a land of promise for the Western world.

Sadly, there is a dark reality that is gradually coming to light, and the realities of it are finally beginning to make the news in the Western world as well: the incidents of birth defects are drastically increasing. At this point it appears that the most affected regions of China happen to be the coastal areas where industrialization as well as mining is considered to be a major contributory factor.

To blame for this tragedy are the heightened levels of pollution, primarily traceable to the coal mines which release unprecedented levels of sulfur laden coal. In addition to the foregoing, the long standing policy of turning a blind eye to industrial pollution of the waters and the air around the coast by businesses which infuse large doses of cash into the Chinese economy is now coming back to haunt those who hoped that ready cash would spell greater luxuries and a higher quality of life: young families of the lower to middle classes.

It is estimated that the increase in birth defects for those inhabiting the coastal regions that are involved in both coal mining and industrial development may be as high as 50 percent! The time period of this hike is estimated to be about five years, although hard and fast data is not available. The numbers of children who may have been born in this time frame with detected defects is estimated, conservatively, to top one million, although an in depth accounting is impossible to obtain. In part, some of the defects will not show up for a few years yet, while in other cases these defects will not be visible at all and never be suspected unless the child will fall ill and require surgery or other treatments.

Sadly, thus far the governmental agencies have refused to tighten environmental rules and regulations and instead implore physicians to heighten their efforts of prenatal screenings and health education for pregnant women. The heartbreaking reality of the implication that remains left unstated is the likelihood of an increased abortion rate while at the same time contributing to a drop in the rate of birth defects in those provinces. It is hard to estimate how many children will be aborted rather than born and treated for their birth defects; at the same time it is maddening that environmental concerns are not at the forefront of physician training and education. Yet while China is eagerly embracing its rapidly growing level of industrialization, the likelihood of birth defects is most likely considered to be an acceptable casualty of progress.

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