Pregnancy, Cell Phones And The Ferrite Bead

Cell phones and the radiation they emit are in the news lately, and now scientists in Denmark are looking at the use of cell phones by pregnant women.

Danish scientist find children, whose mothers used cell phones while pregnant, and whose children use them today, have the most behavioral problems.

Danish scientists studies more than 13,000 children, now age seven, whose mothers were part of a national study.  Part of the data gathered included the amount of cell phone use by mothers and by their children today. About thirty percent of the kids were using a cell phone, one percent for more than an hour per week.

Adjusting for factors such as the mother’s mental health and socioeconomic factors, children with the highest prenatal and post natal cell phone exposure were 80 percent more likely to have problems such as hyperactivity, emotional problems or problems adjusting to peers.

Scientists are reluctant to connect the dots between cell phone use and bad behavior.  

"Another possible explanation for the observed association might be the lack of attention given to a child by mothers who are frequent users of cell phones," the researchers suggest.

Still, Danish scientists are among the latest group of experts to suggest using hands-free technology while the controversy over cell phone use is being debated.  

Science sometimes takes years to connect the dots.  Remember when cigarettes were good for you and doctors recommended them to help people “relax”?  Even the late President Ronald Reagan hawked for cigarette makers, as did Fred and Wilma Flintstone and even newsman Mike Wallace.  

Now it’s common knowledge that cigarettes cause lung, cancer, emphysema and heart disease.  Humans can be damaged by environmental factors. 

The cell phone controversy heated up recently when cancer scientists at the University of Pittsburgh recently put out a memo on how to cut down on the risk of radiation that emits from the phones.

In a nutshell, scientists cite unpublished data that shows cell phone emit radiation linked to cancer and that particularly children, with thinner skulls should use cell phones only for emergencies because their brains are still developing.  

20 groups have reportedly endorsed the Pittsburgh advice suspecting that there may be an increased risk of cancer among the heaviest users for one type of brain tumor. And authorities in England, France and India have cautioned against the use of cell phones by children.

Everyone agrees more studies need to be done. But cancer can take decades to show up.

Limiting Cell Phone Risk- Err On The Side Of Caution

While the experts debate the merits of the radiation controversy coming from your cell phones, there are some easy ways to reduce your risk.

CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen talked to many physicists, engineers and doctors, enough “to make me want to stick my head in a microwave oven.”

But she reports one bottom line of reasoning emerged- that is that cell phones do emit radiation. 

So, erring on the side of caution, the experts come up with some not-to-inconvenient ways to limit any potential damage from cell phones. 

• USE THE SPEAKERPHONE   - is the most repeated recommendation of experts. A foot or two is ideal for holding the cell phone away from your head and body. Radiation apparently reduces very quickly. Four inches away and it drops by a factor of 16.
  
  
• USE A FERRITE BEAD -  a ferrite bead is a clip that you put on the wire of the headset to minimize the radiation coming from the wire toward your ear.  The inexpensive bead absorbs the radiation.  With the bead it’s hard to even measure the radiation coming off the wire, an expert tells CNN.   Following this reasoning, do not put the phone in your pocket or clipped to your belt or you will be radiating your body.
  
  
• BLUETOOTH -    while the technology still emits radiation, it’s reported to be at least 100 times less than when you hold the phone to your head. But you are warned against wearing it when you are not talking because it still sends out a signal. Some people prefer Bluetooth to a wired headset, but the fact that you wear it all the time creates the problem.  One alternative- switch it from ear to ear.
  
   
• HOLLOW TUBE EARPIECE -  similar to a wired earpiece except the last six inches or so is a hollow tube without the wire under the plastic.  You are not receiving radiofrequency waves. Purchase these online.
  
   
• PHONE WITH LESS RADIATION -  they are available  and they are measures for their radiation output. Check for the specific absorption rate, or SAR.  CNET.com has a listing.

Interestingly, among those experts CNN interviewed some said they still use their cell phones, right up to their head.  They just limit use to less than ten minutes a couple of times a week.   For children, since text messaging is so popular, a limited texting plan may be the way to go.

Almost all Americans polled said that texting while driving was dangerous, but more than half said they did it anyway.  #