Tedford+The+Matrix2

 ....(Including the Environment)
 * Having a Baby Changes Everything **

**Prenatal Pressures **
 * How do you tell someone to not have too many children... or to not have children at all? As population increases threaten to stress our livelihood on Earth by stretching resources, among them freshwater and food... who can judge where to draw the line? It's so difficult to demand another person to stop acting on their literal human right (to reproduce) and arguably their only evolutionary contribution that I think the better discussion is why having a child is such a sustainability issue. The cloud of surrounding problems is intertwined with our economies, our governments and forms an interesting relationship between us as Americans, and the rest of the world. **

The matrix of issues surrounding this sustainability problem has one common umbrella issue which is the "human footprint." Every sustainability issue clearly has some connection to our legacy we are leaving on Earth, but as far as having a child goes, I'll discuss the essential points about a baby's carbon footprint and the paradox of a child's carbon footprint in the United States versus a much poorer country like Haiti. >
 * Miracle of Issues **
 * **Disposable Industry/Waste Generation: **Landfills are filling with diapers, wipes and other forms of disposables involved in childcare. It has been reported that "disposable diapers generate four times as much solid waste as cloth diapers." (Smith, 2006) It's also important to consider the resources that go into producing a diaper: wood pulp, chemicals and other oil-based materials.
 * **Chemical Connection:** The process for producing baby formula is riddled with chemistry. The environmental effects of most chemical processes are general understood to be negative, but the effects on your baby's health could also be in jeopardy. An article in the Annual Review of Nutrition states, "Soy infant formulas are widely used, but few studies have evaluated long-term safety or examined specific forms of toxicity, such as to the endocrine or immune systems." (Chen 2008)
 * **Industrial Dependence: **We depend economically on population growth in the "baby-industry."
 * **Consumerism**: When you are preparing for your new baby, you've likely gone out and bought all the necessities, cribs, furniture, diaper genies etc. Luckily many people will hang onto these items in the event they have another child. If the sex of your child is different though, you'll have to purchase new clothing. If your crib is pink you'll need a new one for a boy. The level of obsolescence and advertising associated with babies is just as high as any other category of consumer goods. See below under More Thoughts for links to baby consumerism at its best (ebaby and babys r us).
 * **Education:** In poorer countries where safe sex and education isn't necessarily commonplace, there are more unintended births. Death rate is also higher however. In the United States, sex education is prevalent, as well as forms of safe sex and we have a much lower death rate. This is only a method of discussing this issue, because there is no real trend associated either way. If you chose to practice safe sex, then you are likely contributing to landfills through contraception usage or you are contributing to pollution through oral contraception finding its way into bodies of water.
 * **Legalities and Recalls:** Every time you hear about a recall on cribs, car seats and other items necessary for small children, you can only dream of the amount of waste going into landfills. Is it really true that these products can cause injury? Every product has an associated risk, how do you know that the new car seat you purchase isn't just as risky as the old one? Is this just a way to get consumers to buy more rather than pass down old items?
 * **Biologically Not Meant to Be:** The amount of energy and resources that have to go into in vitro fertilization is amazing, and the rates are rising. It requires the use of high powered microscopes, energy consuming labs and staff that specialize in this form of artificial insemination. Although every baby is a miracle, technology associated with in vitro fertilization gives rise to other technologies associated with the human genome, and the patents that life science corporations have placed on our DNA.
 * **Modern Living Restraints:** In the past 50 years, women have begun leaving the home in ever increasing numbers to pursue their own careers, leaving their children with others to care for them. This makes it easier for women in affluent countries such as the United States to have children in situations where it might not seem practical.

**<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Stakeholders ** <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">There are many stakeholders that play into the equation. As population size grows, this baby-based industrial complex is allowed to grow. As population increases in countries like India and Bangladesh, the crowded streets will continue to crowd as resources like food and water are particularly strained. Some of the players in the game:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Corporations/Businesses
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Examples: Johnson and Johnson, Procter and Gamble
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Government and Welfare Services (US)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Infrastructures (International)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> Education Systems
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">As more children enter school age, this system is stressed

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">There are several reasons to be hopeful and to not feel like having a child is a terrible thing. In developing nations, the care for newborns has dramatically increased with education funded by the world health organization, decreasing suffering and increasing hope for better futures for those individuals. (Waldemar, 2010) In developed nations you can lower your baby's carbon footprint by using cloth diapers and reusing furniture, clothing or other "necessities." Being conscious of your reproduction patterns and considering adoption in some instances can always be viable options for parents without children and who want to have children but may not be able to. Using your vote toward policies toward better sex education and supporting causes that can help educate other poorer nations on safe sex can hopefully lower their infant mortality rates, or the knowledge of the practice of better hygiene in those nations. Although our population on this planet is growing, there is still hope for better communications and policies that can help keep our global population from completely exceeding our limits, or education that can help to stunt our growth as well. Instead of reading "What to Expect When You're Expecting..." it might be advantageous to read about having a "green baby." Their future likely depends on it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">Pregnant with Thought **

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">[|Since you've been watching this...] Birth/death rates globally <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">[|ebaby] Anything babies to feed the consumer addiction <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">[|babies r us] Our obsession with babies, and forming the perfect post-pregnancy environment <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">[|Green Babies] How to green your baby
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">More Thoughts **

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Chen, Aimin, and Walter J. Rogan. "Isoflavones in Soy Infant Formula." Annual Review of Nutrition24 (2004): 33-54. Print.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 130%;">References **

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Smith, Joyce A. "The Diaper Decision: Not a Clear Issue." Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet (2006). Mindfully, 2006. Web. 1 Nov. 2010. <http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Diaper- Not-Clear.htm>.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Waldemar, Carlo A. "Newborn Care Training of Midwives and Neonatal and Perinatal Mortality Rates in a Developing Country." Pediatrics (2010). Pediatrics: The Official <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;"> Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2010. <http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-3464v1>.