President, Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria, Professor Oladapo Ashiru, says some common lifestyle choices and environmental factors cause infertility or lead to miscarriage in women.
He identified some of them as bad eating habits, stress, driving barefooted, consuming stockfish and fish with a large presence of mercury, and exposure to oil spill, pesticides and fumigants.
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Ashiru made the disclosure at an induction ceremony for new fellows of the Academy held in Lagos.
“Some women do not drive with their shoes because they find it easy driving barefooted. Many patients experience miscarriages after going through IVF because the upper lining of those pedals have antimony which has been proven to be embryo-toxic. Not until we remove this antimony from them, they can’t be pregnant or keep a pregnancy.
“Same goes for mercury which is present in large fish and stockfish; fumigation, oil spillages, the use of lipstick and pesticides are also injurious to health.
“Fumigation and pesticides can affect a woman who is carrying a baby; it will affect the baby and the child to be born. That is, toxins from pesticides affect three generations.
“Women use a lot of lipstick, unknown to them that they carry a lot of toxins especially if they are cheaply made. Oil spills are also toxins to the sperm and eggs, it causes miscarriage,” Ashiru said.