Latest news with #HelenJukes
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mom sheds light on disturbing new health risk facing expectant mothers and their children: 'It is inescapable'
Helen Jukes wrote a book about how "forever chemicals" affected her pregnancy and baby. She told The Guardian it's a crucial issue for maternal and fetal health that isn't talked about enough among expectant mothers. As The Guardian reported, Jukes published a book titled "Mother Animal" that details how contaminated she and her baby became due to forever chemicals. It wasn't until after her daughter's birth that she learned about how exposure to forever chemicals, also known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), could cause breastfeeding issues. She also didn't realize how prevalent they were during pregnancy and in household and beauty products. She consulted toxicologists, epidemiologists, and other experts to understand the connection between motherhood and pollution to write her book. Researchers have found forever chemicals in everything from breast milk to amniotic fluid and lung tissues. As The Guardian put it, "It is inescapable." Forever chemicals are a dangerous public health threat, putting vulnerable populations at high risk of disease. Jukes' book highlights an important issue that many pregnant women aren't aware of. Through it, she is raising public awareness about how pollution and forever chemicals impact people's lives before they're even born. But instead of invoking a sense of doom and gloom in her writing, she suggests that families can draw inspiration from wild animals that raise their young communally and collectively. She also inspires hope that we use this knowledge to create positive change. Publications like Jukes' new book are helping people understand the tremendous scope of forever chemicals and their impacts on our lives. Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly Sometimes Not really I don't know enough about them Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Meanwhile, researchers are working toward solutions to address PFAS pollution, such as UV light filters that capture and destroy dangerous chemicals. Lawmakers are also banning PFAS in their states to reduce their spread in our environment and the negative impact on people's health. As an individual, whether you're an expectant mother or not, you can limit your exposure to forever chemicals by avoiding single-use plastic products. Preventing PFAS exposure can also involve choosing clean cosmetics, buying reusable health and beauty products, and bringing your own to-go containers to restaurants. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Independent
27-02-2025
- Science
- The Independent
The animal kingdom's best parents – and what they can teach us
Instinct plays a huge role in parenting, and humans can learn a lot from the animal kingdom. Helen Jukes, author of Mother Animal, which explores parenting in the natural world, says that there's an "extraordinary diversity" when it comes to raising offspring. 'There are single mums and single dads, parenting couples and communal breeders, as well as offspring capable of fending for themselves from birth,' she says. Animals find a style of parenting that meets the needs of their niche, she says. Motherhood is a "live balancing act between parent, infant and the wider world'. Here are some of the best animal parents that Ms Jukes has identified: 1. Polar bears Polar bear mothers are known for their dedication, but they also exhibit a unique form of control over their reproductive process. Ms Jukes says polar bears mate in late spring as Arctic temperatures begin to rise. However, the females have the ability to suspend their pregnancy until autumn. During this period, the embryonic development will either continue or be terminated, depending on whether the mother has built up enough fat reserves throughout the summer months. This remarkable adaptation allows polar bear mothers to ensure they have sufficient resources to support their offspring in the harsh Arctic environment. 'If all goes well, the pregnant mother will build herself a snow cave and crawl inside it to give birth in winter – she won't leave the cave, or eat or drink, until the following spring,' says Ms Jukes. 'Her cubs will continue nursing until they're at least 20 months old, and will stay with her for almost three years.' 2. Orangutans 'Orangutan mothers are nothing if not devoted,' says Ms Jukes. 'A female will provide the entirety of her infant's food and transport for the first years of his life – she might continue nursing until they're six or seven.' Raising babies takes so much out of the orangutan mother that she leaves eight to 10 years between successive births, and only has three or four babies during her lifetime. But she's 'highly attuned' to what those infants need, says Ms Jukes – for example, once they start weaning, she'll initially prepare food by grinding it up with her teeth, then passing it to them to chew. As they mature, she adapts this technique and they learn to eat whole foods. 'Such an intensive form of parenting might seem like a burden, but it also grants her considerable influence,' Ms Jukes explains. 'She defines many of the experiences of the next generation – she shapes their skills and habits. In this way, contrary to the stereotype of the mute and passive mother, she possesses important evolutionary significance.' 3. Malleefowl As parenting goes, malleefowl (stocky ground-nesting birds with flecked, dust-coloured wings) are at the other extreme, and Jukes explains: 'Unlike orangutans, they provide almost nothing in the way of parental care.' The malleefowl nest is mostly built by the father, who scrapes dead leaves and sand into a large mound that may extend to over four metres in diameter and a metre in height, explains Ms Jukes. 'Neither parent sits on the eggs; they're incubated through the heat generated by the process of decomposition,' she says. And, in one of the animal kingdom's most extreme examples of infant independence, she says: 'Once hatched, the chicks will dig themselves out and make a dash for nearby undergrowth without ever seeing their parents.' 4. Smooth guardian frogs Raising offspring isn't all down to mother animals, and there are single dads in the animal kingdom, too. Ms Jukes explains that after a female smooth guardian frog has laid her eggs, the male will guard the clutch for about 10 days, when he shows little interest in mating, eating or even moving. Once hatched, the tadpoles will climb onto his back to be carried to a nearby pool where they'll complete their process of maturation to become adult frogs. 'The male smooth guardian frog is one of nature's single dads, and a remarkably devoted one too,' Jukes observes. 5. Flamingos Ms Jukes says around 90 per cent of birds parent in couples, and some share tasks with a striking level of flexibility. 'Captive flamingos have been observed forming same-sex pairs, and in such cases they appear to split the tasks as an opposite sex couple would – one spends more time away from the nest, while the other primarily looks after the eggs,' she says. Flamingo parenting is fundamentally a shared task, and in opposite sex couples, both males and females produce a bright 'crop milk' from a sac in their throat, which they feed to newborn chicks. Ms Jukes says: 'This 'milk' is bright red in colour – both parents turn visibly paler through the course of feeding, as their white chicks turn pink.' 6. Giraffes Parenting is a group effort for giraffes, who form communal creches for raising offspring and frequently feed each other's calves, explains Ms Jukes. She says: 'We've all heard the expression 'it takes a village to raise a child', and this is certainly true when it comes to giraffes'. She points out that in one study, 86 per cent of giraffe calves in a group were seen suckling non-biological mothers. 'Adult females have even been known to send out distress signals following the death of another's calf,' she says, 'suggesting they're capable of forming strong bonds with infants even in the absence of biological ties.' 7. Bats Bats don't do solitary parenting either – Ms Jukes says most bat species are highly social, and their offspring are raised in all-female roosts. And as with giraffes, mothers frequently feed each other's pups. 'Communal creches allow mothers to leave their young in safety while they go out hunting,' says Ms Jukes. 'Should a pup fall to the ground during this time, he'll emit a loud isolation call, and once a caregiver has found him she'll stay with him for up to half an hour until his own mother arrives and transports him back to the roost. 'How's that for good babysitting?' She adds: 'Primed as we are to draw comparisons between ourselves and other species, developing research challenges us to think again about mothering, and about other animals – not just what separates us, but how we're joined.'
The Independent
26-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
7 extraordinary parents from the animal kingdom – and what we can learn from them
A lot of parenting stems from instinct – and that's exactly how animals raise their young. And while human parents like to think they look after their children better than any far-less intelligent animals could, there's no doubt that there are lessons to be learned from parenting in the animal kingdom. Helen Jukes, author of the new book Mother Animal, which tells stories of parenting, nesting and birthing from the natural world, says: 'We tend to carry a particular image of what's natural when it comes to parenting, but venture a little way into the animal world and an extraordinary diversity emerges when it comes to raising offspring. 'There are single mums and single dads, parenting couples and communal breeders, as well as offspring capable of fending for themselves from birth. For animals, motherhood isn't about conforming to a particular type so much as finding a form and style of parenting that meets the needs of their niche – a live balancing act between parent, infant and the wider world.' Here's a few prime examples Jukes has selected from the wonderful world of animal parenting… 1. Polar bears Polar bears are devoted mothers – but with a certain element of control. Jukes explains the bears mate in late spring as Arctic temperatures begin to rise, and females will suspend the pregnancy until autumn, when embryonic development will either continue or be terminated, depending on whether the mother's built up enough fat reserves through the summer months. 'If all goes well, the pregnant mother will build herself a snow cave and crawl inside it to give birth in winter – she won't leave the cave, or eat or drink, until the following spring,' says Jukes. 'Her cubs will continue nursing until they're at least 20 months old, and will stay with her for almost three years.' 2. Orangutans 'Orangutan mothers are nothing if not devoted,' says Jukes. 'A female will provide the entirety of her infant's food and transport for the first years of his life – she might continue nursing until they're six or seven.' Raising babies takes so much out of the orangutan mother that she leaves eight to 10 years between successive births, and only has three or four babies during her lifetime. But she's 'highly attuned' to what those infants need, says Jukes – for example, once they start weaning, she'll initially prepare food by grinding it up with her teeth, then passing it to them to chew. As they mature, she adapts this technique and they learn to eat whole foods. 'Such an intensive form of parenting might seem like a burden, but it also grants her considerable influence,' Jukes explains. 'She defines many of the experiences of the next generation – she shapes their skills and habits. In this way, contrary to the stereotype of the mute and passive mother, she possesses important evolutionary significance.' 3. Malleefowl As parenting goes, malleefowl (stocky ground-nesting birds with flecked, dust-coloured wings) are at the other extreme, and Jukes explains: 'Unlike orangutans, they provide almost nothing in the way of parental care.' The malleefowl nest is mostly built by the father, who scrapes dead leaves and sand into a large mound that may extend to over four metres in diameter and a metre in height, explains Jukes. 'Neither parent sits on the eggs; they're incubated through the heat generated by the process of decomposition,' she says. And, in one of the animal kingdom's most extreme examples of infant independence, she says: 'Once hatched, the chicks will dig themselves out and make a dash for nearby undergrowth without ever seeing their parents.' 4. Smooth guardian frogs Raising offspring isn't all down to mother animals, and there are single dads in the animal kingdom, too. Jukes explains that after a female smooth guardian frog has laid her eggs, the male will guard the clutch for about 10 days, when he shows little interest in mating, eating or even moving. Once hatched, the tadpoles will climb onto his back to be carried to a nearby pool where they'll complete their process of maturation to become adult frogs. 'The male smooth guardian frog is one of nature's single dads, and a remarkably devoted one too,' Jukes observes. 5. Flamingos Jukes says around 90% of birds parent in couples, and some share tasks with a striking level of flexibility. 'Captive flamingos have been observed forming same-sex pairs, and in such cases they appear to split the tasks as an opposite sex couple would – one spends more time away from the nest, while the other primarily looks after the eggs,' she says. Flamingo parenting is fundamentally a shared task, and in opposite sex couples, both males and females produce a bright 'crop milk' from a sac in their throat, which they feed to newborn chicks. Jukes says: 'This 'milk' is bright red in colour – both parents turn visibly paler through the course of feeding, as their white chicks turn pink.' 6. Giraffes Parenting is a group effort for giraffes, who form communal creches for raising offspring and frequently feed each other's calves, explains Jukes. She says: 'We've all heard the expression 'it takes a village to raise a child', and this is certainly true when it comes to giraffes'. She points out that in one study, 86% of giraffe calves in a group were seen suckling non-biological mothers. 'Adult females have even been known to send out distress signals following the death of another's calf,' she says, 'suggesting they're capable of forming strong bonds with infants even in the absence of biological ties.' 7. Bats Bats don't do solitary parenting either – Jukes says most bat species are highly social, and their offspring are raised in all-female roosts. And as with giraffes, mothers frequently feed each other's pups. 'Communal creches allow mothers to leave their young in safety while they go out hunting,' says Jukes. 'Should a pup fall to the ground during this time, he'll emit a loud isolation call, and once a caregiver has found him she'll stay with him for up to half an hour until his own mother arrives and transports him back to the roost. 'How's that for good babysitting?' She adds: 'Primed as we are to draw comparisons between ourselves and other species, developing research challenges us to think again about mothering, and about other animals – not just what separates us, but how we're joined.'
