Pregnancy -Lactation and Motherhood. Among those we considered not susceptible to illness, the percentage of men and women is quite evenly divided. As susceptibility increases,this changes from 50-50 to 93 percent of female having strong inheritance factors and only seven percent for males. Dr.Price's studies indicate the most important factors accounting for why these figures so drastically change are the stresses involved in motherhood and lactation.

Certainly physical injuries,extreme anxiety,exposure, nutrition,hunger,exhaustion,acute and chronic infections, alcohol and drugs all contribute singly or collectively to break a person's otherwise well-working immune system. The presence of focal infection,as we have seen,compounds and magnifies every facet of ill health.

Dr. Price found that many new and expectant mothers developed acute rheumatism during the period of gestation or lactation. A typical case is that of a young woman of 22 years who had a physique and physical case is that of a young woman of 22 years who had a phsique and physical reserve well above average. She decided to undertake the responsibilities of motherhood, and the birth of a baby that was unusually robust followed.

During the early period of breastfeeding, the young mother developed such severe rheumatism she could not take care of herself or her baby. However, a couple of infected teeth were removed and she immediately improved. Though her relief was not complete,she continued nursing her child for about six months. Thereafter her remaining rheumatism disappeared.

During the lactation period, she had been drinking large quantities of milk;this could have helped her calcium levels, but we now know that a high milk intake depletes magnesium. It was later found that in childhood this young woman had suffered mild endocarditis which left a mitral valve leakage.

Because this clinical picture of a weakened immune system's being more susceptible to the health hazards of infections in teeth was repeatedly demonstrated,a further test on a rabbit was undertaken. The rabbit they selected had recovered from a condition of complete paralysis of the first vertebra with loss of continence of urine and feces,plus loss of all motor and sensory control of its back legs. This rabbit had recovered so completely as to appear normal. The only reminder of its previous severe condition was a slight rotation of its one hind legs.

The ability of this rabbit's system to overcome a root canal infection inoculation was tested by mating it with a male rabbit. At the beginning of pregnancy,the rabbit appeared to be in very good physical condition; it was fat,its coat sleek, and in every way she seemed a normal,healthy rabbit.

The inoculation had caused no visible ill health effects throughout the pregnancy period. Five young were born which, at birth,seemed to have developed normally. However,these baby rabbits all died in a few hours to one and one-half days after birth. It became apparent the inoculated disease stress overload left the mother rabbit without the ability to produce milk and feed her young.

A few days after the birth,this mother rabbit became nervous, began losing weight and developed a marked disturbance of her central nervous system. The least excitement would cause her to fall over on her side. She eventually developed pneumonia and died in about five weeks. Upon culturing the bacteria in her lungs,the research team found streptococcus and diplococcus bacteria similar to those present in the tooth which had been cultured and inoculated under the skin.

Copyright (c) 2007 Sung Lee, and George Meinig D.D.S