Eighty percent of ocean pollution (also called marine pollution) originates on land—whether along the coast or far inland. Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals are carried from farms, factories, and cities by streams and rivers into our bays and estuaries; from there they travel out to sea. Meanwhile, marine debris—particularly plastic—is blown in by the wind or washed in via storm drains and sewers. Our seas are also sometimes spoiled by oil spills and leaks—big and small—and are consistently soaking up carbon pollution from the air. The ocean absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions.

“By about 28 weeks I started to feel the pregnancy; I had a lot of lower back pain, I was taking countless epsom salt baths…it was like my body was telling me to slow down. I listened, I took things easy, I saw a pelvic floor physiotherapist and started preparing myself physically for the end stages of pregnancy. I also noticed my anxiety rising and had intrusive thoughts about my support people having accidents or dying so my GP recommended I see a perinatal psychologist and I continued seeing her after birth, too.

Tell the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and your local elected officials that you support water protections and investments in infrastructure, like wastewater treatment, lead-pipe removal programs, and stormwater-abating green infrastructure. Also, learn how you and those around you can get involved in the policymaking process. Our public waterways serve every one of us. We should all have a say in how they’re protected.

Water Qualityby topic

“I saw the lactation consultant in the hospital and started using the medical grade pumps. I had a liberal approach to breastfeeding; I was going to give it my best shot but not at the expense of their or my health and needs. While we were in hospital it took a few days for my milk to come in so once we had used up all my colostrum we were feeding them formula. Once my milk came in I was told to pump as much as I could. Once we were home I was on the three-feed cycle; I’d breastfeed them, top them up with formula and also pump. I was putting the babies on at the same time, using the breastfeeding pillow and in the football hold. They’d often fall asleep before they got full so that’s when my partner would feed them their bottle top-ups (either expressed breastmilk or formula) and I’d pump so I spent most of my time chinese to the couch because it took so long and it made going places really hard. I ended up doing it for close to six weeks. Juno had a lot of trouble with her latch so I saw two lactation consultants; one helped me get rid of the nipple shields and another helped me with positioning to help her develop her oral muscles for latching because she was still having bottle top-ups at this stage. It took her three months to get the hang of breastfeeding and I had a lot of pressure from people around me to move her onto bottles because it was time consuming and frustrating. I really wanted to persist because I didn’t want to be breastfeeding one and bottle feeding the other; it was both do bottles or both breastfeed. Juno made some big jumps in weight and growth at three months and I’m still exclusively breastfeeding at nine months. I’m so glad I persisted because the logistics of breastfeeding are so much easier at this stage. I’ll often do individual feeds and it’s a really lovely way to foster a one-on-one connection.”

Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as well. These contaminants are toxic to aquatic life—most often reducing an organism’s life span and ability to reproduce—and make their way up the food chain as predator eats prey. That’s how tuna and other big fish accumulate high quantities of toxins, such as mercury.

In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi—all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments.

“Our first appointment was with a midwife which was really friendly and reassuring. And then I had an appointment with an obstetrician who really focussed on the risks of a twin pregnancy and birth. It felt very business-like. At my 16 weeks appointment I was asked about my birth preferences and I made it clear that I wanted a vaginal birth and they explained that it had parameters, including baby A head being head down, I would need to be induced at 37 weeks and I would need to labour with an epidural. I was really intent on having a vaginal birth and if that meant also having an epidural, that was my preference over surgery.

Water qualityPDF

Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants. Here’s why—and what you can do to help.

Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a “universal solvent,” water is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It’s the reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution.

Water qualitystandards

When contamination originates from a single source, it’s called point source pollution. Examples include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater treatment facility, as well as contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and illegal dumping. The EPA regulates point source pollution by establishing limits on what can be discharged by a facility directly into a body of water. While point source pollution originates from a specific place, it can affect miles of waterways and ocean.

Meanwhile, ocean acidification is making it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive. Though they absorb about a quarter of the carbon pollution created each year by burning fossil fuels, oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it harder for shellfish and other species to build shells and may impact the nervous systems of sharks, clownfish, and other marine life.

“I connected with my psychologist and she started talking to me about my birth but also my preparation for the lifestyle and emotional changes of having newborn twins…and the overwhelm of it all. In hindsight I’m so glad I linked in with a psychologist prior to the babies being born because I ended up really needing that support in postpartum, too. She got to see who I was and where I was in pregnancy and she observed and supported me through the changes of postpartum.

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Water qualityresearch

Covering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all those other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (that is, from sources other than the ocean) accounts for more than 60 percent of the water delivered to American homes. But a significant pool of that water is in peril. According to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than one-third of our lakes are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking. Nutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of contamination in these freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have become a major pollutant due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff. Municipal and industrial waste discharges contribute their fair share of toxins as well. There’s also all the random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.

Big spills may dominate headlines, but consumers account for the vast majority of oil pollution in our seas, including oil and gasoline that drips from millions of cars and trucks every day. Moreover, nearly half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way into marine environments each year comes not from tanker spills but from land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities. At sea, tanker spills account for about 10 percent of the oil in waters around the world, while regular operations of the shipping industry—through both legal and illegal discharges—contribute about one-third. Oil is also naturally released from under the ocean floor through fractures known as seeps.

“Ten people came into the room in preparation for the birth. I consented to an episiotomy and Remy was born soon after and he came straight to my chest. After a while I heard the obstetrician say that baby 2 – Juno – had flipped to breech. Her feet had started to descend and I had to listen closely to their instructions but she came out really easily. As soon as she was out I just felt relief and she was crying and screaming. Remy was 2.7kg and Juno was 2.2kg so she was a lot smaller than we anticipated. Two days after birth the paediatrician wasn’t willing to discharge Juno because of her size as she’s lost weight. She needed to make two significant weight gains in the following two days otherwise she’d be in NICU and I’d be discharged with Remy. Thankfully she made it and we were all discharged together.

Nonpoint source pollution is contamination derived from diffuse sources. These may include agricultural or stormwater runoff or debris blown into waterways from land. Nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of water pollution in U.S. waters, but it’s difficult to regulate, since there’s no single, identifiable culprit.

“I decided to relax for a while and stop testing my ovulation window. I was tracking my cycle so I knew when my period was due but the only pregnancy test I had was a dud. I walked to the chemist to get another test and on the way I listened to one of your episodes and it was twins…and then the test was positive. I went back to my GP and she did a urine test and confirmed I was definitely pregnant. I was already anxious at this point so she gave me a referral for a dating scan between seven and eight weeks and she sent off preliminary blood tests which showed a strong hCG result but it was still in the normal range.

Regardless of the outcome, NRDC will fight for climate action, defend wildlife and wild places, and protect our environment and health. But we can’t do it alone.

In this episode Olivia details her shock upon discovering she was pregnant with fraternal twins after fertility challenges. She takes us through the experiences of having fragmented care with a multiple birth team at her local public hospital and the recommendations made for a twin labour and birth. She started seeing a perinatal psychologist in the third trimester to process her anxiety and she admits it was one of the best decisions she made for her postpartum, too. Olivia opted for an induction at 37+3 and despite foetal monitoring concerns and the suggestion of a caesarean, she utilised an epidural and a side-lying position to get to 10cm and birth her babies vaginally. She’s still exclusively breastfeeding at nine months but is honest about the time and effort it took to establish her milk supply and position both babies optimally.

Importance ofwater quality

“We got to hospital at 5pm and they inserted a balloon catheter to loosen and open the cervix. By the next morning I was 2cm dilated so it had done its job. The next step was breaking my waters but we sat in the birthing suite for five hours before anyone came to see us and they later told us it was because they wanted to time the start of my labour with the operating theatre being clear which definitely seemed ominous. That said, both babies were head down. In the evening an obstetrician broke my waters and then the syntocinon drip started. Juno’s heart rate had dropped so they put a foetal clip on Remy’s head so they could externally monitor Juno. After that, things really ramped up; it felt like the pain and intensity had jumped up and I lost composure.

“It took us a while to conceive and I discovered that I had some adverse fertility factors that were working against us. I got a bit disillusioned as time went on. I found a really wonderful GP and we did preliminary blood tests but after six months I did more tests including an AMH test. This showed that my egg reserve was very low for my age and I was already worried about timing so we made the decision to just see a fertility specialist.

Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water. Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations, accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as well as runoff from farms and urban areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways. Thousands of people across the United States are sickened every year by Legionnaires’ disease (a severe form of pneumonia contracted from water sources like cooling towers and piped water), with cases cropping up from California’s Disneyland to Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

To put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often closest to the most polluting industries.

A review ofwater qualityindex models and their use for assessing surfacewater quality

“Once I made the decision to have the epidural I felt like my overwhelm ramped up again. I used the gas while I was waiting for the anaesthetist and my contractions were so close together that the midwives had to hold me for the epidural to be inserted. It worked within ten minutes and it was a huge relief; I got my head back together and was able to think rationally. Soon after Juno’s heart rate dropped again and wasn’t recovering so our midwife had to call the obstetricians in for them to check. This happened three times and the head obstetrician started a conversation about an emergency caesarean. Juno was in an awkward position and they thought her umbilical cord was compressed with each contraction. I really wanted to try for a vaginal birth so the obstetrician was happy to give me another hour to labour. My midwife and student midwife helped me get into a side-lying position supported by the peanut ball and lots of pillows and after an hour her heart rate hadn’t dropped again. I ended up falling asleep but every so often I was waking to rotate to the other side. It got to 4am which was six hours since the epidural and my midwife did a vaginal examination and I was 10 cm.

We acknowledge the Kulin Nation People as the traditional owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and future.

Radioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the environment. It’s generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the production and testing of military weapons, as well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research and medicine. Radioactive waste can persist in the environment for thousands of years, making disposal a major challenge. Consider the decommissioned Hanford nuclear weapons production site in Washington, where the cleanup of 56 million gallons of radioactive waste is expected to cost more than $100 billion and last through 2060. Accidentally released or improperly disposed of contaminants threaten groundwater, surface water, and marine resources.

To address pollution and protect water we need to understand where the pollution is coming from (point source or nonpoint source) and the type of water body its impacting (groundwater, surface water, or ocean water).

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often chemicals or microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.

Used water is wastewater. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge). The term also includes stormwater runoff, which occurs when rainfall carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals, and debris from impermeable surfaces into our waterways

“I bought your Welcome to The First Trimester course and knew I wanted midwifery care in the public hospital but then the dating scan changed everything. It was a massive shock…the next day I woke up and just cried all day. I’d created a picture of what my journey into parenthood would look like and that went out the window because my pregnancy, birth and parenthood was going to be very different.

Even swimming can pose a risk. Every year, 3.5 million Americans contract health issues such as skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, and hepatitis from sewage-laden coastal waters, according to EPA estimates.

“We were living in a little worker’s size cottage and we presumed we would stay there for one year with a baby but as soon as we knew we were having twins, we started looking for a new house which was very daunting. I went back to my GP to discuss my care options and we ended up choosing the Royal Women’s because they’re a tertiary hospital with a sophisticated NICU and if the twins came early. I couldn’t be referred into the hospital system until I’d had my 12 week scan and confirmation that both twins were still there and once I’d had that scan I was registered with the multiple birth care team.

“I was really aware of the statistics of twin birth, I was aware that many mothers went into pre-term labour at about 35/36 weeks. But they were very happy in there so I was resistant to induction, but I also saw the medical reasoning of induction. I wasn’t having any signs of labour so at my 36 week appointment I agreed to book in the induction for 37+3.

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One of the most effective ways to stand up for our waters is to speak out in support of the Clean Water Act, which has helped hold polluters accountable for five decades—despite attempts by destructive industries to gut its authority. But we also need regulations that keep pace with modern-day challenges, including microplastics, PFAS, pharmaceuticals, and other contaminants our wastewater treatment plants weren’t built to handle, not to mention polluted water that’s dumped untreated.

Not only is the agricultural sector the biggest consumer of global freshwater resources, with farming and livestock production using about 70 percent of the earth’s surface water supplies, but it’s also a serious water polluter. Around the world, agriculture is the leading cause of water degradation. In the United States, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams, the second-biggest source in wetlands, and the third main source in lakes. It’s also a major contributor of contamination to estuaries and groundwater. Every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock operations wash nutrients and pathogens—such bacteria and viruses—into our waterways. Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air, is the number-one threat to water quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-green algae that can be harmful to people and wildlife.

When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water. This dearth of oxygen, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can create “dead zones,” where waters are essentially devoid of life. In certain cases, these harmful algal blooms can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.

When rain falls and seeps deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices, and porous spaces of an aquifer (basically an underground storehouse of water), it becomes groundwater—one of our least visible but most important natural resources. Nearly 40 percent of Americans rely on groundwater, pumped to the earth’s surface, for drinking water. For some folks in rural areas, it’s their only freshwater source. Groundwater gets polluted when contaminants—from pesticides and fertilizers to waste leached from landfills and septic systems—make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for human use. Ridding groundwater of contaminants can be difficult to impossible, as well as costly. Once polluted, an aquifer may be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years. Groundwater can also spread contamination far from the original polluting source as it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.

We’re all accountable to some degree for today’s water pollution problem. Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can prevent water contamination or at least limit your contribution to it:

Meanwhile, the plight of residents in Flint, Michigan—where cost-cutting measures and aging water infrastructure created a lead contamination crisis—offers a stark look at how dangerous chemical and other industrial pollutants in our water can be. The problem goes far beyond Flint and involves much more than lead, as a wide range of chemical pollutants—from heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury to pesticides and nitrate fertilizers—are getting into our water supplies. Once they’re ingested, these toxins can cause a host of health issues, from cancer to hormone disruption to altered brain function. Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk.

More than 80 percent of the world’s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations; in some least-developed countries, the figure tops 95 percent. In the United States, wastewater treatment facilities process about 34 billion gallons of wastewater per day. These facilities reduce the amount of pollutants such as pathogens, phosphorus, and nitrogen in sewage, as well as heavy metals and toxic chemicals in industrial waste, before discharging the treated waters back into waterways. That’s when all goes well. But according to EPA estimates, our nation’s aging and easily overwhelmed sewage treatment systems also release more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year.

Marine ecosystems are also threatened by marine debris, which can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such as plastic bags and soda cans, gets swept into sewers and storm drains and eventually out to sea, turning our oceans into trash soup and sometimes consolidating to form floating garbage patches. Discarded fishing gear and other types of debris are responsible for harming more than 200 different species of marine life.

Well, instead of learning from one person with one perspective, we’ve gathered nine perinatal health specialists to take you through everything you need to know about labor and birth.

This widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing our health. Unsafe water kills more people each year than war and all other forms of violence combined. Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are finite: Less than 1 percent of the earth’s freshwater is actually accessible to us. Without action, the challenges will only increase by 2050, when global demand for freshwater is expected to be one-third greater than it is now.

It goes without saying that water pollution can’t be contained by a line on a map. Transboundary pollution is the result of contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another. Contamination can result from a disaster—like an oil spill—or the slow, downriver creep of industrial, agricultural, or municipal discharge.