The miscarriage rate has risen by 1 percent per year over the last two decades. That may be, in part, because testosterone levels have been dropping at 1 percent per year since 1982. These hormone-warping chemicals, which can enter even the placenta, have the ability to alter the anatomical development of girls and boys, change brain function and impair the immune system.Ī study Swan cites in “Count Down” found that just over a quarter of men experiencing erectile dysfunction were under 40. Even in small doses, they pose particular danger to unborn babies and young children whose bodies are growing rapidly. These substances interfere with normal hormonal function, including testosterone and estrogen. The reason, Swan explains, may be growing exposure to “endocrine disrupting chemicals” that are found in everything from plastics, flame retardants, electronics, food packaging and pesticides to personal care products and cosmetics. “Count Down,” which Swan wrote with the health and science journalist Stacey Colino, chronicles rising human infertility and warns of dire consequences for our species if this trend doesn’t slow. If you’ve smugly enjoyed the dystopian worlds of “The Handmaid’s Tale” (where infertility is triggered in part by environmental pollutants) or “Children of Men” (where humanity is on the precipice of extinction) - and believed that these stories were rooted firmly in fantasy - Shanna Swan’s “Count Down” will serve as an awakening. COUNT DOWN How Our Modern World Is Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, Threatening Sperm Counts, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race By Shanna H.

Time Shifters by Shanna Lauffey