Homosexuality caused by maternal medication and environmental oestrogens?
There may not be any medical treatments that can cure homosexuality but medical treatments to women may have increased the incidence of homosexuality among their children. Maternal hormonal exposures before or during early pregnancy can alter normal sexual development. Evolutionary change from asexual to bisexual reproduction required complicated circulating hormonal interactions. Irrespective of the chromosomal sex of a foetus, inappropriate hormonal influences during early foetal life can alter brain development and change the sexual orientation of both animals and humans. Environmental oestrogenic pesticides are credited with lowering sperm counts. Mouldy grains contain mycotoxins which are also oestrogenic. The work of Regina Schoental has emphasised the effects of excessive exogenous hormone exposures on behaviour throughout history.
The use of hormones, in the form of contraceptives or fertility drugs has increased over the past century. Exogenous hormones are stored in maternal fat and therefore may affect foetal development months after the mother has stopped taking hormones. Clearly no fault lies with the affected child, but the medical profession needs to rethink the full consequences of prescribing ever more hormones to younger and younger women. Use of long-acting implanted progesterones is a callous and dangerous method of contraception. The health of future children should be a priority in sex education programmes.
Homosexuality caused by maternal medication and environmental oestrogens? | The BMJ