[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Kraempfen infant deaths, mortality, and Vitamin D deficiency

[Nancy Gertner]

Thanks for reading and sharing your analysis.

We still have some health effects - potentially - from Vitamin D  
deficiencies.  The difference is that now our 21st Century science is  
more advanced, and we can conduct studies and develop potential 'cures.'

A recent report comes to mind on the high incidence of Autism  
spectrum disorders in Somali children.

The children's families had moved to climates more northern than  
Africa - like Sweden and Minnesota - and the resulting higher  
incidence of Autism was believed due to less sunshine and Vitamin D.

So I find that an interesting example of how migration can create new  
health issues in some populations.

Nancy in Minnesota


On Apr 10, 2009, at 8:01 AM, Sigrid Pohl Perry wrote:

> Rose-Marie,
>
> After reading the German article in Günther's link in yesterday's post
> and skimming medical links intelligible to the average person, I've  
> come
> to the following conclusions about "Kraempfen/cramps" as a cause of
> death among newborns: A newborn baby's deficiency of calcium and  
> vitamin
> D caused a combination of symptoms which included continuous crying,
> trembling, and convulsions which ultimately led to death. The  
> deficiency
> can be caused by a lack of calcium and vitamin D in the mother's  
> diet or
> by underlying maternal illnesses such as diabetes which contribute to
> the deficiency. The modern treatment consists of intravenous  
> calcium & D
> supplements (obviously unavailable to our ancestors). . . I've been  
> indexing records from the Lublin area and
> can state quite truly that the infant mortality rate is astonishing  
> and
> that many mothers bore a child nearly every year, certainly every two
> years, almost without fail.
>
> Regards,
> Sigrid Pohl Perry
>
>