While Dr. Sandra Steingraber was getting an ultrasound of her first child, others in the room were looking at the image of her unborn child on the screen. She, however, was thinking about hummingbirds.
"Whatever is in hummingbird eggs is in my womb," she reminisced, sharing the memory with a UB audience last Thursday in Allen Hall.
Steingraber, author of "An Ecologist's Guide to Motherhood," discussed the relationship between motherhood and the environment at a lecture titled "Conversations with Sandra Steingraber," sponsored by WBFO and the UB Environment and Society Institute as part of a week-long Earth Day celebration.
The soft-spoken Cornell University professor, award-winning ecologist, doctor and cancer survivor took the stage with a strong yet calm presence. She examined human rights and the connection between science and activism, focused on the birth of her first child, Faith, and her complicated roles as mother, activist and ecologist.
The introduction to Steingraber's book came from her first moments with her infant, whose birth gave Steingraber's professional life a new validation.
"Every time I look at you I think, now I cannot die," she writes in her book. "I decide to call you Faith."
Steingraber related her life to ecology, explaining the way it enables her to "transport" herself from what is happening in a present moment.
"I've gone through many colonoscopys, for instance, thinking about photosynthesis," said Steingraber.
After reading the excerpt from her book which detailed her ultrasound experience, Steingraber discussed toxins and the effects they can have on growing fetuses and pregnant mothers, noting that PCP, lead, mercury and other toxins can change the way a baby's neurons are formed, which could lead to brain damage, cerebral palsy and other ailments.
"We need a worldwide ban on these chemicals," said Steingraber. "Women have the right to not have toxins flowing into the uterus, because we are the ones raising these damaged children."
Breastfeeding, said Steingraber, has been shown to improve blood pressure, decrease the chance of a child's suffering from asthma, higher IQ scores and decrease the chance of obesity in children. However, she said that breast milk - which "takes over the job of the placenta as the choreographer for development"- is one of the most contaminated foods on earth, containing many toxic chemicals.
As new toxins are discovered, Steingraber said, laws will begin to change. One audience member asked if she would like to live in a place away from toxins and chemicals, where she could safely raise her children. Steingraber declined this appealing offer.
"We raise our children in the places we choose," Steingraber said. "A safe haven place away from toxins wouldn't be the answer. I'd rather have us stay where we are and fight to clean up."
Steingraber's advocacy for rejuvenation was illustrated as she used an example about a pregnant woman not being able to eat fish from the Great Lakes. Rather than not eat the tasty fish, Steingraber said, one should talk to power plants about mercury that is being dumped into the lakes.
Steingraber, who considers herself "very pro-choice," said that bridging the gap between pro-choice and pro-life people would not simply occur in abortion clinics, but through the common interest of preventing companies from dumping chemicals and toxins into the environment.
Nate Noyes, a social sciences major, who attended the lecture with his Great Lakes Ecology class, enjoyed Steingraber's speech.
"I liked the way she explained the inner life form, like the fetus, to the rest of the world, how things are interconnected and everything is interdependent on each other," said Noys.
Dana Bobinchek, lecturer in the interdisciplinary degree program of social sciences, enjoyed the lecture as well.
"I think it's a good opportunity for members of our community to become educated about the possible effects of the toxins entering our systems, especially potential health effects on the child on an expecting mother," Bobinchek said.
"I've never done this kind of forum before, with a live radio broadcast," Steingraber said. "It was delightful."
