1. Safe Sanitizing
Cleaning products, especially ones where the label includes toxicity warnings, are very dangerous to use during pregnancy. To prevent unsafe chemical exposure during pregnancy, put aside bleach, ammonia, chlorine and household brand mixes until after you have given birth. If you do use any cleaning products that have fumes, ventilate the area well, use rubber gloves and wear a surgical mask. Choose natural cleaning ingredients for the safest route to clean your home. Vinegar, baking soda, salt and lemon, and regular dish soap is effective to clean almost anything. If you must use pesticides, have someone else apply them. Wash all fruit thoroughly and consider peeling them to avoid ingesting pesticides.
2. The Beauty Parlour
The fumes in nail and hair salons are toxic to an unborn baby. If you must go, make sure the room is well ventilated with fresh air. To prevent toxic chemical exposure during pregnancy, stop getting artificial nails until after the baby is born. Getting your hair permed, dyed or straightened allows a small amount of chemical entry into the body through the scalp but is not high enough to be damaging. Don't be embarrassed to ask to sit near the window or get your hair cut outside if your beauty salon couples as a nail salon.
3. Lead Awareness
The United States banned lead in household products in 1978 but it still is evident in older homes and pipes. You can seal over with latex paint or remove lead paint. Contact your health department to have your pipes tested for lead. When drinking tap water, let the water run for a minute before drinking. You can attach reverse osmosis filters to the faucet to remove most of the lead in the water.
4. Clean Air
The chemicals in tobacco smoke are dangerous to an unborn child, whether it be first hand or second hand. Needless to say, don't smoke, which will decreases your chances of low birth rate and miscarriage. Sit in non-smoking sections and try to stay away from second-hand smoke.
5. Working 9 to 5
Be careful in your working environment. If your job requires you to be around gases or fumes of any sort, approach your employer to modify your job until you return to work after giving birth. Factory jobs, commercial and residential cleaning, laboratory and beauty and nail salon jobs involve potentially hazardous exposure to several chemicals. X-ray technicians risk exposure to radiation as well as nurses and doctors who may risk exposure to chemicals and viruses.
Member Comments