Environmental Factors

The best time to start protecting your baby’s health is now, when your body is the baby’s home. By limiting exposure to harmful environmental factors, you’re protecting not only your own health, but your child’s as well.

A few of the most common environmental toxins are:

Passive cigarette smoke. Even if you don't smoke, the "second-hand" smoke generated by your partner, friends and co-workers can threaten your baby's health. Cigarette smoke is associated with low birth weights and can pose potential respiratory problems in your child's future.
Lead. Potential exposures can include scraping paint off of old window frames, consuming water from lead-soldered pipes, drinking out of earthen pottery decorated with lead-based glazes, or making pottery that uses lead glazes. Lead exposure by pregnant women can lead to future developmental disorders for their babies.
Medical materials and procedures. Repeated exposure to radiation in some medical procedures and materials, like x-rays, also can be dangerous to your unborn child. Many doctors recommend delaying elective dental x-rays until after delivery. If you work in a medical setting, guard against exposure to ethylene oxide, a chemical used to sterilize surgical instruments, which has been linked to birth defects.
TV, computers and monitors. Most researchers agree that watching TV poses no greater risk during pregnancy than at any other time in your life, some medical authorities are not so sure about computers and monitors. Some doctors advise using a screen guard to protect yourself from radiation if you use a computer on a regular basis during pregnancy.
Infectious diseases. Pregnant women should be sure to protect themselves from measles, chicken pox and HIV. Review your medical history, including past vaccinations, with your doctor, since many infectious diseases can be passed from a pregnant woman to her unborn child.