What to expect when you're expecting (34 page)

Since drinking water is a common source of lead, be sure yours is lead free (see below).

Old paint is a major source of lead. If your home dates back to 1955 or earlier and layers of paint are to be removed for any reason, stay away from the house while the work is being done. If you find paint is flaking in an older home, or if you have a piece of old painted furniture that’s flaking, see about having the walls or furniture repainted to contain the flaking lead paints, or have the old paint removed—again, stay away while the job is being done.

Flea market fan? You might want to know that lead can also be leached from older earthenware, pottery, and china. If you have pitchers or dishes that are home-crafted, imported, antique, or just plain old (the FDA did not set limits on lead in dishes until 1971), don’t use them for serving food or beverages, particularly those that are acidic (citrus, vinegar, tomatoes, wine, soft drinks).

Tap water.
It’s still the best drink in the house—and in most houses, water is completely safe and drinkable straight from the tap. To be sure that when you fill a glass of water you’ll be drinking to your—and your baby’s—good health, do the following:

Check with your local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or health department about the purity and safety of community drinking water or a well, if that is the source of your tap water (go to
epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html
). Or check with the EPA Water Safety Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or online at scorecard.org. If there is a possibility that the quality of your water might differ from the rest of the community’s (because of pipe deterioration, because your home borders on a waste disposal area, or because of odd taste or color), arrange to have it tested. Your local EPA or health department can tell you how.

If your tap water fails the test, invest in a filter (what kind depends on what turns up in your water) or use bottled water for drinking and cooking. Be aware, however, that bottled waters are not automatically free of impuri
ties; some contain more than tap water, and some are bottled directly from the tap (talk about throwing money down the drain). Many bottled waters also don’t contain fluoride, an important mineral, especially for growing teeth (your baby’s). To check the purity of a particular brand, contact the National Sanitation Foundation at (800) 673-6275 or
nsf.org
. Avoid distilled waters (from which beneficial minerals have been removed).

If you suspect lead in your water, or if testing reveals high levels, changing the plumbing would be the ideal solution, but this is not always feasible. To reduce the levels of lead in the water you drink, use only cold water for drinking and cooking (hot leaches more lead from the pipes), and run the cold-water tap for about five minutes in the morning (as well as anytime the water has been off for six hours or more) before using it. You can tell that lead-free fresh water from the street pipes has reached your faucet when the water has gone from cold to warmer to cold again.

If your water smells and/or tastes like chlorine, boiling it or letting it stand, uncovered, for 24 hours will evaporate much of the chemical.

Pesticides.
Can’t live with roaches, ants, and other yucky insects? Living with them, of course, often means eliminating them through the use of chemical pesticides. Fortunately, pest control and pregnancy can be completely compatible, with a few precautions. If your neighborhood is being sprayed, avoid hanging around outside for long periods until the chemical odors have dissipated, usually about two to three days. When indoors, keep the windows closed. If spraying for roaches or other insects is necessary in your apartment or house, be sure all closets and kitchen cabinets are tightly closed (so the chemicals don’t seep in and settle on dishes and food) and all food-preparation surfaces are covered. Ventilate with open windows until the fumes have dissipated. Once the spray has settled, make sure food-preparation surfaces in or near the sprayed area have been thoroughly wiped down.

Whenever possible, try to take a natural approach to pest control. Pull weeds instead of spraying them. Eliminate some pests from garden and houseplants by spraying with a forceful stream from the garden hose or with a biodegradable insecticidal soap mixture (the procedure may need to be repeated several times to be effective). Invest in an infantry of ladybugs or other beneficial predators (available from some garden supply houses) that like to feed on the bugs that are bugging you.

Inside the house, use “motel” or other types of traps, strategically placed in heavy bug traffic areas, to get rid of roaches and ants; use cedar blocks instead of mothballs in clothes closets; and check an environmentally friendly store or catalog for nontoxic pesticides. If you have young children or pets, keep all traps and pesticide products out of their reach. Even so-called natural pesticides, including boric acid, can be toxic when ingested or inhaled, and they can be irritating to the eyes. For more information on natural pest control, contact your regional Cooperative Extension Service or a local environmental group. You may even have a “green” exterminator in your neighborhood.

Also keep in mind that brief, indirect exposure to insecticides or herbicides isn’t likely to be harmful. What does increase the risk is frequent, long-term exposure, the kind that working daily around such chemicals (as in a factory or heavily sprayed field) would involve.

The Green Solution

Looking for a way to breathe easier about the air you’re breathing at home? Go green, filling your living space with living plants. Plants have the ability to absorb assorted pollutants in the air while adding oxygen to the indoor environment. In making your selections, however, be sure to avoid plants that are toxic when ingested, such as philodendron or English ivy. You won’t likely be munching on shrubbery, but the same can’t necessarily be said for your baby once he or she begins crawling around the house.

Paint fumes.
In the entire animal kingdom, the period before birth (or egg laying) is spent in hectic preparation for the arrival of the new offspring. Birds feather their nests, squirrels line their tree-trunk homes with leaves and twigs, and human mothers and fathers sift madly through online design catalogues. And almost invariably, plans involve painting the baby’s room (once you can settle on the color, that is). Fortunately, today’s paints don’t contain lead or mercury and are safe to use when you’re pregnant. Still, there are plenty of good reasons why you should pass the paintbrush to someone else—even if you’re trying desperately to keep busy in those last weeks of waiting. The repetitive motion of painting can be a strain on back muscles already under pressure from the extra weight of pregnancy. In addition, balancing on ladder tops is precarious at the least, and paint odors (though not harmful) can offend the pregnant nose and bring on a bout of nausea.

While the painting is being done, try to arrange to be out of the house. Whether you’re there or not, keep windows open for ventilation. Avoid exposure to paint removers entirely, because they are highly toxic, and steer clear of the paint-removing process (whether chemicals or sanders are used), particularly if the paint that’s being removed is older and might contain mercury or lead.