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 Concern
Treatment
 Pregnancy
Experiences
Pregnancy
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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.
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