Avoiding home hazards during pregnancy
You can't live in a perfect hazard-free environment while you're pregnant, even at home, but you can do your best to avoid risks.
© Jupiter
For example, don't handle raw meat, touch other people's pets, clean out pet litter trays, or work with pesticides in the garden. Don't drink alcohol, and avoid coffee, and teas containing caffeine as far as possible. Herbal teas are generally safe (although don't drink raspberry leaf, which is said to trigger contractions).
Avoiding harmful chemicals
Try not to use aerosol spray products at home - you can get alternatives. Although modern aerosols contain halogenated hydrocarbons (rather than CFCs), which have not been shown to harm either the fetus or mother, my feeling is that we're all exposed to invisible sources of potentially harmful chemicals, and it's wise to take every possible precaution.
Avoid substances that give off vapours, such as glue and petrol. These may be toxic and should never be inhaled, whether you're pregnant or not. Read the label of any material you use, and don't handle any that could be harmful. Some common examples are cleaning fluids, contact cement, creosote, volatile paint, lacquers, thinners, some glues, and oven cleaner. Colouring your hair is probably safe, but I'd suggest waiting until after the first three months, when the most crucial organs in your baby's body have formed, just in case.
Avoiding hot baths
It seems that saunas and hot whirlpools can be involved in fetal abnormalities, particularly those of the baby's nervous system, in exactly the same way as fever. When your body is subjected to extreme heat over a lengthy period, you can become overheated, which may affect your baby. Don't use saunas and whirlpools, especially in the first trimester, and have warm, rather than hot, baths.
Toxoplasmosis during pregnancy and your baby
This parasite normally produces only mild flu-like symptoms in an adult, but it can seriously damage an unborn child.
It can cause brain damage and blindness in a baby, and can even be fatal. It's most dangerous during the third trimester.
Toxoplasma is carried in the faeces of infected animals, particularly cats, but most people get it from eating undercooked meat. About 80 per cent of the population have had it and have antibodies, but the younger you are, the less likely you are to be immune. You can ask your doctor to do a blood test.
Guidelines to follow:
- don't eat raw or undercooked meat, especially pork, rare steak, or steak tartare
- don't feed raw meat to your cat or dog. Keep their food bowls away from everything else
- don't empty your cat's litter tray or use your dog's poop-scoop. If you have to, wear gloves and wash your hands in disinfectant immediately afterwards
- don't garden in soil used by cats, and wear gloves when gardening
- do wash your hands after gardening, or petting your animals
- do cook meat to an internal temperature of at least 54°C/129°F - at which bacteria are killed. Use a meat thermometer to be sure.
Posted 16.11.2010
Get more on this subject…
