Chemicals from your work can come home on your skin, hair, clothes and shoes. When you go home, these chemicals can get onto your floors, your furniture, or in your car where your family members or pets can be exposed. We call this take-home exposure.

Elemental chlorine is a greenish gas and powerful oxidant that is used as a chemical weapon because of its severe irritant properties. Chlorine reacts with most organic compounds and is an essential reagent in the chemical industry.

Chemical exposures during work can affect both men and women. When the male partner has intensive occupational exposure to certain pesticides, heavy metals, organic solvents or other agents, pregnancy outcomes such as spontaneous abortion and birth defects may be increased.

Ammonia is a colorless gas with a strong characteristic odor similar to urine that allows its detection at low levels.  Ammonia compounds are used in fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibers, dyes, explosives, pharmaceuticals, and are a major component of many common household cleaning products.

Exposure to ionizing radiation at work could increase your chances of having reproductive problems, including having a baby with a birth defect. Here, you can learn more about ionizing radiation and what you can do to reduce your exposure for a healthier pregnancy.

If you’re employed in the UK, the law protects you against discrimination.. It is a good idea to know your rights and responsibilities in relation to pregnancy and work.

Women who work in restaurants may be concerned about heat and the air they are breathing. Secondhand smoke, as well as smoke from grilling and frying may contain chemicals like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Increased ventilation may help to reduce exposures.

Certain types of medication taken during pregnancy has been can cause birth defects and linked to various infant health risks if taken while pregnant or breastfeeding.

Pregnancy is a time to take good care of yourself and your unborn child. Many things are especially important during pregnancy, such as eating right, cutting out cigarettes and alcohol, and being careful about the prescription and over-the-counter drugs you take. Diagnostic x-rays and other medical radiation procedures of the abdominal area also deserve extra attention during pregnancy.

In 2015 the FDA replaced the former pregnancy risk letter categories (the five-letter system; A, B, C, D and X) on prescription and biological drug labeling with new information to make them more meaningful to both patients and healthcare providers.

Some infections can pass to an unborn baby during pregnancy and cause a miscarriage or birth defect.

Infectious agents
Working with or exposure to certain bacteria, viruses,

Working with formaldehyde could increase your chances of having fertility problems or miscarriage.

 What is formaldehyde?

  Formaldehyde is an organic chemical usually used in making building materials and many household products such as a preservatives and disinfectants.

Nail and beauty salon employees are potentially exposed to dozens of chemicals including acrylates (epoxies or resins), solvents, and biocides as dusts or vapors. Some chemicals commonly used in salons can enter breast milk or be carried home on skin, clothes, and shoes.

 

Working with or exposure to certain epoxies or resins could increase your chances of having fertility problems, miscarriage, stillbirth, or a baby with birth defects. Here, you can learn more about these chemicals and what you can do to reduce your exposure for a healthier pregnancy.

 

Most of the physical and biological agents in the workplace that may affect fertility and pregnancy outcomes are practically unstudied.

Balancing work and family is an important priority for working women, in particular, nursing moms. Today, over 75 percent of women in the United States begin breastfeeding. When they return to work after their babies are born, time and space to express their milk during the work period help them continue to give their best to their work and their baby.

Physical Demand

 Heavy lifting, standing for long periods of time, or bending a lot during pregnancy could increase your chances of miscarriage, preterm birth, or injury during pregnancy.

Risk assessment

Workplace risk and maternity

In the workplace there usually very few risks to a pregnant employee, and most women continue working while pregnant, and there is little reason why being pregnant should stop women from continuing their employment.

pesticides

Exposure to pesticides could increase your chances of having a miscarriage, a baby with birth defects, or other problems. Some pesticides also may be able to pass into breast milk. Here, you can learn more about these chemicals and what you can do to reduce your exposure for a healthier pregnancy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aware of the concerns arising from recent reports questioning the safety of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicines when used during pregnancy.  As a result, FDA valuated research studies published in the medical literature and determined they are too limited to make any recommendations based on these studies at this time.  Because of this uncertainty, the use of pain medicines during pregnancy should be carefully considered.  FDA urges pregnant women to always discuss all medicines with their health care professionals before using them. 

Workplace Hazards

Many factors can affect a woman’s reproductive health and her ability to produce healthy children. We know that the health of an unborn child can suffer if a woman fails to eat right, smokes, or drinks alcohol during pregnancy. However, we know very little about the cause of most reproductive health problems such as infertility,

Exposure to solvents

Exposure to some organic solvents could increase your chances of having a miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, a low birth-weight baby, or a baby with a birth defect. Many solvents also pass into breast milk. Here, you can learn more about what you can do to reduce your exposure for a healthier pregnancy.

Risky Professions

Aircrew (pilots and flight attendants)
Pregnant flight attendants and pilots should select flight schedules during pregnancy to reduce exposures to cosmic ionizing radiation and circadian disruption (jet lag). Also, pregnant aircrew should try to reduce physical demands including standing, lifting, and bending from the waist.

Protective Equipment

What You Should Know about Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is equipment that is worn to reduce your exposure to hazardous chemicals.

The Supreme Court

Pregnancy discrimination involves treating women (applicants or employees) unfavorably on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions. Pregnancy discrimination can include all of the following actions by an employer:

Lead-based paint

Prevent Lead Poisoning. Start Now.

Lead poisoning is caused by breathing or swallowing lead. Lead can pass from a mother to her unborn baby.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis  is an infection caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

Toxoplasmosis can be spread in several ways:

If you do not want to get pregnant, there are many birth control options to choose from. No one product is best for everyone. The only sure way to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs or STDs) is not to have any sexual contact (abstinence).

Many pregnant women take prescription medicines for health problems like diabetes, asthma, seizures, heartburn, and morning sickness. Other women take medicines before they realize they are pregnant.

·         A mother traveling with her breastfeeding infant or child may find that nursing makes travel easier than it would have been with a bottle-fed infant or child. And, by planning well before the travel date, a mother can overcome many potential obstacles.

Health professionals agree that human milk provides the most complete form of nutrition for infants, including premature and sick newborns. However, there are rare exceptions when human milk is not recommended.

 While breastfeeding is the recommended method of infant feeding and provides infants with necessary nutrients and immune factors, breast milk alone does not provide infants with an adequate intake of vitamin D.