Going "Green" During Pregnancy and Beyond
"Green" has become the new buzz word in our society and navigating this new era can be confusing. It is worth effort, in my opinion, to bring your new baby into as "non-toxic" an environment as possible, despite how difficult it can be at times to overcome the challenges. As an individual, you can make a difference for yourself, your family, our community and in turn our whole environment. I would like to begin to empower you to start making changes in the world into which you are bringing your baby. Below are some ideas that you can start with to make some of these changes. Share these ideas with your friends…as mothers, we are a powerful group that can bring influential change to our children's lives.
Many environmental groups are releasing more and more studies about the risks of exposure to potentially harmful substances in our homes, food, outside environment, and even our wombs. A study in 2004, published by the Environmental Working Group, found 287 different industrial chemicals in umbilical cord blood. This is the first place to start… while pregnant and nursing, limit your exposures to chemicals in your environment and in your foods. If making too many changes at once is overwhelming, start with just replacing cleaners or personal care products with non-toxic brands as you use them up. Seek out a list of foods that contain the most pesticides and change to 100% organic varieties.
After your baby/babies are home, make sure their physical environment is healthy. Some examples of things to think about are choosing zero or low VOC paints, "green" carpeting, an organic mattress/bedding. In particular, I recommend choose toys wisely, since they will often be in your baby's mouth. When it comes to diapers, think about the impact you are having on landfills – which just accumulate toxic chemicals and other products. An average baby uses just shy of 4,000 diapers in their "babyhood". There are new alternatives that are equally convenient as disposable diapers, but do not sit for years in our landfills. Choose baby bottles that are BPA free and avoid harmful plastics in bottles. Investigate the safety of the ingredients in the personal care products you choose to use on your baby. Definitely use non-toxic cleaning products on your floors since babies spend a good portion of their first year on the floor crawling around. These are just a few examples of changes that you can make to reduce your family's exposure to chemicals that may be harmful. There are many websites and books that can guide you on safer products to purchase.
Strongly consider breastfeeding and seek help from a lactation consultant if you are having difficulty. The American Academy of Pediatrics' research shows that breast milk reduces many common childhood maladies, such as respiratory and ear infections, plus provides many other benefits for your baby and yourself. Once your baby/babies start solid foods, consider feeding them healthy non-processed, organic alternatives. It is much easier to raise your children on healthier alternatives from the beginning instead of dealing with the battles of trying to switch food products later on.
When choosing a pediatrician, I highly recommend setting up a meeting to speak with the doctor, see the office and meet the staff. That can be a great opportunity to see if the pediatrician has similar philosophies as yours on various things, including their thoughts on being "green". A "green" or integrative pediatrician can also be a good resource when trying to make decisions when navigating this potentially confusing era. Other resources are local mothers groups with similar interests or groups on line. There are also new books recently published that address this area well.
As your children get older, teaching them how to "lessen their carbon footprint" will help our society make the significant changes it needs to keep our environment clean and healthy. Have them watch you do small everyday things like bringing your own groceries bags to the store, using safe reusable water bottles, purchasing recycled paper products, or avoid packing school lunches in disposable containers (think about how many ziploc bags are used and juice boxes consumed/disposed of each year). Talk to your child's preschool/school system about offering healthier organic snacks or lunches. Ask them to switch to healthier cleaning products in the classrooms. Are the children recycling in school? Offer to help organize a speaker who would be willing to talk to mothers about these important topics. Again, use the power of "the mommy network" to encourage change. It is an important change to make.
