Eco Pregnancy and Baby

When you’re pregnant, your sunscreen doesn’t just have to protect your skin from UV rays, it should be free of toxic chemicals that can affect your growing fetus. Do you know which ones are double safe? A study of about 1,000 brand-name sunscreen products discovered that 4 out of 5 contain toxic chemicals that may [...]

While launching a remodeling project before your baby’s arrival may seem like a good idea, it requires a lot of different building materials–glues, paints and chemical solvents. “Suddenly your house turns into a construction site with contamination levels that can be problematic,” says Ted Schettler, M.D., M.P.H., science director of the Science and Environmental Health [...]

Does it matter which paint you use when you’re pregnant? The truth is you shouldn’t be painting at all. But even if you have someone else do the painting, the less toxic the product is, the better. “Oil-based paints pose a theoretical risk of exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while the paint is drying,” [...]

Sometimes you just can’t avoid toxins — they’re everywhere, even in the air you breathe. But here are a few tips for limiting your exposure as much as possible. Increase ventilation whenever possible and consider investing in an air purifier. Keep windows and doors open to release pollutants when vacuuming, dusting, frying, painting or folding [...]

In many instances, pollutants in the workplace are similar to those at home, unless you work in an industrial environment, near a construction site or in any location that requires frequent exposure to hazardous chemicals. Concerned about what may be present? Ask to review your company’s Material Safety Data Sheets, the U.S. Department of Labor [...]

Ever wonder what’s in the air you breathe in your home? Can it affect your health or the baby growing inside you? “Indoor pollutants are often more hazardous than those outside,” says Ted Schettler, M.D., M.P.H., science director of the Science and Environmental Health Network and co-author of In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child [...]

On of the greenest choices in furniture is recycling furniture from somewhere else — your grandmother or that cute little antique store downtown. That way you’ll help reduce the environmental load in landfills and your bank account. Be careful, though, because family heirlooms, such as antique rocking chairs or cribs, won’t meet current safety standards [...]