Pregnant or Breastfeeding? CDC's Six Steps to Keep Lead Away From You and Your Baby

Pregnant or Breastfeeding? CDC's Six Steps to Keep Lead Away From You and Your Baby

WellOfNess •
#Lead exposure prevention during pregnancy#CDC lead exposure checklist#Pregnancy lead safety guidelines#Breastfeeding lead contamination risks#Heavy Metals

If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy, lead is worth a few minutes of your attention, especially if you live in a home built before 1978. CDC’s Are You Pregnant? fact sheet puts the core facts in two lines: lead can pass from a mother to her unborn baby, and lead poisoning is preventable. Below is what CDC says lead can do, where it is found, and CDC’s six steps, in CDC’s order.

Why lead is a bigger concern during pregnancy

According to EPA, lead can build up in the body over time and is stored in bones along with calcium. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, that stored lead can be released from the mother’s bones along with calcium and pass to the fetus or infant. So the lead that matters can include exposure from years ago. CDC says that prior significant exposure such as childhood environmental exposure or previous occupational exposure could lead to large stores of lead in bone, and those stores can become mobilized during pregnancy.

CDC’s clinical guidelines state that lead exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding can result in lasting adverse health effects independent of lead exposure during other life stages. CDC also says mothers can expose infants to lead through breast milk, that breastfeeding recommendations vary based on the amount of lead in the mother’s blood, and that testing breast milk for lead is not recommended. If you have questions about breastfeeding, ask your health care provider; the goal is to cut your own exposure.

CDC says too much lead in your body can put you at risk for miscarriage, cause your baby to be born too early or too small, hurt your baby’s brain, kidneys, and nervous system, and cause your child to have learning or behavior problems.

Where lead is found

CDC’s fact sheet lists:

For water, EPA’s advice is to use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula, because warm or hot water can cause more lead to enter the water from pipes and fixtures, and boiling water does not remove lead from water. If your water’s lead level exceeds 15 parts per billion, CDC says to use bottled water or water from a filtration system that is certified by an independent testing organization to reduce or eliminate lead.

CDC’s six steps

1. Watch out for lead in your home. CDC says most lead comes from paint in homes built before 1978, and that home repairs and renovations, such as sanding or scraping paint, in those homes can make lead dust. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, CDC says to leave the house when someone is removing lead paint, cleaning up after removing lead paint, or remodeling a room that might have lead paint. If you live in a home built before 1978, CDC’s tip is to have your home inspected by a licensed lead inspector.

Paint in good condition is usually not the hazard: EPA says that if lead-based paint is in good shape, it is usually not a problem. The trouble starts with worn paint on surfaces that rub, like doors or window sills. Don’t rely on a store-bought kit: EPA only recognizes tests conducted by certified inspectors, risk assessors and RRP-certified renovators. If you rent, landlords and property management companies must comply with the RRP Rule whenever their work disturbs paint. Our guide to lead paint in older homes covers testing and renovation in detail.

2. Avoid certain jobs or hobbies. CDC names jobs such as construction and renovation or repair of homes built before 1978, and battery manufacturing or recycling, and hobbies such as renovating homes, making glazed pottery, or shooting at firing ranges. EPA adds making stained glass, fishing, or shooting and reloading lead ammunition.

You might be careful while someone else in your home is not. EPA warns that some workers can bring lead dust home on their skin, hair, clothing and shoes. If someone you live with works with lead, CDC says to have them change into clean clothing before coming home, keep their work or activity shoes and tools outside, and wash their clothes separately from the rest of the family’s clothes.

3. Talk to your doctor. CDC says to talk to your doctor about any medicines, vitamins, home remedies, or supplements you are taking, and to tell your doctor about any cravings you might have, such as eating dirt or clay, which might contain lead. CDC’s breastfeeding guidance is direct: never eat or mouth clay, soil, pottery, or paint chips. CDC also notes that someone who recently immigrated to the United States from a country with relatively high lead exposure may have high levels of lead in their blood.

You can’t see lead in your home or your body. If you are worried about exposure, CDC says to talk to a health care provider about getting tested, and notes that local health departments often offer testing.

4. Avoid certain foods and cosmetics. CDC says to use caution when eating anything brought into the United States by travelers from other countries, because some candy, candy wrappers, spices and other foods, cosmetics, traditional medicines, and ceremonial or religious powders contain lead. CDC’s breastfeeding page names imported medicines and herbal remedies (azarcon, Ayurvedics) and cosmetics and ceremonial powders (tiro, kohl, kajal, surma), and says to limit eating game meat—such as deer—that have been hunted with lead ammunition.

5. Store and serve food properly. CDC says to avoid using imported lead-glazed ceramic pottery, avoid using pewter or brass containers or utensils, and avoid using leaded crystal to serve or store beverages. Its breastfeeding page adds: do not use dishes that are chipped or cracked.

A good scrub does not fix a lead-glazed dish: FDA says no amount of washing, boiling, or other process can remove lead from pottery, and acidic juices such as orange and apple juice promote leaching of lead from ceramics. Our post on lead in ceramic dishes explains which pieces FDA warns about.

6. Eat foods with calcium, iron, and vitamin C. CDC says these foods may help keep lead out of your unborn baby’s developing body:

Worry about lead is a reason to work through these six steps, not a reason to panic. EPA’s advice fits here too: the best way to lower lead in your body is to reduce exposure, starting by finding where the lead is coming from in your home and daily life.

Sources

← Back to the Journal