Painting while pregnant?

[ladysarahjane]

I'm 13 and a half weeks pregnant. I read in one of my pregnancy books not to paint while pregnant. I also read don't eat lunch meat and hot dogs (both of which my doctor said were okay in moderation). My doctor never said anything to me about not painting while pregnant. My DH and I just recently bought a house and I let him paint the living

Comments

[jatrina]

I opened the windows wide and painted with latex paint while pregnant. I think it's just the common sense of not breathing in tons of really toxic fumes that says no for painting. Lots of fresh air and breaks and you should be fine, imo. ;)

[ladysarahjane]

That's what I figured. Everywhere I look online and at studies shows that the only time paint fumes had an effect on the baby was one the mom was sniffing it to get high.

[wordupyo]

We bought a new house and moved in in September. I was almost 9 months pregnant and I painted. I just had the ceiling fan going, the windows open, and took lots of breaks!

[kristi116]

I'm in the same boat as you...I do all of the painting in our house because my husband sucks at it! It's too tedious work for him and he doesn't have the patience to make sure it looks great.

That being said, it depends on your personal comfort level.

During my first pregnancy I painted 3 rooms in our house. My daughter does have a heart defect, but I'm pretty sure it's not because I painted while pregnant with her. Of course I also ate cold lunch meat. During this pregnancy I've already painted our bathroom and will do the baby's room in the next couple of weeks. I just make sure to open windows and run fans.

My SIL painted her kitchen when she was 34 weeks pregnant with twins!

[ladysarahjane]

I'm comfortable with it. I haven't had any symptoms of pregnancy in my 13 and a half weeks (I was actually shocked when we did the ultrasound that was something in there!)

[kristi116]

Then I say go for it!

[andbless_mybaby]

What a coincidence - this past fall, my husband and I bought our first house. It was a former foreclosure, so it needed plenty of painting. I was right at the end of my first trimester then... and we bought Behr paint, even! I cracked up because, like you, I just couldn't trust my husband with a paintbrush.

I did lots of painting at that point, with my doctors' blessing. Their rules were that I have lots of ventilation and was very careful if I needed to use the ladder or step stool to reach.

[sandokai]

Good point. My partner did all the parts requiring a ladder.

[ladysarahjane]

Yeah we bought a forclosure and we wanted to paint the main rooms when we moved in and then surprise! we found I was pregnant.

[sandokai]

Well, we just painted the nursery. We used no-VOC paint (Olympic Premium Brand) and I kind of regret it. It says no-VOC but really there was VOC and my lungs were irritated-- can't be good for the baby. Next time I'd either not paint or buy a really natural paint brand. You could also wear a special mask while painting but there is also the issue of the paint fumes at other times or day or night for the weeks after.

I did not ask a doctor so I'm just speaking from experience here.

[ladysarahjane]

I've been in the house after my husband painted and couldn't smell a thing! Even when we opened the paint can.

[sandokai]

I didn't smell it after opening the paint can either. More like after painting two layers of paint on the wall and waiting a day.