Besides choosing colors, painting a baby’s room can also be fun. Preparing the nursery is one of the most enjoyable parts of pregnancy. You can hang paintings, choose cute rugs, and choose cabinets with adorable shapes. Some women choose to paint the nursery by themselves. However, is it safe?
There is no clear reasearch that exposure to paint is harmful to pregnancy. However, limiting unnecessary chemicals exposure during pregnancy is always a good idea. First of all, when choosing for a nursery, you can ask for water-based products, if you want to avoid paints with harsh solvents. It must contain zero volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
There are various types of paint. However, you should notice to some of them:
Oil Paint
Oil-based paints are not a good choice, as they contain harsh solvents. This type of paint gives off vapors, called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), that can cause headaches, eye irritation, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. High levels of paint exposure to toluene solvents have been shown to cause growth retardation and small head sizes in babies.
Acrylic or Latex Paint
These paints are water-based and considered much safer than oil-based paints, but they can still contain certain solvents and pose a potential risk to the mother-to-be. Avoid anything containing ethylene glycol, ethers, or biocides.
Zero VOCs
Many paints marketed as zero-VOC and generally considered the best choice for painting a nursery. However, while some paints are VOC-free, but color pigments added afterward the paint and contain VOCs.
How to Safely Paint a Baby’s Room
The safest way to paint the nursery is to have someone else do it. But if you do want to paint the baby’s room, it’s important to take certain steps to protect yourself and your baby.
- Cover the Skin
Wear long sleeves, long pants and gloves to keep the sticking paint to your skin. If you get paint on your skin, wash it immediately with soap and water. - Wear a Mask
Any mask or respirator approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will provide the best defense. If you start to feel nauseous or dizzy while painting, leave the area immediately. - Make sure the ventilation opens properly
Open windows and make sure the room has good air circulation so that steam or smoke doesn’t stay along in the room. - Avoid Lead Paint
Lead was banned for house paint in 1978. But it may exist in older homes. - Keep Food and Drink
Anything that you will consume should not be in the nursery to be painted, so that the food and drink are not contaminated. - Wash the Whole Body
Even if you don’t get any paint on it, it’s a good idea to take a shower and wash your hair when you’re done painting the nursery. Make the painting baby’s room fun, and take a break if you start to feel tired.
–sh
