What is toxicity in pregnancy

The best way to avoid listeria infection is to avoid high-risk foods, and to follow hygienic food handling techniques. Click here for more information on food to avoid when pregnant. Remember that even if you have only mild symptoms, listeria can have a serious effect on your baby. See your doctor if you have any concerns about listeria while pregnant.

You can also call Pregnancy Birth and Baby on to speak with a maternal child health nurse. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.

Read more on NSW Health website. Read more on Queensland Health website. Listeria infection also known as listeriosis is a rare but potentially severe illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Read more on WA Health website.

Foods you should avoid, listeriosis information, mercury in fish, weight gain in pregnancy. Read more on NT Health website. Listeria bacteria can cause serious problems during pregnancy. Listeria can be transmitted by eating contaminated food, but there are steps you can take to avoid infection.

Read more on myDr website. Read more on Better Health Channel website. Make sure you know the important facts about which foods you should avoid or take extra care with when you're pregnant. Eating a nutritious and varied diet in pregnancy is the best way of caring for yourself and your baby. Pregnancy Nutrition for pregnancy Nutrition for pregnancy Pregnancy is a demanding time for the body, however you will only need a little more energy kilojoules each day than what was needed before pregnancy.

Read more on Dietitians Australia website. Read more on Red Nose website. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby is not responsible for the content and advertising on the external website you are now entering.

Video call. This information is for your general information and use only and is not intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition, nor should it be used for therapeutic purposes. The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice and should not be used as an alternative to professional health care. If you have a particular medical problem, please consult a healthcare professional.

For more information, please visit the links below:. You are welcome to continue browsing this site with this browser. Some features, tools or interaction may not work correctly. There is a total of 5 error s on this form, details are below. You should avoid lead paint and lead paint dust, especially while pregnant.

It's very poisonous. Lead paint is no longer sold in Ireland. It may still be found in older homes. Page last reviewed: 10 May Next review due: 10 May Given that intrauterine gestation is a critical and particularly susceptible window of human development, obstetrician—gynecologists and other obstetric health care clinicians can be effective in reducing prenatal exposure to environmental health threats because they are uniquely positioned to educate patients about the effects of environmental exposure before and during pregnancy.

Therefore, it is important for obstetric care clinicians to be knowledgeable about toxic environmental agents in relation to environmental health risk assessment, exposure reduction, and clinical counseling.

The guidance in this document comes with the understanding that some individuals and communities may have limited control over such exposures and may need to balance competing risks; therefore, recommendations are intended to guide counseling on reducing exposure where possible and to advocate for policies that will protect all populations.

Although exposure to toxic environmental agents is widespread across populations, many environmental factors that are harmful to reproductive health disproportionately affect underserved populations and are subsumed in issues of environmental justice 9.

In the United States, individuals in communities of color are more likely to live in counties with the highest levels of outdoor air pollution 10 11 and to be exposed to a variety of indoor pollutants, including lead, allergens, and pesticides, than white populations In addition, the effects of exposure to environmental chemicals can be exacerbated by injustice, racism, poverty, neighborhood quality, housing quality, psychosocial stress, and nutritional status 12 13 Individuals with occupational exposure to toxic chemicals are additionally vulnerable to adverse reproductive health outcomes because of the risk of higher exposures in the workplace For example, levels of organophosphate pesticides and phthalates often used in plastics measured in occupationally exposed populations are far greater than levels measured in the general population 16 Immigrant populations working low-wage labor disproportionately work in occupations associated with a hazardous workplace environment in relation to toxic chemical exposures 18 A report by the National Academy of Sciences underscores that the effects of low-dose exposure to an environmental contaminant may be quite different based on characteristics such as the underlying health status of the population and the presence of additional or background environmental exposure There is emerging evidence that links exposure to toxic environmental agents and adverse reproductive and developmental health outcomes 4 21 22 23 However, more research is needed to understand whether these associations are linked to causality and, if so, to determine the levels of exposure to guide recommendations for clinical interventions.

Toxic exposures related to reproductive and developmental health primarily have been associated with infertility and miscarriage, obstetric outcomes such as preterm birth and low birth weight, neurodevelopmental delay such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and adult and childhood cancer 25 Table 1. Although there is substantial overlap in the type of exposure and the associated health outcomes, for the purposes of this document, exposures generally can be grouped into the following categories: toxic chemicals, air pollution, and climate change-related exposures 6.

Chemicals can be found in a wide range of consumer products, personal care products, food packaging, and household materials, as well as in air and water Chemicals can cross the placenta and, in some cases, such as with methylmercury, can accumulate in the fetus, which results in higher fetal concentrations than maternal levels 27 28 Prenatal exposure to specific toxic environmental chemicals is associated with various adverse neonatal and childhood health consequences, and exposure at any point in gestation may lead to harmful reproductive and developmental health outcomes.

For example, scientific consensus among a group of expert scientists, health professionals, and patient advocates called Project TENDR Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental Risk identified toxic chemical exposures that may contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders, including learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and behavioral or intellectual delay 4 30 Table 1 , Table 2.

Many of these exposures, particularly among the toxic chemicals, share a common biological pathway that results in endocrine disruption 31 These endocrine disrupting chemicals represent a heterogeneous group of agents used in pesticides, plastics, industrial chemicals, and fuels. Emerging evidence finds that that air pollution, especially fine particulate matter PM 2. Supporting intervention studies show that reducing air pollution exposure may reduce the risk of preterm birth, as has been reported in populations surrounding retired coal power plants Proximity to fracking sites also has been associated with low birth weight Along with air pollution, extreme heat and extreme cold may be associated with adverse fetal outcomes, including preterm birth 33 34 35 36 37 38 and low birth weight 33 40 41 42 Obstetrician—gynecologists and other obstetric care clinicians should consider including questions about environmental exposures in the patient history during prepregnancy visits and prenatal care Table 2.

An environmental health history is the key first step in identifying specific types of potentially harmful exposures to the pregnant individual and fetus to tailor appropriate exposure reduction strategies.

Typical elements of an environmental health history include assessment for exposures from the workplace, home, or recreational activities Table 2. For example, prepregnancy and prenatal counseling can include an assessment of lead exposure in these domains. After an environmental health history and assessment is completed, obstetrician—gynecologists and other obstetric care clinicians are encouraged to provide information regarding reducing exposure to toxic agents at home, in the community, and at work, being mindful of economic and other costs that reduction may entail.

If an exposure is identified, patients can be educated regarding avoiding or reducing exposure to toxic agents where possible and, when necessary, referred to occupational medicine programs or to the United States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units Obstetric care clinicians do not need to be experts in environmental health science to provide useful information to patients and to refer patients to appropriate specialists, if needed, when a hazardous exposure is identified.

Existing clinical experience and expertise in communicating risks of treatment are largely transferable to environmental health. Many of the opportunities for counseling on environmental exposures occur during routine elements of prenatal and prepregnancy care when discussing topics such as food and water-related exposures, personal care products, and lifestyle modification Table 2. The Precautionary Principle states that in cases of serious or irreversible threats to the health of humans or ecosystems, acknowledged scientific uncertainty should not be used to postpone preventive measures This principle can help guide clinical counseling about reduction of exposures that are known or considered to be potentially toxic until more evidence is gathered regarding the clinical efficacy of specific interventions.

Clinician contact time with a patient does not need to be the primary point of intervention. Information and resources about environmental hazards can be successfully incorporated into a childbirth class curriculum or provided to patients in the form of written materials to help parents identify opportunities to reduce exposure for themselves and their children Employment sectors at particular risk of potentially hazardous exposures during pregnancy include agriculture pesticides , manufacturing organic solvents and heavy metals , dry cleaning solvents , custodial and cleaning services organic solvents , beauty salons solvents and phthalates , and health care biologics and radiation In some cases, cleaning supplies containing chemicals can be replaced with less toxic options.

Additionally, there are rights that employees have to a safe and healthy workplace, and obstetrician—gynecologists and other obstetric care clinicians can provide information and resources to their patients and partners that might help them better understand these rights. Patients should be advised that some large fish, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish, are known to contain high levels of methylmercury, which is teratogenic Individuals in the prepregnancy period and those who are pregnant or lactating should avoid these fish and be encouraged to eat a variety of other types of fish Box 1.

Pregnant and lactating individuals also should check local advisories regarding the safety of fish caught in local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas Food preparation and storage can play a role in toxic exposure reduction.

Patients can be advised to thoroughly wash raw produce to reduce bacterial contamination, even if it will be peeled or cut; however, it is unclear whether this will reduce all toxic chemical exposures eg, perchlorate or pre- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAS] 54 Although there is limited evidence available, heating foods in plastic containers, including polystyrene, may increase exposure to plastic resins that may have endocrine-disrupting effects.

Patients can be counseled that preparing and storing foods in glass or nonplastic containers may reduce their risk of exposure to these plastic resins. In addition, because consuming fast food has been associated with exposure to endocrine disruptors such as phthalates, recommendations to prepare meals at home or avoid fast food have the potential to reduce these exposures 56 Individuals can take actions to reduce their exposures to toxic chemicals 58 59