Should You Paint Your Baby's Nursery While Pregnant?
Lifestyle - News
By JESSICA TZIKAS
If you're happily pregnant, you're likely thinking about how to decorate your baby's nursery, and some of the biggest nursery trends of 2022 include marble walls, animal prints, and bright, playful colors. If you're thinking about painting the room to achieve your desired look, you should know the risks of doing this task while pregnant.
Painting while pregnant is a discussion with no definitive answer, since not much research has been done on the effects of household paint exposure during pregnancy. Generally, doctors recommend avoiding paint products when you're expecting; even modern paints with lower toxicity levels aren't guaranteed to be safe.
One thing we do know with certainty is that expecting mothers shouldn't peel or remove old paint off the nursery walls. The American Pregnancy Association says sanding and scraping paint are tasks pregnant women must avoid, no questions asked, so ask a family member for help and stay out of the room until they're finished.
If you must paint your nursery yourself, wait until you're out of the first trimester, since that time period is when your baby forms their vital organs. Once you've hit the second trimester, you should choose a low-chemical paint, avoid using ladders, open the windows, and don’t eat or drink in the nursery or near the paint.