Читать книгу Blooming Birth: How to get the pregnancy and birth you want - Lucy Atkins - Страница 24

‘There is a bizarre idea that pregnant women are not supposed to be sexual. This is part Victorian hangover and part fear that sex is bad for the baby (it isn’t). Sex toys can actually be a great bonus for pregnant women – they can be soothing as well as sexy. Go for vibrating toys designed for clitoral stimulation rather than penetration. I have had women tell me they used one of these in early labour to cope with low level pain. A colleague of mine, what’s more, discovered that her silicon vibrator on a low, soothing, setting, wrapped in a towel and placed along her baby’s back was a fantastic remedy for her baby’s colic.’

Where to go for help:

You may have dropped this book in horror by now, but if you’re still reading, or have always enjoyed this sort of thing anyway www.nicesextoys.co.uk might be worth a go (your guffaws will be fun for your baby anyway).

HAIR DYE | Except at your scalp, hair is dead tissue that cannot transmit toxins to your body. The hazard from hair dyes is therefore related to the amount of dye that can actually penetrate your scalp and enter your bloodstream while you’re dying your hair, and from residues after you’ve finished. Some recent studies suggested a link between permanent hair dye and an increased risk of bladder cancer (yours, not your baby’s), but no studies have found that dyeing your hair when pregnant will harm your baby. Most midwives will tell you that while the safest colour, when pregnant, is your natural one, dyes that involve minimal scalp touching, such as highlights, are extremely unlikely to damage your baby.

LOTIONS | No studies have found that lotions or make up cause birth defects or otherwise harm a fetus. If they did, there would be few healthy babies knocking around. However, many environmental groups have concerns about ingredients in cosmetics and lotions. This is an area of huge debate and there’s no conclusive evidence either way. For more information try the Women’s Environmental Network (WEN): 4 Pinchin Street, London E1. 020 7481 9004 www.wen.org.uk.

TOXIC SUBSTANCES | Watch out for things known to affect a fetus: cigarette smoke, drugs, large quantities of alcohol, lead (in water and paint – see below), carbon monoxide inhaled in excess, mercury, solvents, benzene and formaldehyde.

PAINT | Best get your partner to paint the nursery because certain types of paint and paint thinners may contain chemicals that aren’t great for the developing fetus. I had a ludicrously strong ‘nesting’ urge towards the end of each of my pregnancies, and found myself uncontrollably painting wardrobes, cots, walls – indeed, anything I could get my hands on. My babies are fine but if I’d known about toxins in paint I might have taken up macramé instead.