Lead

Should I avoid it? Yes. However, exposure to high lead levels is rare for women in the United States.

What are the risks, if any, to my baby? Exposure to high levels of lead can cause:

• miscarriage
• premature delivery
• low birth weight
• developmental delays

But even low levels of lead can cause subtle problems with behavior and learning in children.

What can I do about it? If your home was built before 1978, it could have lead-based paint. But it only becomes a problem if the paint is chipping, peeling, or being removed. Some homes also may have lead pipes or copper piping with lead solder that can allow lead to enter the tap water.

If you have an older home or think that you may have lead piping or soldering and are concerned about lead exposure, you can have a professional come out to test your water, the dust in your home, the soil outside, and/or the paint around your home for lead.

Make sure that anyone who removes any potentially lead-based paint from your home:

• is a professional trained in removing lead paint (getting rid of lead-based paint isn't a project for a do-it-yourselfer!)
• removes it when you're not there
• doesn't scrape, sand, or use a heat gun to remove the paint (these methods may send lead dust into the air)
• thoroughly cleans the area immediately afterward

To help reduce potential lead levels in your tap water, you can run the water for 30 seconds before using it and/or buy a water filter that specifically says on the packaging that it removes lead.