When Dr. Darragh Flynn sits down with her pregnant patients, she preaches healthy habits: Don’t smoke or drink, eat nutritious foods and take vitamins. She also advises them to avoid gasoline fumes, pesticides, certain types of fish, and some household cleaners and cosmetics. “It’s only for nine months,” she tells them. “Let someone else put gas in the car.”
But Flynn is in the minority. A new nationwide survey of 2,600 obstetricians and gynecologists found that most do not warn their pregnant patients about chemicals in food, consumer products, or the environment that could endanger their fetuses. More than half said they don’t warn about mercury, and hardly any of them give advice about lead, pesticides, air pollution, or chemicals in plastics or cosmetics.
Craig Lee Credits: Many low-income pregnant women clean buildings and houses or work in nail salons, and struggle with staying away from harmful chemicals Credits: Daniel Cruz/Flickr(CC)
