Exposure to harmful fumes at work

whitemocha7

My hubby and I are TTC and I work as a graphic designer at a sign shop. I'm around solvent ink printers and solvent cleaners 8+ hours a day and I'm worried about breathing the fumes when I become pregnant for risk of birth defects. Has anyone gone through this?

 

theandersons09

jefa621:

Not personally, but I think you should consult your doctor on this one.  Sometimes you can get a doctor's note relieving you of duties that can be harmful while pregnant.

This. I work in a science lab. I spend a lot of time around terrible chemicals and fumes. They do extra precautions with fume hoods, breathing masks, aprons, special gloves and gear etc. And ones that are particularly dangerous are out of the question, not to be worked with when a baby is involved. There are explicit laws about the harms on the bottles of chemicals and you should make your employers aware of your circumstances. Just request the MSDS of any solvents and chemicals you work with and it will outline the dangers to a fetus and reproductive systems if relevant. 

whitemocha7

Thanks for the info!

I've done a little bit of research for the MSDS for the chemicals that are in the solvent inks that we use at work. Some of them say they can cause birth defects, so I really want to be sure to avoid breathing any of the air (even the air that's been filtered) when I become pregnant.

I called and talked to my OB's nurse, and mentioned the solvent fumes and she brushed it off like eh, no big deal. "You should be fine" is what she told me. Needless to say, I'll be asking my OB directly at my first appointment.