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Painting during pregnancy ???

amandaejgreenamandaejgreen member
in November 2015 Moms
Hi momma's... Sooo, Benjamin Moore offers an odorless paint. I want to paint my garage door, nursery and rec room. I spoke with a co worker yesterday who said his wife came in contact with paint fumes for a few hours during pregnancy and now they think this is the cause of their child's sever allergies. Anyone with experience on this ?
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Re: Painting during pregnancy ???

  • SquirtgunSquirtgun member
    Um... Ok I'm not a doctor or medical professional or anything, but your kid can have severe allergies throught no fault of the parents. My kid has severe allergies, and the doctors asked me no questions about my pregnancy in relation to her allergies. Family history, yes. I am an artist, but completely avoided any paints with fumes ( I switch to watercolor/ ink ) while I'm pregnant/ TTC, so tht obviously has nothing to do with her allergies. (I feel like some people want something to blame it on, as some parents of children with autism spectrum do) If you're that concerned, talk to your OB, but I'm pretty sure you just need to keep the area well ventilated, take breaks to rehydrate, and be smart about it- if it has a smell that makes you feel sick, step away from the paint! ;)
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  • agerstneragerstner member
    I painted DS room at approx 30wks and he is fine. I also just painted my bathroom while pregnant with #2 with Benjamin Moore Aura paint. I asked the lady about it and she said their paint is so regulated for VOCs and such that there really is no concern about painting anymore, at least with their high quality paint.

    I'm planning to paint my spare bedroom (new nursery) before this baby arrives also. Z
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  • Pontot31Pontot31 member
    Paint won't cause allergies. They are spreading false info. Don't let it scare you.

    Stay in a well ventilated room and take breaks when needed. You're safe to paint as long as you are getting air. Paint these days is very safe.
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  • VexyMommyVexyMommy member
    edited May 2015
    Severe allergies have actually started to increase as mothers to be began to be more aware of the potential effects of toxic fumes such as paint, cleaning chemicals and tobacco smoke on their children.  There doesn't seem to be any correlation between paint fumes and allergies from what I can tell.  Parents do look for things to blame if their child has issues.  It's human nature.  If you can pinpoint a cause for something bad you can avoid it happening again.  Unfortunately, that's not really how life works. 
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  • DrMommaDVMDrMommaDVM member
    Yeah....paint fumes don't cause allergies.

    However, I personally would wear a respirator if I was painting. They are inexpensive and should be available in the paint section of a hardware store. The concern is with the organic compounds in latex paint. Even the low toxicity paints still have some level of VOCs I believe.
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  • amandaejgreenamandaejgreen member
    Thank you for the response! What are VOC's ?
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  • DrMommaDVMDrMommaDVM member
    https://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
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  • MoRay05MoRay05 member
    I believe Home Depot and maybe sherwin Williams both have a line of paint now with zero VOC's.
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  • brielise414brielise414 member
    My dr  said as long as it's water based, which most paints today are, and the area is ventilated I'm fine. I would probably still wear a mask. If you're really worried there are special paints out there that have zero VOCs, as others have said.

    Since we just moved into a new home and want to paint, my MIL keeps lecturing my husband about how he shouldn't let me in the house while he paints. It's ridiculous. She says her dr told her when she was pregnant that she couldn't be anywhere near paint. She also seems to be under the impression that products and obstetrics don't change over 25 years. My house is still plain gray and/or grungy white thanks to this! 
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  • RaisingJulianRaisingJulian member
    I would talk to your doctor. Just to be safe. See what he recommends
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  • VexyMommyVexyMommy member
    brielise88 said:
    My dr  said as long as it's water based, which most paints today are, and the area is ventilated I'm fine. I would probably still wear a mask. If you're really worried there are special paints out there that have zero VOCs, as others have said.

    Since we just moved into a new home and want to paint, my MIL keeps lecturing my husband about how he shouldn't let me in the house while he paints. It's ridiculous. She says her dr told her when she was pregnant that she couldn't be anywhere near paint. She also seems to be under the impression that products and obstetrics don't change over 25 years. My house is still plain gray and/or grungy white thanks to this! 
    lol.  Aren't MIL's great.  Did she offer you a glass of wine while spouting these words of wisdom?  My MIL did. 
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  • mjzeppelinmjzeppelin member
    Pontot31 said:

    Paint won't cause allergies. They are spreading false info. Don't let it scare you.

    Stay in a well ventilated room and take breaks when needed. You're safe to paint as long as you are getting air. Paint these days is very safe.

    Actually, no. Paint these days is not very safe. However, if you choose one that has little to no VOC's, you should be ok. Wear a mask and keep the window open and it will be fine.
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  • kesmeredithkesmeredith member
    Thanks for asking this! I'm painting this weekend and was curious too. I bought a mask and will just take breaks when needed!
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  • DrMommaDVMDrMommaDVM member
    Mshrader05 said:

    I believe Home Depot and maybe sherwin Williams both have a line of paint now with zero VOC's.

    It looks like they do, I was not aware of that. So there ya go. You probably don't need to worry about it in that case I guess.

    Just FYI, a particle mask really would be pointless when you're worried about chemical inhalation. You would need an actual respirator that filters organic vapors.
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  • amandaejgreenamandaejgreen member
    Thanks ladies for all the opinions and info! I think I will go ahead with my painting plans while I am feeling good. I have access to a particle half mask which filters for gas and chemicals. I'll post a pic when I'm done to see what you think :)

    Thanks again for the support!
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  • helloaustin123helloaustin123 member
    Just to let you know - we actually have painters over right now painting our upstairs with that 'odorless' Benjamin Moore Natura paint line and it's definitely not odorless :) 

    Either way I still think it's a good paint being no VOC and their other paints are low VOC . I think you're fine!
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  • amandaejgreenamandaejgreen member
    I painted the garage door with Benjamin Moore and it is very low VOC's, and of course outside well ventilated. I didn't smell anything. Putting on the second coat tomorrow :)
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  • FilbertTreeFilbertTree member
    Last week I painted the bathroom, next project is skim-coating and painting the living room. I'm bored and capable, and DH doesn't have time with work. The only thing I'm being uber careful about it's wearing my respirator instead of just a dust mask if I need to sand anything.
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