Getting Pregnant Naturally_ Healthy Choi - Winifred Conkling [41]
Choose a monochrome monitor, if possible. These machines may be less fun to work with, but they emit one-quarter to one-third the radiation that color monitors do.
Consider buying either a special radiation-free monitor or an accessory to cut radiation exposure. These monitors may cost about $100 more; ask your computer dealer for details.
Minimize Air Travel
If you don’t have to fly, stay on the ground. Several studies have found that female flight attendants have higher rates of irregular ovulation, infertility, and miscarriage, compared to their grounded counterparts. In men, high levels of atmospheric radiation may cause decreased sperm count, increased sperm abnormalities, and an increase in immature sperm. Avoid as much air travel as possible, especially in the three to five months before you plan to try to get pregnant.
Avoid Environmental Hazards
When trying to get pregnant, you should do everything possible to avoid exposure to as many environmental toxins as you can. Men should be particularly wary of coming in contact with antimony, arsenic, boron, cadmium, lithium, manganese, and mercury because these metals have been found to kill or deform sperm, cause impotence, cause premature or delayed ejaculation, and decrease the ability to have an orgasm. In women, these metals can cause hormonal and menstrual irregularities, problems with embryo implantation, and miscarriage. In particular, cadmium has been implicated in difficulty with implantation, contributing to the fertility problems among women who smoke. (There are some 30 micrograms of cadmium in a single pack of cigarettes.)
Other common hazardous chemicals you should watch out for include dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), industrial solvents, formaldehyde, nitrous oxide, herbicides, insecticides, and other pesticides. A 1994 study in the British medical journal The Lancet reported that organic farmers had healthier sperm than those farmers who used pesticides and chemical fertilizers. If you’re a weekend gardener, avoid using pesticides.
Most fertility problems associated with environmental toxins can be reversed if job changes are made. For more information on occupational and environmental toxins that can cause infertility (as well as other health problems), contact the following organizations:
9 to 5
National Association of Working Women
(216) 566-9308
Environmental Protection Agency
Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(800) 426-4791
National Network to Prevent Birth Defects
(202) 543-5450
National Pesticides Telecommunications Network
(800) 858-7378
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
(800) 356-4674
Avoid X-rays and Ionizing Radiation
Prospective parents should take steps to minimize their exposure to X-rays and other types of ionizing radiation. X-ray technicians, dental assistants, doctors, workers in nuclear plants and food irradiation facilities, as well as others in radiation-related jobs should shield their genital areas with a lead apron when appropriate. And, of course, everyone should avoid unnecessary X-rays.
Minimize Your Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)
They’re everywhere: from the alarm clock that wakes you in the morning to the electric blanket you wrap up in at night. All those electric appliances that make our lives easier also bombard us with electromagnetic energy or non-ionizing radiation.
WHO IS AT RISK?
While people in almost any profession can be exposed to dangerous substances, people at great risk include people regularly exposed to:
Automotive exhaust
Battery production
Ceramics, glass, or porcelain production
Dyeing
Electroplating
Fingernail care products
Fireproofing materials
Gases used for anesthesia
Hair care products
Herbicides
Insecticides
Jewelry making
Leather tanning
Municipal incinerators
Nitrous oxide (dentists and hygienists)
Pesticides
Photography
Smelting
Textile manufacturing