House-Cleaning Tips for Moms-to-Be

Gardening Pesticide Free

Bug control is another chore you can happily hand over to your spouse while you're busied by the process of adding to the family. Something deadly enough to kill other living creatures is not healthy for you and baby-to-be. If the bugs in your garden are too much for you to tolerate this season, try organic, poison-free pesticides that can be found online or at your local nursery.

Read Product Labels

When I read that I should avoid cleaning the oven during pregnancy, I gleefully informed my husband that we'd simply have to eat take-out for the next 36 weeks. If you don't use the oven, you don't have to clean it, right? My logic fell to pieces when I learned that I should steer clear of drain cleaners, too. While a prolonged vacation from cooking sounded fabulous, putting the bathroom into temporary retirement was a grim prospect. Since I couldn't hold my bladder for more than 20 minutes, much less eight months, I had to come up with some creative cleaning options (and quick!).

It's worth taking a look at the labels on products you routinely use around the house. The government requires manufacturers to label cleaners with the following terms according to their toxicity:

POISON = Highly toxic or poisonous
DANGER = Extremely flammable, corrosive, or highly toxic
WARNING or CAUTION = Moderately or slightly toxic