Pregnancy and Lead Poisoning

Protect your baby

• Use cold tap water for making Eat a healthy diet baby formula or baby cereal, and for drinking or cooking. Call 311 to get a free lead testing kit for Talk to your provider to make drinking water. You will receive sure you are getting enough the results within 30 days of calcium, iron and vitamin C. submitting the water sample. • Foods with calcium: Milk, • Keep children away from peeling, cheese, yogurt, spinach, cracked or loose paint – it may collard greens, tofu, salmon contain lead. Report peeling paint and ice cream to your building owner. If the problem isn’t fixed or if you think • Foods with iron: Lean red repair or renovation work is being meat, chicken, eggs, tuna, done unsafely, call 311 to request lentils, beans, peas, prunes, a free inspection. raisins, broccoli and spinach • Wash floors, windowsills, hands • Foods with vitamin C: Oranges, and toys often. grapefruit, strawberries, kiwi, fruit juices, peppers, broccoli • Remove shoes before entering your home. and tomatoes • Have household members change into clean clothing before coming home if they work with lead. • Remind your provider to test your child for lead poisoning at ages 1 PREGNANCY and 2 years. Ask your provider about testing older children. If you do not AND LEAD have a provider, call 311 to find out where to get your child tested. POISONING For more information about lead, call 311 or visit nyc.gov/lead. What You Should Know

3.20 Lead is a poison Your health care that can harm you provider should and your baby when assess your risk Protect yourself you are pregnant for lead exposure and your baby

Lead can cause: At your first prenatal visit, your • Avoid using health remedies, provider should ask about your foods, spices and cosmetics • High blood pressure recent and past exposure to lead. that may contain lead. • Miscarriage Tell your doctor about: • Avoid using traditional or • Your baby to be born too early handmade ceramics to cook, • Time you have spent outside the or too small serve or store food. United States • Learning and behavior issues • Never eat nonfood items such • Products such as health remedies, in your child as clay, crushed pottery, soil or spices, foods, cosmetics or paint chips. You can be exposed to lead in ceramics from other countries different ways, including eating that you have used in the last year • Stay away from repair or foods contaminated with lead or renovation work being done • Cravings you have for nonfood using products that contain lead. in your home. items, such as clay, crushed If you were exposed to lead when pottery, soil or paint chips • Avoid jobs and hobbies that may you were younger, you may still involve contact with lead, such as have lead in your body. When you • Renovation or repair work in your construction, home renovation, are pregnant, the lead in your body home in the last year auto repair, furniture refinishing, can be passed to your baby. • Jobs or hobbies that may involve or working with jewelry, metals contact with lead or color pigments.

You may not look or feel sick if • Wash work clothes separately you have been exposed to lead. from the rest of the laundry if The only way to know is to get a someone in your household blood lead test. To be tested, ask works with lead. your provider. Lead is a poison Your health care that can harm you provider should and your baby when assess your risk Protect yourself you are pregnant for lead exposure and your baby

Lead can cause: At your first prenatal visit, your • Avoid using health remedies, provider should ask about your foods, spices and cosmetics • High blood pressure recent and past exposure to lead. that may contain lead. • Miscarriage Tell your doctor about: • Avoid using traditional or • Your baby to be born too early handmade ceramics to cook, • Time you have spent outside the or too small serve or store food. United States • Learning and behavior problems • Never eat nonfood items such • Products such as health remedies, in your child as clay, crushed pottery, soil or spices, foods, cosmetics or paint chips. You can be exposed to lead in ceramics from other countries different ways, including eating that you have used in the last year • Stay away from repair or foods contaminated with lead or renovation work being done • Cravings you have for nonfood using products that contain lead. in your home. items, such as clay, crushed If you were exposed to lead when pottery, soil or paint chips • Avoid jobs and hobbies that may you were younger, you may still involve contact with lead, such as have lead in your body. When you • Renovation or repair work in your construction, home renovation, are pregnant, the lead in your body home in the last year auto repair, furniture refinishing, can be passed to your baby. • Jobs or hobbies that may involve or working with jewelry, metals contact with lead or color pigments.

3.20 Protect your baby

3.20