IPAL: Iowa Parents Against Lead Poisoning

Whatever mom takes in, baby takes in. When a pregnant woman has too much lead in her system, that lead can be transported to her developing child. Exposure to lead during pregnancy can result in spontaneous abortion and neurodevelopmental effects on the fetus.

Pregnant women can become lead poisoned by exposure to lead hazards in their home. Women living in a pre-1978 house can be exposed to dangerous levels of lead dust, especially if the home is being remodeled or renovated. The lead dust can be easily swallowed when it gets on hands, food, or cigarettes. Lead dust can also be brought home on work clothes, shoes, and other apparel by household members working in jobs using lead.

During pregnancy, women with a previous history of lead exposure may also become poisoned as a result of bone demineralization. Stores of lead deposited in bone over a period of time may be mobilized, and women who smoke or who have very little calcium in their body are especially at risk.

As a result of bone demineralization, stored lead can be released into the circulation and cross through the placenta to the fetus. New research has found that infants with high levels of lead at the time of birth do not function as well mentally at the age of 2.

Women with a childhood history of lead poisoning, or who immigrate from another country where they are exposed to lead, are at-risk for lead exposure as a result of bone demineralization. Women immigrating from Mexico, where leaded gasoline and lead-glazed ceramic cookware are common, should be considered at-risk.

Specifically, pregnant women should not:

• engage in any activity that disturbs lead-based paint
• live in or be present in a house or apartment where work is under way that disturbs lead-based paint.
• return to a house or apartment where lead-based paint has been disturbed until at least 24 hours after the work has been completed.