If It’s Good Enough For a Pregnant Woman…

Today the BBC wrote an article about a study published by Edinburgh University involving cosmetic products and pregnant women. The study was performed on pregnant rats, which makes me sad, because animal testing sucks. But the team did show that various chemicals deemed “safe” for use in cosmetics caused future reproductive health problems in the baby mice, such as decreased sperm production. The leader of the team, Professor Richard Sharpe, said that in humans these chemicals could cause fertility problems such as testicular cancer later in life.

Of course, these findings are deemed “not yet conclusive” because there’s no way they can ethically test these chemicals on pregnant human women. Of course, women are already using these chemicals, but to purposefully create conditions in the lab involving pregnant women is considered to be decidedly unethical by the scientific community. So they can’t conclusively, positively say that using cosmetics containing chemicals such as _ are bad for pregnant women and their babies’ future health, but why would women even take a risk when there are such wonderful alternatives on the market? And, going further, if there are chemicals in cosmetics and perfumes that are questionable in terms of safety, then why would even non-pregnant women (or men, for that matter) use these products?

I guess that decision depends on your perspective. After all, many of these same chemicals are in the fabrics and materials in our homes, and they’re even in the air. While that’s a damn shame, it does raise the question of whether or not those chemicals are avoidable in today’s world. Ted and I will eventually have children, and while I’m pregnant I’ll know that modern babies are born with synthetic chemicals already in their little bodies. So, does the use of chemical-laden cosmetic products like perfume become a moot point?

I don’t believe so. My thinking is, if babies already have so many unnatural chemicals for their immune systems to process, why add to that load? What’s surprising to me is how many women react to being told not to use these products while pregnant. In this post on Jezebel, the comments section is teeming with comments from women who are sick of what they call the “pregnancy police” telling what they can and can’t do. I think their ire has less to do with the restrictions placed on pregnant women, and more to do with the judgments passed by those both within and outside of the medical community on women who make choices they don’t agree with. I’ve had friends and family who, both while pregnant and then once they have children, are approached by random strangers who make judgey comments about what they’re eating, what their kids are eating, what they put in their shopping cart, and so forth. I agree that these passing (and unsolicited) judgments are frustrating and hurtful, and I know that if anyone ever does that to me I’ll be the first to stand up for my choices. And by “stand up for,” I mean that I’ll whip out by bitchface before the offending party has tie to blink.

Still, I think that when it comes to avoidable, unnecessary things like perfume and unsafe cosmetics, why take a risk? And, while we’re at it, why is the medical field stopping short of saying that ALL women shouldn’t use these products? As I like to say, if something’s good enough for a pregnant woman, then it’s good enough for me. As Prof. Sharpe says in the BBC article, “If women planning on becoming pregnant [are] anxious about such issues they [can] avoid putting any cosmetic products on their skin which could then be absorbed into their bodies.” If pregnant women may choose not to use potentially harmful products, then that’s a choice I’m going to make, too.

To provide a starting point for those of you who may not know which products to use instead of chemically ones, here’s a list of products from companies I’ve written about before. I know there are lots of other good companies out there too, so consider this a starting point. You can also refer to the previous Roll Call posts about skin care and cosmetics, which asked readers to share what they like to use. If you can think of any other good products, leave your recommendations in the comments!

MAKEUP
Suki Color
Aubrey Organics
Dr. Hauschka
Jane Iredale

FRAGRANCE
Aubrey Organics

HAIRCARE
Aubrey Organics
Hugo Naturals
J.R. Liggett
Uncle Harry’s