I'm freaking out a bit and just need to calm myself so I thought I'd write in here, hope that's ok.
You see I went into work yesterday (I have this week off due to a major shutdown), anyway, I had to go in for a little bit of training confirmation, to make sure we knew what our job was according to the procedure, blah blah.... Where I work is on a computer near these huge freezers and they are known for ammonia leaks (we've had a few leaks during my pg and I'm always immediately evacuated). I think the ammonia is used for helping in the freezing process (although I'm not sure) Anyway..., we had to go down there and the guy who was just going through the procedure with us said it smells in there, I said I'm not going down there if there's ammonia leaking as I'm pg. He was like oh, no it's not bad at all. Well I get down there and it absolutely wreaked of ammonia. We weren't there long, but I was so upset that I had to stand there, blocking my nose and trying to breathe, when really it wasn't necessary. I ended up with a bad headache that only went away at 11am this morning. I've been looking on the internet and can't find anything regarding large amounts of ammonia and pregnancy. When I see my doctor I might see if he can shed any light on how dangerous this could be on the fetus. 8-[ But it's really scaring me. Can anyone suggest where else I might be able to find information on this type of thing? I'm not sure whether, when inhaled, that ammonia goes into your bloodstream?? I'm just so upset and I hate worrying about things like this.
at all places of employment there should be MSDS's, Material Safety Data sheets, on any hazedous substance. this would include safety during pregnancy etc. speak with your occ health officer within the company or even look on the freezer and ring the manufactorer and ask them to send you a MSDS on the ammonia.
Hi Lee-Ann,
I just scanned a government release document on the effects of ammonia exposure, and there is no evidence that ammonia passes through the placenta from mother to baby. There is some evidence of cows being subjected where the calf was a little smaller than normal, but in these cases the health of the mother was also affected.
If you have suffered nothing more than a headache from the fumes and were ok after that, I think it's safe to assume that your baby is perfectly fine and unaffected.
Ammonia & Pregnancy
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