Would you paint while pregnant?

We're currently renovating our old, humble home. I feel totally useless. I dont know what to do to help. I was going to clean the walls then i realised i'll have to use strong chemicals to kills the mould.. then i was going to paint, but DH said no, because of the paint fumes.

So what are your thoughts?

Would you paint while pregnant?

Hi tellytubby,

Personally I wouldn't paint myself whilst pregnant, or let DH paint either. Even if he does it you will still get the fumes KWIM? Is there any way you can postpone it at all? Or maybe just stay away from those rooms which have been painted until the fumes are gone?

HTH :)

hi hun, i have just built a new home and my partner had to do the sealer and i was allowed to do the painting as long as the paint was water based. I rung the paint company and spoke to there health department. Just give them a call :)

Hi tellytubby,
i know how your feeling! we did renovations before ds was born, i felt so helpless..
i did end up painting because i just wanted to do something, even though people will say not too, and its not good for you, fumes etc... i couldnt help myself. i was very carful though and wore a mask and made sure there was plenty of ventilation where i was painting.
Although you could just make the most of it and take the opportunity to rest :)
all the best x

I painted while pregnant. We got a non toxic, non smelly paint. I can't remember the name of it now though.

I, well DH :lol: painted a wall in the nursery a few weeks ago and even though it was waterbased it still smelt really strong. I cut up onions and put them in a bowl with water and also put some eucalyptus in some water also... left all the windows open. The smell was strong, but I honestly think this helped a great deal.

I didn't paint becuase of the fumes. Perhaps you can bake, to keep the workers happy and house smelling lovley ;);)

no i wouldnt paint while i was pregnant, to me, not worth the risk.

I painted when pg with both Joshua and Oskar cos I was doing kiddy rooms. It's like anything with strong fumes, make sure it's well ventilated and water based would be better. The other thing you can do too if you're really worried is to get a mask. You can get ones which are reusable ones they use for chemicals, the ones which look really big and funny lol. I wouldn't paint in a small enclosed area, but more open and ventilated I would.

DH and I just finished painting bubs room. It was quite smelly but we opened the windows for ventilation. It's strange I will not dye my hair while pregnant or wear nail polish etc but painting didn't really cross my mind. Maybe I shouldn't of been painting...

We have to do this too - and we have mould on our walls - but we aren't going to remove it with strong chemicals because you are supposed to sand back the walls anyway to prepare it for the paint.

So we figured that using sandpaper on the walls will get rid of the mould anyway - so we're just doing that. Its an option to not use chemicals anyway ;)

I painted whilst pregnant but only furniture... not whole rooms. I'd go for low fume.

I painted the boys room when I was about 7 months pregnant with Chase :)

I did. We moved into our place and painted all throughout the whole house, i didn't even know i was pregnant at the time!
I freaked out when i found out i was, but i rang the health and safety people of the paint places, and they all said as long as we used waterbased paint and kept the rooms well ventilated, there shouldn't be any kind of problems. We did use water based, and kept the whole place as airy as possible.
Good Luck!

Hi Telly,

I personally wouldn't paint myself, but I'm going to let DH go ahead and do it, I'll just stay away from it. This is pretty much because of the fumes the paint lets of & I get fairly sick when I inhale and have fainted on a couple of occasions in the past while painting rooms :doh:. I'd rather not do that while there's another little person inside me! :D

Though, if there's enough ventilation it should be fine ~ and don't stick your face too close to it either! :P

My DH painted the entire inside of our house while i was pregnant with DD, and then painted the kids bedrooms when I was pregnant with DS.
Like everyone else has said, just make sure you have plenty of ventilation - doors and windows wide open. The onions in a bowl of water in the room helps too...it soaks up some of the smell somehow?
You can also get low odour paints as well.
Maybe also when you guys are pouring the paint from the tin to a tray or smaller pot, do it outside/away from where you are painting, that way you don't have a big 10 or 20 litre tin sitting around creating even more fumes.

Hoenstly, i don't think the water based paints now days are that smelly. I'd be more worried about sanding back old walls/ceilings that could be ridden with asbestos or painted back in the 70's - 80's with lead based paint more than anything.

hi,
i have been fixing up a bookshelf and chest of drawers for bubs nursery, and painted them whislt pregnant.

Mind you it was outside, so there was a little more fresh air, that being inside a house.

Maybe wear a dust mask or something, but im sure it should be okay. depending on the paint.

I painted my DD's (big) bedroom while pregnant... I was maybe 7 or 8 months PG? I used the non toxic & had all the windows open & took lots of breaks leaving XH to keep going in between time.

I suggest if you choose to paint, dont push yourself. If you need a break, take it. Try to remember you're not in your normal condition so if your body says stop then I'd stop. Dont feel bad about it taking alot longer than normal.

Keep the windows open too IMO

Have fun... a new coat of paint makes so much difference (it definately did with ours... I think I have pics in my gallery of DD's room before & after.... massive difference!)

I was cleaning the bathroom with bleach the other day, and totally didnt think to open a window for ventilation...i started feeling a little weird, and getting a sore throat, and it dawned on me....

went out for a breather, and made sure i opened the window...silly me...prob similar with paint...plenty of ventilation is a must :)