What's in Tap Water, Risk to Babies

By Ina Woolcott

Obstetricians stress the importance of drinking lots of fluids, specifically water during pregnancy. But concerns about lead, mercury, chlorine, phosphates, biological waste and other potential contaminants hiding in your water may make you think twice about drinking tap water.

Lead is of foremost concern, as it can be the cause of low birth weight, premature birth and permanent damage to a baby's developing nervous system. Lead is one of the most toxic metals to children, and it's more prevalent than we know. In fact, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that almost 900,000 children aged between 1 and 5 in the USA still have high blood lead levels. Whilst water is rarely the only source of lead poisoning, it can be a major contributing factor.

Averagely, municipal water systems by law must make sure that tap water does not exceed 15 micrograms of lead per litre. In spite of these laws, a large amount of water in the USA is not tested, Mark Woodin, Sc.D., professor of environmental health in the civil and environmental engineering department at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston claims. "Piping systems in big cities like Boston, Los Angeles and New York are a huge problem, and even though they're periodically tested, you just don't know what's coming out of your tap," he says.

I personally only drink filtered water. The filter removes lead, chlorine, mercury and other chemicals. Even if there are no problems with your tap water, filtered water still tastes better and it might even entice you to drink more. The only problem is, the filter is made out of plastic, as is the container itself. As some of you may be familiar with, plastic is no angel either, which brings us onto the next topic - PLASTIC!

Please read related links:
Chemicals in Plastic
Phthalates, Hazardous Waste in Children’s Toys, Sex Toys, Cosmetics and other Consumer Products