It's Not Easy Being Green

Ok, Ok, I know you've all been bombarded with all the news about all of the toxic chemicals out there that are slowly killing our precious babes. And if you are like me, on the other side, you have the grandmas, the plastics industry and other well meaning friends of another generation pointing out how we all survived, so we must be over-reacting by spending our hard earned money on organic this and that.

Well, between worrying about the pesticides in our food; the PVC, phthalates and bispenol-a in our plastic... there doesn't leave much time to worry about all of the harmful chemicals in our beauty products, right?

When I first fell pregnant, I read an article in Fit Pregnancy about Parabens and Phthalates - two compounds in many U.S. beauty products (but banned in the E.U.). The article linked these two compounds to reproductive problems and in particular, pointed to a study where the results revealed that exposure to high levels could result in smaller male genitalia in a pregnant woman's offspring. Now, who knows how much exposure we really have through our shampoos and moistures, BUT, knowing that if I had a son, only 8 days into his life he already was going to have a "coming off party" (read: Bris), I decided that I needed to give him every other chance possible in that department.

Unfortunately, it's very tricky to find out whether or not products contain phthalates and parabens, as most cosmetic or beauty products simply contain the words "fragrance." But I came across a very helpful website that allows you to search cosmetic and beauty products (for adults and babes alike) for numerous potentially harmful chemicals. It's called the Cosmetic Safety Database - and if, like the Mommish, having a baby makes you want to not only reduce your post c-section tummy bulge, but also your family's chemical exposure - it's a must check!

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/