Since January 2021, paternity leave has been equal to maternity leave, reaching 16 weeks.
But for neonatologists and pediatricians the current maternity leave is insufficient and they state their reasons for extending it to two years in a report where they record the environmental pollutants to which a nursing mother is exposed in her work and how it affects the baby.
The study, prepared by specialists from hospitals in Murcia, Madrid and Catalonia, and published in the ‘Anales de Pediatría’ of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, includes recommendations to reduce environmental pollutants in breastfeeding.
Reasons to request
Questions are common about how contamination affects breast milk or what types of jobs can be dangerous for the baby during pregnancy or breastfeeding. This is explained by pediatricians, who point out this issue as common in their consultations.
In order to respond to them and given the lack of toxicological studies on the feeding of newborns in their first moments of life, experts from the Pediatric Environmental Health and Neonatology unit of the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital in Murcia, of the Hospital La Paz in Madrid and Olot in Girona, have carried out a study where they investigate the chemical risk posed by certain jobs and to which both the mother and the baby are exposed.
“We already know that embryonic tissues and in the first months of development are much more vulnerable to the toxic action of endocrine disruptors, carcinogens or mutagens. In midwifery and pediatric consultations, one should ask about parental professions and explore exposures or work concerns related to breastfeeding. “
In view of the results and for the sake of babies, experts recommend extending maternity leave to two years to ensure breastfeeding and a much healthier development of the child because “breast milk is a source of exposure to environmental pollutants, and at the same time it protects you from many of the effects of these exposures. “
But there are more reasons to extend the mother’s permission, since it is very important for the neural development of the baby that the parents spend as much time as possible with him.
What substances and jobs should the mother avoid
Pediatrician Juan Antonio Ortega, from the Hospital Arrixaca de Murcia, explains that “until now the risk assessment had focused on the mother but not on the child .” That is why it was necessary to know how these substances accumulate in the bodies of the little ones.
“With this report, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health now has a reference from a scientific society where jobs or labor sectors where infants are exposed to chemical risks are identified.”
Pediatricians point out the chemical risks that they imply for the baby during pregnancy and breastfeeding, jobs in the metal, agricultural, automobile or chemical industries, through construction, shoe factories, refineries, transportation, mining, hairdressing, printing or healthcare.
In total, the research numbered up to 19 professional sectors where pregnant and lactating mothers are exposed to toxic environmental substances . As examples:
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Benzene, heavy metals or chrome pigments in the chemical industry.
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Absinthes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in construction.
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Tar, chromium, lead, cadmium or beryllium in the metal industry.
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Aromatic dyes and nitro derivatives in hairdressing salons.
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Nitrous derivatives, antineoplastics, ethylene oxide, volatile organic compounds (formaldehyde), etc., in the health field.
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Solvents, glues, glues (volatile organic compounds), heavy metals, mercury, dyes (benzene anilines, 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl) or benzene in shoe factories or leather and leather treatment factories.
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Pesticides, herbicides, arsenical derivatives, in agriculture or gardening.
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Solvents, cadmium, polybrominated …, in the automotive world.
One final warning from pediatricians: they recommend using glass, stainless steel, or ceramic to store, heat, or pasteurize breast milk to decrease exposure to chemical contaminants.
Via | I raised
Photos | iStock
In Babies and More | They discover why breastfeeding improves the immune system of the newborn, Almost half a million babies worldwide died prematurely in 2019 due to environmental pollution
