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Q & A: Does Mold Effect Pregnancy?

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The Effects of Mold on Pregnancy

Question:

We live a house built in the 80’s. I am pregnant, so it’s harder to ignore the smell of mold. I am worried that this will be potentially harmful to my family. Would I be wasting my time with household test kits? Should I call someone to come asap?
Thanks!

Answer: Avoid mold like the plague while pregnant!

Since not many women have volunteered to be exposed to high levels of mold while they’re pregnant, scientifically accurate data is hard to come by. However, we know that mold can be damaging to your health, and it’s best to get as far away from the mold issue as possible while you are pregnant.

Mold is never good to breathe and can cause harmful side effects to the mother and the rest of the family living in the home. Many women have reported birth defects and miscarriage in their unborn child after having severe exposure to mold during their pregnancy.

Whether there is a definite relationship between mold and these problems, there is no conclusive answer. To be safe though, definitely get away from the mold altogether, or have a reputable professional come and deal with the problem. Using a household test kit can be a good first step in determining the presence or absence of dangerous mold.

Do not as a pregnant woman, attempt to remove the mold yourself. The less exposure you have, the better.

Further Recommended Reading :

  • Asthma & Mold in Children
  • Mold in Schools
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22 comments

Susan January 12, 2009 - 2:57 am
My daughter is 4 1/2 months pregnant, I have had mold in 2 places in my walls each about 4 feet across, my insurance co. said it was mildew, had it tested and it's 3 types of mold all black mold.Someone said she has a 80% chance of the baby having birth defects, is there any truth in this? I feel like this is all my insurance's fault, not wanting to pay out several years ago. Should I make her leave right away? Any help would be so appreciated. Thank You, Susan
Tammy January 22, 2010 - 5:14 pm
I have a 2 yr. old son that was born with a few birth defects. Through my whole pregnancy i was around black mold and some of his Doctors seam to think its because of the mold and i have to agree. Ive known a few women that have been around mold and their babies all have some kind of birth defect.
dalia May 10, 2010 - 2:48 pm
ijust had a baby on march 15 2010 and he was born with major heart problems and i live in an apt that is infested with mold could that have been the problem breathing this mold all the time but unfortunanty my baby did not survive he died 3 days later..
Ferlin Puntumabumrugstein May 27, 2010 - 5:13 pm
I work with a couple of doctors in a facility that is crawling with black mold. These doctors are cheap Indians and tell me not to worry I am not very concerned but I got a co-worker lady trying to get pregnant, and she cannot Is this because of mold? I know she and her husband do the nasty every night.
Cherish July 8, 2011 - 10:19 pm
unfortunately my house had black mold twice. It was also unfortunate that I got pregnant twice and miscarried twice during the time of the mold. I didn't know that my house had mold and I was on birth control both times. I never missed a pill and still got pregnant then lost it both times. The second time mold was found in my house was when I connected the miscarriages and the mold. I believe there are many physical and mental health issues caused by mold. not only was I sick all the time but I had brain fog, depression and fatigue from it...It's been months since the mold was removed and I still have some of the symptoms. If any of you are having symptoms please look into getting it fixed and don't second guess yourself or your instincts. My husband didn't understand the severity because he didn't have the symptoms like I did. You have to read up on it and talk about it with others because since my experience i have helped one other family that had no idea what was going on in their parents house.
Dominique October 29, 2011 - 6:16 pm
i moved to fort riley kansas, on the army base when i was two months pregnant. i smelled mold but didnt report it immediately. i lost may baby when i turned four months. i was in the 2cd trimester. i was currently blessed to get pregnant again. now i am 7 weeks pregnant. i did report the mold an they tore down the dry wall and sprayed something that was suppose to kill the surrounding mold. we are currently awaiting the results of that test but a week before i found out i was pregnant i broke out in hives and my lips blew up like balloons. i am afraid of that house. wen u walk in u can smell the mold in the air an i am afraid that i may loose another child do to the fact that i kno that mold can b air bourne as well. wat should i do?
Nat January 31, 2012 - 1:03 pm
Im about 2 mos pregnant, this is my first child. I live in an apartment that I believe has "black mold". I want to be sure, how can I find out whether or not this is really mold or just my over active imagination. I live in upstate NY, please help, i need to know so i can get out of this renters "contract"
hiiamamie February 6, 2012 - 1:34 pm
I was exposed to molds including black mold in the workplace years prior and during my whole pregnancy - my daughter was born with a mildly turned in sternum (no one in the family has) she also gets sick often and has lots of ear infections. My husband and I were not sick kids. I consider her healthy. Others in my workplace have had healthy babies as well.
peggy March 12, 2012 - 5:03 am
My daughter in law recently miscarried one of her twins, my son & I are both bi-polar and have various other mental health issues, i was diagnosed with copd, suffer from bouts of fatigue, frequent illness. my landlord recently, over the phone, told me I needed to move out(single, low income mother of 3) so they could begin restoration. I have nowhere to go and im stressed to the max. I have for 3 years consistantly been on time with rent payments in full. i dont know where to turn,
Michelle Barbour December 5, 2012 - 12:27 am
In 2009, our house had a leak - a few leaks, actually - and our HO insurance company sent a company out to clean up and fix the issue. They did a horrible job and were NOT professional at all. My family became sick with the "flu" (we thought) and I became so ill I had to be hospitalized several times and stayed in the hospital for days at a time. (I was pregnant with our 5th baby at the time) When I was not in the hospital, I would try to get the HO Insurance company to send the guys back out to check their work - not only did the insurance company stop returning or answering my calls, neither would the company. They did a lot of finger pointing and ducking me. After a few months of all this, we sadly discovered our baby had passed. After he was stillborn we saw his body and how it had been deprived of oxygen and knew something wasn't right. Finally, after our son was born, the insurance company sent another company out to check out our house and they "discovered" the many different strains and horrible infestation throughout our home. Within a month we were moved out of our home and into a rental so the damage could be "fixed". Such a joke!! It has never been fixed, we are all still sick and just recently lost our home because of all the mess the mold and ignorant, unprofessionals did. We still have mold illness, our son is gone forever, our lives were completely changed by this in sooooo many ways.... I work hard to help other people learn and identify what is going on with them and hope that someday, something can be done to better assist families in these situations and more.
Liz December 18, 2014 - 5:57 pm
I live in a 248 yr old home. The 'rental units' have been remodeled and are new. We have a tenant in one of the 'new' units that is now pregnant and wondering about mold. The house is old. It has been remodeled. The basement may have mold and that is where the laundry room that is an extra to them is. Advise?
justine April 22, 2015 - 1:10 am
I opened something up and before I looked at it I smelled it. After smelling it I noticed the mold, about the size of a quarter and black in color. I am 25 weeks pregnant and now worried. What should I do?
Monique April 28, 2015 - 10:09 am
hello Im pregnant with my first child i am 10 weeks my room has mold on the walls what should i do should i move to my moms house my husband hasnt been to concern in fixing it and i am worried that th emold in the room is going to effect myself and my pregnacy.
sam June 13, 2015 - 5:17 pm
My son was born with one nerve problem in the left side of his face.also missing one rib I think it was the black mold,because we lived for several years in an apartment complex that was not taking care of.But I would love to find out if it really was the black mold, so that I can prevent friends from this to happen to them
Ashley June 22, 2015 - 10:49 pm
I see lots of comments and no responses. I'm scared that I have mold. Our basements are wet here and I'm very pregnant. This trimester, the third, I have stated to have lots of respiratory issues, like allergies, and skin burning/itching, like hives, but invisible mostly. I went to doctor and hospital. I am having worse skin reactions and trouble sleeping. In the past on passing, I felt like I could smell mold, outside and inside. This area is very wet. I feel like this problem is in central air system. I'm trying to save my home from foreclosure, just lived through domestic violence and abandonment, and have two other children. I don't know what to do. Please help
Michael July 16, 2015 - 8:27 pm
Ashley, I have moved your question to our Q+A page. Your symptoms could be associated with mold, you should check with your doctor, and have your home tested. See this article for tips on how to keep mold from growing in your home.
sylvia steward September 16, 2015 - 11:36 am
My niece was seven months pregnant her entire home was covered with green, white, and black mold. Even her refrigerator. She begged the office for help but to no avail. She moved in with her mom and they said she cannot stay there because she's not on the lease so she went back to her home. Still know help from the office. she was sick the whole pregnancy. After one of her doctor visits they told her that the baby was deformed and was no longer forming. The entire back of the babies head was gone and the brain stop forming. They said if the baby dies in her her chances of living is 25% and if she has it her chances is 25% survival. This is for the mother, baby was going to die regardless. Soon as the baby came out it died. Me personally, i feel the mold did this damage. Help me understand thank you.
Jaymee Armstead September 28, 2015 - 12:15 pm
I was living in a house so full of mold. By the time I got pregnant with my 3rd child. The place had no heat, which we found out the hard way and no insulation. When it would get warm outside or if we took a shower the whole house would fog up and the walls would have condensation. From the beginning of the pregnancy I was sicker then my other pregnancies. I always had to take benedryl. My urine kept protein. We couldn't by food it would mold in a couple of days even in the fridge. My older kids were throw up everyday have nose bleeds, asthma attacks behavioral problems, skin rashes, yeast infections, etc. Finally when I was 7 month pregnant the doctor called and said I had to come to the hospital immediately for delivery I had such a high level of protein in my urine they did not know how I was walking. They took her out she was only a pound and 11 oz. Which was small for being that far along. She was doing well in the nicu until they notice her digestive system was messing up. They caught it early and found out the my breast milk was full of fungas. And was making her sick. She was pit on a special formula to help her but the hospital said that we had to move from that house or they would call cps on the older kids for endangerment. Also they will not let my baby come home to that house. When we moved we saw our mattes couches everything had mold. Our clothes, even the floors. We had to throw everything away.
Michelle Barbour December 24, 2015 - 1:28 pm
Anyone is welcome to contact me at any time, my website is http://www.Momcierge.net, I am on Facebook and have a page - Toxic Environmental Awareness - The Zyon Project (https://www.facebook.com/ZyonProject/) If you are pregnant and suspect mold in your environment, get out, if you can. If not, do your best to isolate the issue and seal it off from where you are living. There are some ways to clean the mold and keep it from harming you and your baby if conditions make it possible. Mold can and will get to your baby through placental interaction and breastmilk. there have been studies - evidence based studies - showing evidence of mold in placenta and cord blood, newborn baby's blood and breastmilk. I have experienced two losses because of mold now and have studied this extensively. I am a birth worker and working on my degree in midwifery currently and have come across many reports, articles and journals about these very types of losses. One very prominent US study is the Cleveland Clinic trials in the mid to late 90's and into the early 2000's. That CaNNoT be disputed or ignored.
Ronald May 12, 2016 - 2:38 am
My girlfriend is pregnant and we have a mold problem in the apartment anything that we bring in the house eventually grows mold on it weather it's a food or a liquid and now our clothes. And she is now always complaing about her chest. What should I do?
Tiffany Savage April 29, 2017 - 8:20 pm
I love I'm a Mobile Trailer and I am 3 months pregnant and I have been sleeping in the room that is filled with black mold what do u do
Kerry Negus September 15, 2017 - 6:23 pm
Wow, i am shocked and saddened by what i read above, i was exposed to white and black mold for more then 10 years. I was extremely sick but survived. i lost my home and all my stuff but am rebuilding. I want to get pregnant NOW....after a long term exposure and wonder if this is safe. While i was sick i didnt come across many drs who knew what they were talking about so i am looking for experinced answers????
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