Prenatal exposure to electronics/radiation etc?

My mom has mentioned several times to me that I need to use something for protection between myself and my laptop or ipad while I am pregnant, since it is usually sitting right there on my lap. I think her concerns are completely valid but I wasn't sure what to do....so I have just been trying to remember to use a pillow in between. Frankly, I doubt that does anything.

I bought a couple vouchers for Abe's Market and saw they actually have a product for this! http://www.abesmarket.com/belly-blanket-chic-metro.html

Anyone know anything about this or anything else I could do that would help. I am wondering about the science behind this...if it really works I wouldn't mind buying it with the voucher.

I don't have the answer, but I think about it all the time. Thanks for the link!

I don't have any advice or scientific background but I also worry about this. I did not have a laptop (actually a netbook) until after DS was born. I swear when that thing is near my lower abdomen too long, I start to feel weird inside. Like it is interacting with my uterus or something. I often use a pillow but it only keeps the sensation away a little longer. I did have two C sections. Makes me wonder if they left something inside!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tiapam

I don't have any advice or scientific background but I also worry about this. I did not have a laptop (actually a netbook) until after DS was born. I swear when that thing is near my lower abdomen too long, I start to feel weird inside. Like it is interacting with my uterus or something. I often use a pillow but it only keeps the sensation away a little longer. I did have two C sections. Makes me wonder if they left something inside!

---

Yikes!


Anyone else want to weigh in on this? I think I am going to email my brother about it. He is a physics major and one of his teachers explained to him exactly why cell phones were dangerous and said he would never let his kids talk on cell phones (without speaker phone or another device to reduce risk). I'm going to see if he can ask one of his teachers about this blanket and if it is actually legitimately able to block the radiation. I will let ya'll know if I hear back about it.

I am pretty conservative when it comes to these things. I rarely use my cellphone, my netbook/computer stay on a desk, don't have a microwave, don't fly with any frequency, didn't have any ultrasounds etc... I don't know if it will make a difference. I would say just do what you think is right for you.

When I was pregnant with DD2, my midwife told me not to keep my laptop on my lap even with a pillow in between. I generally tried to sit up and place it in front of me rather than on me (if I was in bed). Not sure if that really helped or not.

Here's something interesting I saw on the news this AM about the same issue regarding sperm. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/1...ale-fertility/

My slightly educated guess is that there's probably something metallic in the blanket that is used to reflect the radio waves away from your body. IMO, at $69, that blanket is a complete rip-off. First off, I seriously doubt the need for such a thing in the first place, and second, though it might not be as fashionable, I bet a sheet of aluminum foil or one of those foil-looking emergency blankets would work just as well.

I have often thought about the heat of laptops being held in laps, especially related to reducing sperm production. I have often noticed DH using his laltop that way for hours right before bed, which would be prime baby-making time in many families, and we know sperm are sensitive to heat. I mean, if briefs can possibly raise sperm temperature enough to reduce fertility, I assume a laptop in the lap could too. Not sure if I've thought about that related to fetal development/pregnancy, but they say you shouldn't take full immersion baths while pregnant, don't they? Wonder how much your body heats up while holding a laptop.

Since my thoughts are all about heat, not radio waves or antyhing else, anything that buffers the heat would suffice for me. I use a lap desk just for my own comfort, unrelated to pregnancy. Bed Bath and Beyond has several, if you google lap desk.

I don't know the validity of it, but I was definitely more avoidant of laptop and phones near me once I became pregnant (and still do). Stopped carrying phone anywhere on my body. Laptop is never on my lap.

With the smartphone though, I do find i'm holding the phone more often in general.

I worked with my laptop on my lap for both pg and both kids are active youngsters. I remember I looked into it at the time and it seemed fine to me ...