If you’re pregnant and attend regular swimming classes, you may be putting your little bub at risk of developing eczema and asthma. According to a report in the British Journal of Dermatology, common airborne chemicals like chlorine and compounds found in cleaning products are behind the increase in inherited allergies over the course of 50 years.
‘High-level exposure to volatile organic compounds in the domestic environment either during maternal pregnancy or in early life, is associated with development of childhood atopic disease, said the report.
With that said, exposure to these chemicals may alter the unborn child’s immune system, leaving them more sensitive to conditions such as eczema, asthma and hay fever.
The report looks at the growing prevalence of ‘atopic allergies’. A theory of ‘hygiene hypothesis’, is that an unfamiliar clean lifestyle results in a child developing immune systems unfamiliar with many germs. As a result, they child is later exposed to new irritants that their body is more likely to have an allergic reaction to.
However, Dr John McFadden, consultant dermatologist at St John’s Institute says further investigation was needed.
‘We have not proved anything, we are not saying this is the cause, this is a hypothesis, but we do know we are using far more chemicals than we did 50 years ago, whether it is in personal care products or processed food.’
Pregnant women are still encouraged to continue physical exercise during pregnancy, and swimming is still one of the best forms of exercise as it helps support their additional weight. [Source]
