7/25/11

My husband thought of a wonderful question to ask the doctor at our last appointment that hadn't even crossed my mind, "Is it safe to use bug spray while pregnant?" It's summer in Wisconsin so we all know those evenings are filled with mosquitoes. 

DEET the active ingredient in most bug sprays is pretty serious stuff and anything that touches your skin can be absorbed into your blood stream and passed right to the baby. Luckily a normal person uses DEET so sparingly that it has not proven to be a risk to the baby.

The doctor told us that using bug spray containing DEET is much better than going without simply because it's less harmful than the bug bite itself. Bug bites can be scratched open and get infected and mosquitoes carry diseases. He did suggest using Skin So Soft because it's an effective deterrent as well and it's best to avoid using DEET on babies. Luckily my sister in law sells Avon so I'm all over that!