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What You Should Know about Cell Phones and Cell Phone Use During Pregnancy

Being pregnant is an exhilarating time with so much to come and so much excitement in store. However, along with the excitement comes anxiety about tasks you would have deemed normal pre-pregnancy. Most often than not, your anxiety is predicated in something concrete and something you can tackle and understand. One issue many women are nervous about is the potentially harmful nature of electronics, namely cell phones and cell phone usage while pregnant.

In today’s world, wireless devices are with us day and night, and they emit energy called electromagnetic radio waves that can end up in our bodies. In large enough quantity, low-energy microwave radiation can cause tiny increases in heat, which can then damage DNA.

Dr. Kirtley Jones, from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Utah Health Care, has commented on the inherently anxiety people often feel when hearing the word radiation, “Radiation, it’s a scary word that causes visions of nuclear bombs, exploding nuclear power plants. Radiation is a term for a kind of energy that goes from one place to another, like infrared radiation that keeps us warm, ultraviolet radiation that makes vitamin D in our skin, and the visual spectrum that lets us see the world around us.”

However, it is important to understand that potential risks of cell phone radiation to your pregnancy are small compared to many other hazards, so even if you do keep your cell phone on you at all times, there’s no need to worry. In the end, reducing unwarranted stress is much more important to your baby’s health.

Most healthcare practitioners agree that the research done on cell phone use during pregnancy is too inconclusive for them to recommend people make any lifestyle changes when it comes to talking, texting and browsing the web. “To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use,” the World Health Organization states on their website.

If you still want to take a few extra precautions to ease your worries, we have put together a list below of recommendations to further put you at ease before you welcome your bundle of joy.

  1. Try to keep your phone away from your body when sleeping

Even though it is addicting to check  Instagram before bed, and Facebook is definitely an app that lulls most of us to sleep, try and not to fall asleep with your phone in your hand or charging under your pillow. Place it on a neighboring nightstand or a dresser a couple of inches away from your bed.

  1. Use earbuds and wired headphones when possible

Rather than having your phone pressed to your ear for the majority of the day, try and use wired headphones or earbuds to speak to your coworkers, managers, friends, and family.

  1. Avoid placing your phone near growing stomach

Similar to not sleeping with your phone nearby your head and body, do not place your phone on a consistent basis near your growing stomach. This will help in reducing your baby’s exposure to radio waves.

  1. When not using your phone, place it on airplane mode

This is a no brainer. When not using your phone, placing it on airplane mode is the easiest way to shut it down with all of the bells and whistles. Not only will shutting your phone off help with your anxiety, it will help you relax and most likely help you sleep better!

Shoshi S.
Shoshi is a graduate from Stern College for Women in New York City. Her areas of interest include policy, non-profit organizations, and administration. During winter 2018, she was a White House intern. Shoshi has also interned at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and at Save the Children in New York. As a millennial, Shoshi brings a young and fresh perspective to the worlds of pregnancy and lactation.

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