screenprinting while pregnant

[Elizabeth McTague]

Hi, I'm 12 weeks pregnant and a friend mentioned to me that screenprinting when pregnant could be dangerous. I tried to find some information on this but haven't found anything too specific for the projects listed in the book, which is what I'm interested in printing. I did make the baby quilt in the book and I didn't notice any sort of harsh fumes from the ink or anything like that. Is it safe to use the heatset water soluble fabric inks when you're pregnant? Thanks for any info!

Elizabeth

[Lena]

hi elizabeth,
thanks for your question...
i don't know an absolute answer, but i can give you a little more information. working with oil-based ink is more toxic and has much worse fumes, so your friend who mentioned it might have heard this about oil based/plastisol printing. water-based ink gives off some fumes, and it's best to work in a well-ventilated room. you could wear gloves so that the ink doesn't come in contact with your skin. with these two precautions, i would feel comfortable screen printing while pregnant. my first screen printing teacher was very pregnant when i took her class. in my book, i mention using "retarder" if you want to extend the drying time of ink. it is made from toxic chemicals, so i would recommend avoiding that product.

this is a great book, and it discusses some of the health concerns for working with ink. have you asked your doctor about paints and ink in general?

http://www.amazon.com/Screenprinting-...

best, lena

[Elizabeth McTague]

Thanks for the information, Lena! I thought it would be alright, especially with gloves and maybe a mask on so I'm not breathing anything in. I've only used the water-based inks so far and I don't have any plans to go to oil-based so I think I'll be okay. I haven't talked to my doctor about it yet but that's a good idea. And I'll check out the book. Thanks!