Is It Safe To Drink Tap Water When I’m Pregnant?
It is safe to drink tap water during pregnancy, is a major concern for all pregnant mothers, apart from using it for cooking and cleaning purposes. Staying well hydrated is extremely important for the pregnant mother and the development of the fetus since water (as the major component of blood) is the medium through which all nutrients in the body are carried to the fetus.
The presence of trace chemicals and their derivatives, added to disinfect water are usually subject to strict norms and hence are regulated and kept below harmful levels by the Government authorities. Usually, Chlorine is an important additive in the treatment of water. Its reaction with water and the other organic elements present in it, result in the formation of by-products called trihalomethanes (THM) and haloaceticacid (HAA). There have been many studies done on the effect of drinking tap water and its effect on pregnancy, or its rumoured effects on miscarriage or development of the fetus, with no evidence to prove any harmful effects. It is also advised by some doctors that it is good to intake the regular, tap water which contains small quantities of fluoride – an essential component to keep your teeth and gums healthy, especially during pregnancy.
In fact, all sources of water, now days have at least a certain degree of contamination in it and thus making them not completely safe. However, the quality of tap water depends largely on the demography, location and the treatment in effect and hence it is difficult to declare it safe globally. This is especially so where each home has its own source of water in the form of wells or underground pumps, which could be contaminated with any environmental pollution or toxic substances present in the area, as is found in some parts of the world. Needless to say that if it looks, smells or tastes bad or unusual, the intake needs to be discontinued and one needs to switch to safer options.
Also, since water intake is usually in higher quantities during pregnancy, it is also a good option to use additional purifying techniques like boiling, filtering or running it through the UV ray or reverse osmosis based – purifier machines commonly available. Reverse Osmosis is the finest method and has excellent contaminant removal properties. In fact it has been found that bottled water has more unwanted components, than regular tap water especially due to the plastic leaching out into the water, during storage! Thus it is important to note to consume water from known safe brands and also discard the bottle after use and not use it to store water again. So it would be wiser to focus on obtaining safer sources of water, rather than cutting down on the quantity consumed, especially during pregnancy!
