mnnaj 7 Report post Posted March 15, 2018 As a new teacher in a community education setting I have a question that I have not seen in the Forum. One of my students may be pregnant. I have looked in books on health and safety by Monona Rossol, Michael McCann, and Angela Babin. None are specific to clay, pottery and glazing. Other than the basic precautions all of us should be using (wet mopping, dust mask, frequent breaks for back), are there things/chemicals that we should be concerned about? I'm mostly thinking glazing, are there chemicals she should avoid, or will using gloves and good housekeeping be enough? Thanks for your input. Nancy Johnson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neilestrick 2,791 Report post Posted March 15, 2018 As long as she's following the general safety guidelines for glaze handling- wet mop, dust mask if handling dry materials, don't eat while glazing- she should be fine. I've had lots of pregnant students, and teachers. 2 Pres and D.M.Ernst reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Min 1,806 Report post Posted March 15, 2018 This topic has come up a couple times, link to one of the threads here. I can't recall ever seeing a list of ceramic chemicals that are teratogenic but that would be an area I would check with a medical professional about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnnaj 7 Report post Posted March 15, 2018 Thank you both, I hadn't seen the thread, but it was good information. I'll relay it to her as time goes by (if she is pregnant), Nancy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D.M.Ernst 33 Report post Posted April 13, 2018 I took pottery classes on kick wheels during two of my pregnancies and all went well. My adult children are doing just fine. General safety guidelines should be sufficient. D 1 mnnaj reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PSC 74 Report post Posted April 20, 2018 I had a very pregnant student. It was her last just for her thing to do before the baby. I told her what i knew about the dangers and she elected to not glaze her work til after the baby was born and had stopped nursing just in case. She was so pregnant that she could not get in the right position to center and that was the semester i got to become an expert in centering student's clay from the wrong side of the wheel while squatting not sitting. 1 Benzine reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benzine 925 Report post Posted April 20, 2018 10 hours ago, PSC said: i got to become an expert in centering student's clay from the wrong side of the wheel while squatting not sitting. This is my every day. It's taking a toll on my back. In some circumstances, I'll have the student give up their seat, especially if the fix requires precision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
