[Histonet] Re: pregnancy in lab

[Andrea Grantham]

My children are 29 and 26. I wasn't working in Histology when I was 
pregnant the first time. This child has a degree in Molecular Biology and 
is working in a cord blood registry lab, however despite an exceptionally 
high IQ he was diagnosed with several learning disabilities while in 
elementary and jr. high and suffered from allergies to just about 
everything. I know it is very controversial now but ritalin was our 
salvation along with a very busy schedule. The medication didn't make him a 
zombie and it was an incredible help to him in the academic setting. 
Thankfully he now does better with the allergies and he does well in work 
situations. My second child is an archeologist with a masters degree and 
suffered only from being an "average" child. I was working in histology 
when I was pregnant with her. I asked the pathologists and lab manager 
during that time about the hazards of working around the chemicals and they 
told me not to be concerned - their only concern was how long the maternity 
leave was going to be! I took what precautions I could - it was a lot 
different back then. She was born a month early but suffered no serious 
effects.
Andi Grantham
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: Andrea Grantham, HT(ASCP)     Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy     :
: Sr. Research Specialist       University of Arizona               :
: (office:  AHSC 4212)          P.O. Box 245044                     :
: (voice:  520-626-4415)        Tucson, AZ  85724-5044    USA       :
: (FAX:  520-626-2097)          (email:  algranth <@t> u.arizona.edu)       :
:...................................................................:
           http://www.cba.arizona.edu/histology-lab.html