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your appearance you still
have some control over
(unlike your boobs and
waistline)
It's fine to colour your hair
during pregnancy. Only
enormous doses of the
chemicals used in semipermanent and permanent
hair dyes would cause
your baby harm.
If you're doing it yourself
at home, wear gloves and
open a window for
ventilation. Because your
hormones are all over the
place, you might be more
susceptible to an allergic
reaction from a dye, so do
a patch test 24 hours
before application.
Can I clean the cat litter?
Cleaning the cat litter can't
figure high on many
women's 'chores I enjoy'
Joy feelings magazine
list, so pregnancy is a
good excuse to get out of
it. Cat faeces can carry a
parasite that causes
toxoplasmosis, an
infection that isn't serious
for you but can be for your
baby. (It's also carried by
some birds and other
animals, and found in
undercooked meats.) Cats
get it by eating dirt and
raw meat (usually
rodents).
Your odds of contracting
it are low, and if you've
had it, you can't get it
again. But to err on the
safe side, if your moggy is
an outside prowler, get
someone else to clean the
cat litter. If you have to do
it, wear rubber gloves and
wash both your hands and
the gloves thoroughly
afterwards.