Creating an eco-friendly nursery

Bernadette Upton gives mothers-to-be a wakeup call with one sentence.

"Typically," she says, "we bring baby home to the sickest room in the house."

The nursery is "sick" because we think more about how the room will look than what it will do to our babies' health. Unknowingly, we buy what we think is cute rather than what's safe.

Everything in the baby's room — from the mattress to the paint on the walls — can emit harmful volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) that can cause breathing problems. Lung disease and breathing problems are the No. 1 cause of death in infants less than 1 year old, according to the American Lung Association.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Upton, of EcoDecor in North Palm Beach, Fla., has specialized in environmental design since 1982.

Here are some of her health and safety tips:

Resources

The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety, by Debra Smiley Holtzman (Sentient Publications, $14.95), is a comprehensive guide for creating baby-safe living spaces. It includes a special section on chemicals in the nursery.

On the web: For more safety tips, information about recalls and links to other consumer sites, go to www.keepingbabiessafe.org

• Use only eco-friendly paints such as Benjamin Moore's Eco Spec or Sherwin Williams' HealthSpec.

• Avoid vinyl wallpaper, which can trap moisture and help mold grow. The plasticizers in the vinyl emit VOCs. Her choice of paper for one nursery was Venetian Carnival, a hand-printed wallpaper from Scalamandre featuring a playful motif of monkeys, goats and masked men and women.

• Furnish the room with recycled solid wood furniture and repaint it. Avoid the "disposable" stuff made with particleboard that emits VOCs. Cornices should also be made of solid wood.

• Be careful when selecting a mattress. Some may contain vinyl.

• Use natural fabrics. Upton covered the loveseat in 100 percent cotton and says it's a good idea to use washable, removable slipcovers.

• Replace closet doors with louvered versions that allow air to circulate and prevent moisture and mold from accumulating.

• Forget wall-to-wall carpeting that emits VOCs from the fabric treatments. Wood floors are best. If you use area rugs, make sure they are 100 percent cotton with no synthetic dyes.

• Do not use an air machine with an ionizer or ozone.

• Do not place the crib near a window. The baby could stand up and fall out.

• Look for cordless blinds.

More crib tips

• Bars on cribs and playpens should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart. For that reason, parents are advised to measure the slats before buying used cribs or using hand-me-downs. Crib safety guidelines changed in 1999.

• Buy a flat, firm mattress that fits snugly in crib.

• Keep cribs clear of stuffed animals and extra pillows and quilts.

• Avoid hanging framed art or shelves above the crib.

Information from the Kansas City Star was included in this report.