Why is static electricity a risk if you are pregnant?

Answer 1

electricity is dangerous to everyone, but if you are pregnant, you pass the risk on to the unborn child.

A small shock to you may be an electrocution for them, being so small.

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This is far too general an answer that it needs to be amplified.

Static electricity is created when different materials rub against one another and electrons are moved between them. It's called a static charge because the excess of electrons on one of the materials just sits there waiting for an opportunity to move to another material to achieve a neutral balance. The most common is from your fingertip to the doorknob. As you walk across the carpet, your shoes pick up electrons as the soles slide across the surface of the carpet. In fact, the electrons spread all over your body and clothing. When you reach for the doorknob, the electrons find a very hospitable path back to the carpet. Zap! We've all been there.

Lightning is also static electricity. The turbulence of the air in the clouds causes electrons to get knocked loose and leaves areas of excess electrons and areas of too few electrons, and when the difference becomes big enough, a lightning bolt will allow the excess electrons to flow. Nature likes equilibrium.

Now, to the original question. The static electricity that gives you a shock at the doorknob travels almost entirely on the surface of the skin, and is not a significant (if even measurable) concern to a developing fetus. [I am a scientist, not a doctor].

Lightning, on the other hand, carries so much current, that while most of it flows on the skin, a significant portion finds its way though the body. This would put not only the baby at risk, but also Mom.

Electricity, the lower-voltage kind that is generated by a power plant or batteries is far more dangerous than static electricity for a number of reasons. Primarily, there is a lot more of it. Once a static charge is discharged, it's gone. Nature has found its equilibrium. Generated electricity, however, just keeps coming.

You can put your fingers on a car battery's terminals and you won't feel a thing. Break the skin and the current finds an easy path to follow through the circulatory system. It's wet and slightly salty - electricity likes that.

Again, back to the original answer - because Mom and the baby do not share the same circulatory system, the baby is somewhat insulated from electricity flowing through Mom. Remember, I am a scientist, not a doctor.

Generally speaking, nature protects the fetus pretty well, so I would not worry about common static discharges that we encounter on any dry day.

Answer 2

No more dangerous for them than it is for anybody else. It's rare to be able to build up a sufficient static charge anywhere normally, but something moving quickly through the air, when it cannot discharge the static electricity normally, can kill.

Here's one example; a helicopter. The whirling rotor blades of a helicopter can build up an enormous static charge. So if you're ever lost at sea and a helicopter comes to rescue you, DO NOT REACH FOR THE RESCUE SLING! The sling and cable are probably charged to several thousand volts, and if you're in the water, you are a direct ground. Touch the wire while it is still in the air, and it WILL kill you. Let the sling fall into the water and ground itself; THEN reach for it.