6. Make sure your water is safe to drink
Your local utility must by law provide you with an annual "Right to Know" report listing the EPA-recognized pollutants that exist in your water at potentially unsafe levels. Trihalomethanes, for instance, can increase the risk of miscarriage. See Green Guide #101 for contaminants to avoid and best filters. If you suspect there's lead in your pipes, allow the tap to run for 30 seconds to clear them before using water. Find lead-testing services at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/labs/index.html.

7. Avoid the VOCs that offgas from paints, glues, air fresheners
Toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can evaporate from many conventional building, decorating and other household products, including air freshener sprays. Exposure to air fresheners during pregnancy and within the first six months of life was associated with diarrhea and earache in infants and headaches and depression in mothers, according to a study published in the October 2003 Archives of Environmental Health.

If exposed to fumes at work, speak up: Thirty-two children exposed in utero to organic solvents had lower scores on language and other developmental tests, according to a study published in the October 2004 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. In the workplace, their mothers had come into contact with such solvents as toluene, xylene, mineral spirits, isopropyl alcohol and trichloroethylene.

8. Steer clear of vehicular and smokestack emissions
Research conducted by Columbia University links "combustion-related" chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with shorter gestation periods for pregnant women, resulting in smaller babies. PAHs are in car or bus exhaust and emissions from residential heating and power generation. Before exercising outdoors, check the EPA's Air Quality Index at epa.gov/airnow. Keep windows closed during peak traffic hours.

9. Stay away from phthalates in vinyl, personal-care and cleaning products
Chemicals called phthalates, known hormone-system disruptors that have caused birth defects in lab animals, are widely used as plasticizers in nail polishes and vinyl and as solvents in synthetic fragrances. Avoid soft vinyl products and cosmetics containing "Fragrance."

10. Get rid of those crumbling foam cushions, already!
The latest chemicals found to be approaching possibly unsafe levels in American women's breast milk, as well as umbilical-cord blood, are fire retardants known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs. Furniture foam tends to release PBDEs into house dust when it breaks down.