Most women would not mind having a personal maid to keep their homes tidy and clean. When you're pregnant you may have an overwhelming need to clean the garage, closets and everything between the ceilings and baseboards. It's all part of the nesting urge scientists and geneticists can't explain.

As a doula, Bradley Method childbirth instructor and mother of two Sandra Parisi of Jensen Beach, Fla., tells her clients to fight the urge to make everything immaculate. "Nesting is about preparing everything for the baby," she says. "Women go through a spurt of wanting to have everything very clean. That usually happens right before they go into labor. That's where they can fall into the tendency to use chlorine or chemicals that are really harsh."

When cleaning, use non-toxic cleaning agents and avoid chemicals, she says. "You do want a clean environment, but the baby is going to be used to the same germs you have gotten used to in your environment," Parisi says. "There are a lot of products on the market now you can use that are not harmful or toxic. That's very important. I tell my moms if you can't ingest it, it's probably not a good idea to be in direct contact with it. The vapors and fumes, all of that is absorbed."

Parisi says general housekeeping should suffice. "They can tidy up and vacuum and dust but I tell them to avoid at all costs going into this disinfecting craze that is ingrained in us," she says. "We want to have it immaculately clean, but either get someone to do the cleaning for you or do your general cleaning with products that are non-toxic."

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