When you’re pregnant, you’re told you must put aside the smoking, alcohol, junk food, and other unhealthy habits you might have.
And while that’s true and every pregnant person should do it, you’re not told that you also need to breathe in clean air as much as possible.
If what you consume can impact your soon-to-be-born baby, so can the quality of the air you’re breathing.
I remember when my wife was pregnant with our son just last year.
I had done some research and came across the importance of owning an air purifier for pregnancy.
So, you best believe I went out there and spent countless hours researching the market for the best air purifier for pregnancy.
And now that I have all this knowledge, I want to share it with you in this article.
In this article, I’ll show you my wife and I owned the best air purifier for pregnancy.
I’ll also show you two other fantastic picks you can also go for.
But before I do that, let me talk to you about why you need to use an air purifier during pregnancy in the first place.
Why Use an Air Purifier During Pregnancy?
There are a ton of benefits of using an air purifier throughout pregnancy.
Below, I’ll go over a few of the most noticeable benefits to my wife just 12 months ago and me.
Breathing Less Polluted Air
The most significant benefit of owning an air purifier during pregnancy is enjoying clean and purified air at home.
This is because air purifiers are designed to capture and trap/process 99.97% of gaseous and solid particles as small as 0.3 microns.
This means breathing in the air free of pet dander, dust, pollen, harmful or unpleasant odors, and other particles typically in the indoor air.
Breathing in the cleanest air possible during pregnancy is non-negotiable.
Like drinking alcohol or smoking, breathing in polluted air can impact you and your soon-to-be-born baby.
Exposure to air pollution has been linked to babies’ premature births and low birth weights.
No studies have been done on whether an air purifier improves a baby’s birth weight.
However, since pollution can contribute to these things, limiting your exposure to polluted air during pregnancy at all costs is a good idea.
Better Quality of Sleep
Sleep is essential for our well-being – whether you’re pregnant or not.
It can affect our mood, energy levels, focus, productivity, and countless other aspects of our everyday life.
When pregnant, it’s normal to feel more tired, exhausted, frustrated, and have more mood swings than usual, so good sleep quality is essential.
As you breathe clean and purified air, your sleep quality will dramatically increase, reflecting how you feel every morning.
Reduced Allergies
Since air purifiers are designed to capture 99.97% of solid particles, they can also catch the pollen and other irritants that cause allergies.
Owning an air purifier will definitely impact your well-being if you’re susceptible to allergies and allergic reactions.
I suffer from many allergies during the allergy season, and my air purifier is of enormous help.
No More Foul and Harmful Odors
Having an air purifier with an activated carbon filter can effectively remove any odors that may be present in your room.
While there’s no benefit to removing cooking odors from your home to your well-being during pregnancy, there’s more to this filter than you might think.
Carbon-activated filters are also great at removing harmful gasses such as smoke, VOCs, and others.
Prolonged exposure to such gasses can impact you and your fetus.
This makes owning an air purifier with a carbon-activated filter a non-negotiable.
And thankfully, the air purifiers for pregnancy I’ve linked below all have such a filter, so don’t worry.
The Best Air Purifiers for Pregnancy
While researching and shopping around for an air purifier during my wife’s pregnancy, I came across many different models.
However, there is a handful that I would always recommend to pregnant people because they’re great units that get the job done exceptionally well.
Here are the three air purifiers for pregnancy I’d personally recommend:
Coway Airmega AP-1512HH – The Best Overall Air Purifier For Pregnancy
The Coway Airmega AP-1512HH is the air purifier my wife and I went for.
And no, that’s not the reason I’m ranking it as the best overall pick.
Instead, I’m doing that because it is the best air purifier for pregnant women.
This model features a 4-stage filtration system.
It starts with a pre-filter, a carbon filter, a HEPA filter, and an ionizer.
Besides its excellent and comprehensive filtration system, this air purifier is also very quiet.
Depending on your setting, it can be as quiet as 24.4 dB and as loud as 53.8 dB, which is still pretty quiet.
That way, you can leave the air purifier on 24/7, even when you’re asleep, and it won’t bother you at all.
On top of that, it has a neat little LED display showing the room’s current air quality.
The air purifier also uses the indicator to let you know when it’s time to change the filters, making it very easy to clean and maintain.
Interestingly, the air purifier uses the LED display and the air quality sensor to auto-adjust its settings.
That way, if the quality of air drops, the air purifier will increase its performance, and if the rate of air increases, it will slow down.
This way, it doesn’t use more energy than needed.
My wife and I used this model today because it’s so great.
We feel a genuine impact on our sleep quality as we wake up refreshed and ready to start our day.
Pros:
- Simple and modern design
- Very quiet
- Automatic features
- A great 4-stage filtration system
- It can be used for small and large rooms
Cons:
- Not as many innovative features as I’d like.
RELATED POST: Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier: An In-Depth Review
LEVOIT Core 300s – The Best Budget Air Purifier for Pregnancy
You don’t have to spend much money on a good air purifier; this option proves that.
The LEVOIT Core 300s is one of the best air purifiers in its price range.
But don’t be deceived by its price; this is a very capable air purifier that could be what you need if you’re on a budget.
In terms of air purification capacity, this air purifier can handle rooms up to 219 square feet, which is more than enough.
Despite its size, this unit still comes with a high-grade 3-stage air purification system.
The air purifier features an accurate H13 HEPA filter, which is adept at catching dust, pollen, and PM2.5 particles that are known to be harmful to pregnant women.
On top of that, this air purifier also has smart features.
You can connect this air purifier to your phone or your smart speaker, like Alexa or Google Assistant, to control the settings or turn the device on and off.
It even has an automatic mode, so you can simply “set it and forget it,” meaning you turn it on and leave it that way.
Another cool feature of this air purifier is the changeable filter.
Since it’s small, it doesn’t have the same sophisticated filtration systems as other models.
However, you can buy filters such as carbon filters, HEPA filters for allergies, and others so you can tweak the air purifier as needed.
This is a very flexible and easy-to-use option, so I chose to feature it on this list.
Pros:
- Very affordable
- Has smart features
- Has an automatic mode
- Changeable filters
- Comes with an H13 HEPA filter
Cons:
- Not ideal for larger spaces
Winix AM90 – The Best Premium Air Purifier for Pregnancy
Now let’s look at the other side of the spectrum.
If you have extra cash and want to use it on a premium air purifier, buy the Winix AM90.
To start, it has an air purification capacity of up to 319 square feet, much larger than other air purifiers on this list.
This means you can use this device in the bedroom when resting, in the living room when hanging out, and anywhere else in the house.
That way, you can rest assured that you’re breathing in clean and pollution-free air wherever you are inside your home.
And like all air purifiers you can buy in this price range, this model has a multi-stage filtration system.
This means that this unit is equipped with a true HEPA filter, a carbon-activated filter, and a pre-filter.
As a result, it can deal with 99.97% of all solid particles as small as 0.3 microns in size.
It can also take care of nasty and harmful odors and gasses such as smoke, VOCs, etc.
Even though this is a reasonably large tower air purifier, it also features a modern design that would easily blend in with just about any home.
Another cool feature of this air purifier is that it’s Wi-Fi enabled.
This means you can connect it to other smart devices in your home, so you won’t have to walk up to the air purifier to check the air quality, adjust the settings, or turn it on and off.
My only complaint with this air purifier is that it’s on the more expensive side.
But rest assured that if you opt for this air purifier, you get a high-quality model.
Pros:
- Very easy to use
- Ideal for large and small spaces
- Wi-Fi-enabled
- A great 3-stage filtration system
- Modern design
Cons:
- Fairly expensive
Features to Look for in an Air Purifier for Pregnancy
There are thousands of air purifiers on the market today, making picking the suitable one challenging.
If none of the air purifiers from above fit your needs, here are the features you need to keep in mind when shopping for an air purifier for pregnancy.
A Multi-Stage Filtration System
Firstly, you need to make sure the air purifier has a multi-stage filtration system.
The best filtration systems for air purifiers have at least three layers.
One layer is the pre-filter, the other is a carbon filter, and the last one is a HEPA filter.
This combination of filters is excellent for capturing dust, pet dander, and other solid particles and processing harmful gasses and odors.
That said, ensure that the air purifier also has a “true” HEPA filter.
You must have a true HEPA filter if you need an air purifier to reduce indoor pollution.
There are quite a few air purifiers available with “HEPA-like” filters which don’t pass the standards and aren’t as effective.
So, it’s best to avoid these types of filters.
Silent Operation
Another critical feature to look for when buying an air purifier for pregnancy is silent operation.
Pregnancy can already be overwhelming and stressful, and the last thing you want is a loud humming noise in the background.
All the air purifiers I’ve listed above are considered quiet, so you can’t go wrong with them.
However, if you’re doing some additional research, read through my air purifier noise levels guide to understand decibel ratings on air purifiers.
Automatic Mode
One of the best air purifiers you can get during pregnancy is an automatic one.
An automatic air purifier is one that you can turn on once and simply leave that way.
This is because the air purifier has a sensor to detect air quality.
So, if the air quality in your home is poor, the air purifier will adjust accordingly and vice versa.
That way, you won’t have to constantly stand up to adjust the settings per your needs.
It’s a convenient feature to have on your air purifier.
Smart Features
Even with an automatic air purifier, you still have to manually adjust the settings from time to time.
And to avoid standing up and going to the device to make adjustments, you can get a smart air purifier that connects to your phone via Wi-Fi.
That way, you can use an app to tweak the different settings while lying down and getting much-needed rest.
That being said, these air purifiers can only be controlled through your Wi-Fi.
If you go outside, for example, you can’t adjust your unit’s settings when you’re not connected to your Wi-Fi.
Nevertheless, it’s a convenient feature, especially during the later stages of your pregnancy.
Conclusion
With the worsening air quality, it’s more important than ever to breathe as much clean air as possible.
Doing that is especially important for pregnant women as it can affect them and their fetuses, like smoking or consuming alcohol.
In this article, I provided you with several of my favorite air purifiers on the market today.
So hopefully, you can find the one that best suits your needs.
And remember, air purifiers are a one-time investment that will last you for many years after your pregnancy is over.