What is Formaldehyde?

Today in lab, we continued with the muscular system and began cutting larger muscles in order to see the smaller ones beneath. The following link shows a man going through all the cat muscles, naming them and pointing them out. They are very helpful for studying!
Before we pulled our cats out of the fridge, Josh pulls out a bandana and ties it around his head, covering his nose and mouth. After laughing for a few minutes, I asked why he was wearing the bandana. He told me he had done some research and found out formaldehyde, the preservative in our cats, was not healthy for us to breathe in. Considering that we have a lady that looks about seven months pregnant, I decided to do a little research of my own.

First, I looked into the effects of formaldehyde on a healthy, non-pregnant person. Research has shown that formaldehyde is extremely harsh on the respiratory system and can promote asthma in children. Second, I looked at the affects of formaldehyde on pregnant women. Not only is formaldehyde bad for a pregnant woman, but also bad for any woman who plans on ever getting pregnant. Studies have been completed and “indicate that even a low level of formaldehyde may have an impact on fertility". Exposure to formaldehyde is associated with delayed conception and an increased risk of spontaneous abortion as well as stillbirth, pre-term birth, and congenital malformation. However, the study suggested that gloves did help in the prevention.
I think Josh will be the one laughing now as I will be buying some surgical masks.