Hello Jo:
One of the most frequent questions people ask is regarding scuba diving while pregnant. The quick answer is "Please don't dive" while you're pregnant. There will be no good studies because of the ethical factors in studying humans, but why take a chance. As Dr. Maida Taylor has stated, "The same woman who will not drink coffee or smoke during her pregnancy will want to know why she should not dive. In this litiginous society there is only one answer 'no diving while pregnant or even trying to conceive'. No major studies prove it unsafe but the hazards are there."
On the other hand, we don't have very good data showing that hyperbaric pressure harms the fetus, and in fact, there are case records of HBO treatment of pregnant mothers with carbon monoxide poisoning without adverse effect on the
fetus. However, the fetus does not have the protection of the lungs in filtering out the bubbles as does an adult.
The Russians use HBO to treat high risk pregnancies and report 54/700 cases of pulmonary pathology in fetuses - with poorly controlled studies.
Here are some anecdotal cases reported:
1. Bangasser Survey 1978-no increased defects
2. Bolton Survey 1980-higher rate of fetal defects in 40/109 women who did not stop diving, with two major cardiac anomalies, multiple hemivertebrae, absent hand, VSD, coarctation, pyloric stenosis, and birthmark. No fetal defects in the group of women divers who stopped.
3. Turner Case Report-1982. Multiple anomalies in the fetus of a woman after 20 dives in the 15 days after her LMP.
Presently, there are no HBO treatment chambers that allow female personnel who are pregnant to act as tenders. Since diving is an entirely elective activity for 99% of all women divers, the obvious choice would seem to be not to dive. If one has been inadvertently diving while early in her gestation, there is no good data which would justify a termination of the pregnancy.
For further reading about pregnancy, diving and exercise go to the following links:
http://www.scuba-doc.com/prgdiv.htm
http://diverlink.com/medicine/pregnancy.htm
http://www.bsac.com/membserv/medical/g_pregcy.htm
http://www.familyinternet.com/fisites/pregcom/02030440.htm
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/04apr/araujo.htm
scubadoc