Pregnancy and snorkelling

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Scubachick67

Registered
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Ireland
Hi Folks,
As I recently found out I am pregnant :D I have decided to give the diving a miss this season. (There is lots of information out there to say that diving during during pregnancy is not recommended.) However, I can't find anything about snorkelling. Is it safe to snorkel/ duckdive/ wear a weightbelt while pregnant? (As I am in temperate waters I need to wear a thick exposure suit, hence the weight belt!) The medical people I have asked are not divers, and don't seem to know. However, they do encourage swimming, but discourage going out on powerboats :shakehead Will I have to stay landlocked all summer?

Scubachick67
 
Why no powerboats? Do they suggest rowing instead? :11:
How about cars ~ are those OK or do you need to walk everywhere....
OK, OK.... I'm being sarcastic :D But sheesh..... no powerboats??
I don' gettit... :dontgetit

As for snorkeling - can't see where the harm is in that. I think scuba diving is not recommended because no-one really knows the effects of nitrogen, offgassing and higher PPO2's on the developing kiddo. You don't have those problems with snorkelingor freediving. As long as wearing the weightbelt isn't uncomfortable for you personally, I can't see how that would be any more of a danger to the kid as, say, wearing a backpack...
 
What's your doc say??? How is your term going???
Diving will always be there.....take no risks....be safe to the max.
 
Thanks!

Snowbear - I think the theory behind the powerboat is that it can be a bit bouncy. Early in the 1st trimester baby could still be trying to attach and the bouncing may hinder this. There is also a risk of falling over and hurting yourself/ baby. However, after 10 years of diving (mostly from RIBS) I have yet to fall! Also, as I'm nearly at the end of my first trimester I presume baby is well attached now and the placenta has imbedded. So, I think at the very least the club will have a woman driver for the summer!

My main worry with the snorkeling is that the uterus is an airspace and will contract on the duckdives. As I can only duck dive about 5 meters, I feel that this will not reduce the uterus size significantly enought to damage the feotus - but I'm not too sure about this once baby gets bigger and there is less room inside to compress. Perhaps I am answering this myself!

The problem with the weight belt is that pregnant women are not supposed to lift anything too heavy. I think this is more important at the start and the end of the pregnancy - but I'm not sure.

Now, where can I get me a maternity drysuit!! :wink:
 
Scubachick67:
Thanks!

Snowbear - I think the theory behind the powerboat is that it can be a bit bouncy. Early in the 1st trimester baby could still be trying to attach and the bouncing may hinder this. There is also a risk of falling over and hurting yourself/ baby. However, after 10 years of diving (mostly from RIBS) I have yet to fall! Also, as I'm nearly at the end of my first trimester I presume baby is well attached now and the placenta has imbedded. So, I think at the very least the club will have a woman driver for the summer!

My main worry with the snorkeling is that the uterus is an airspace and will contract on the duckdives. As I can only duck dive about 5 meters, I feel that this will not reduce the uterus size significantly enought to damage the feotus - but I'm not too sure about this once baby gets bigger and there is less room inside to compress. Perhaps I am answering this myself!

The problem with the weight belt is that pregnant women are not supposed to lift anything too heavy. I think this is more important at the start and the end of the pregnancy - but I'm not sure.

Now, where can I get me a maternity drysuit!! :wink:

I think a doctor is the best one to answer this but I don't think the uterus is an airspace. It is filled with amniotic fluid.

Congrats on the new baby :D
I have a 3 month old and man is she cute :baby:
 
Though it's a potential space, there should be very little, if any, air in the uterus. Should be fluid and baby (which also won't have any air space yet) which is incompressible.

I still don't buy it on the boat thing.... over here, pregnant women ride horses until it gets too uncomfortable - that can be bouncier than any boat I've been on! I suppose the theory about implanting early on, but that should be well established about 30 days, I think...

Obviously all this is just discussion ~ it's up to you and your doc what's allowed and what's not :wink:

Again - congrats and I wish you well in your years of momhood :D
 
Scubachick67:
Thanks!

Snowbear - I think the theory behind the powerboat is that it can be a bit bouncy. Early in the 1st trimester baby could still be trying to attach and the bouncing may hinder this. There is also a risk of falling over and hurting yourself/ baby. However, after 10 years of diving (mostly from RIBS) I have yet to fall! Also, as I'm nearly at the end of my first trimester I presume baby is well attached now and the placenta has imbedded. So, I think at the very least the club will have a woman driver for the summer!

My main worry with the snorkeling is that the uterus is an airspace and will contract on the duckdives. As I can only duck dive about 5 meters, I feel that this will not reduce the uterus size significantly enought to damage the feotus - but I'm not too sure about this once baby gets bigger and there is less room inside to compress. Perhaps I am answering this myself!

The problem with the weight belt is that pregnant women are not supposed to lift anything too heavy. I think this is more important at the start and the end of the pregnancy - but I'm not sure.

Now, where can I get me a maternity drysuit!! :wink:

I'll share with you that my wife did 1 dive in the first trimester of her last pregnancy (very early on in it) and snorkeled some there after and did lots of snorkeling in the first pregnancy... no issues. The body adapts to environments pretty easily. She also did mention that in the later stages of pregnancy she was more comfortable being in the water than sitting on a chair or standing around (think about it a minute... it makes sense).

She works for a Birth Center now with the mid-wife who owns it.. if you have questions or any concerns PM me and I'll get you in touch with her or you can post on www.mommies2mommies.com - she's there at least once a day. :)
 
Thanks again for the info guys. Prepare yourselves for a girlie plumbing lesson!

The uterus is an airspace. The baby is covered in a sac filled with amnio fluis inside the uterus. This sac grows with the baby and will eventually fill the uterus, but in the begining there is air in there. The placenta doesnt start to function until week 11 or 12, which means that the baby hasn't fully implanted until then. This is partly why the first three months are high risk.

CBulla - I have heard that swimming is certainly a great exercise to do when pregnant. My doctors will tell me this much. However, they are not up to speed with the physics/ physiology of diving or snorkelling. So, they cant answer my questions. While I know that most of you wont have obs/ gyne qualifications, I was hoping that perhaps you knew of some research/ information/ policy that is already out there regarding snorkelling while pregnant.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom