Diving in early pregnancy ?

[davezwife]

There's a chance I could find out I'm pregnant between now and our scuba trip in a couple weeks. (we want more kids, so we've been....lol) At the point of our trip, I'll be "5-6 weeks" pregnant. (which, for the layperson, is actually only about 3-4 weeks of actually having a embryo growing, it's just how they count it)

Of course, everything I read says don't dive when pregnant. Duh. Yet I read time and time again how women DO dive, and then find out a few later they were knocked up at the time. It's sooooo early on, the baby does not even attach until about that time...

I guess I'm putting this up for discussion, more than trying to get someone make my decision. As much as it would crush me to miss the dives, I would be much more hurt to miscarry and spend forever wondering if it was something *I* did.

What would you do if you knowingly were early in a pregnancy? (and guys, what would you want your partner to do?) Dive or snorkel ?

 

[El Orans]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-related/186531-effects-diving-pregnancy.html

(and guys, what would you want your partner to do?) Dive or snorkel ?

Snorkelling would be my recommendation.

 

[Walter]

Don't even consider it. The enjoyment you'll get from diving is not even close to being worth the possibility of injury to your baby.

 

[tstormdiver]

Don't even consider it. The enjoyment you'll get from diving is not even close to being worth the possibility of injury to your baby.

I agree 110%. The risk is not worth it. Just think of it as an extra long SI.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

Of course, everything I read says don't dive when pregnant. Duh. Yet I read time and time again how women DO dive, and then find out a few later they were knocked up at the time. It's sooooo early on, the baby does not even attach until about that time...

Same thing can be said about smoking, drinking, etc, yet I still don't think you'll find people telling you it's okay to drink because "some girl who didn't know she was pregnant did it and her kid turned out fine".

You could dive, and things would probably be okay. I don't know that there's any definite proof it is harmful (nor is there ever likely to be), but there is enough out there that I wouldn't want to play that game of Russian Roulette. You'll have to miss your diving trip, that sucks, but it seems insignificant in comparison with not only risking your life, but risking both death and the possibility of disabilities once born to your next child.

If diving ever became that important to me, I'd seriously start to question where my priorities lie.

 

[TSandM]

It's not miscarriage that would worry me . . . It's birth defects.

As you can imagine, a study comparing the incidence of birth defects in women who do and do not dive would never get past an instutional review board. Therefore, there is not a lot of data on the topic, but there are small series and reports that suggest that there may be significant risks. With most things, the most delicate time is the first trimester, so your thought that you're only a "little bit pregnant" is actually faulty.

I would either advise birth control until after the trip, or, if you discover you ARE pregnant, just snorkel.

If you are interested in what the actual papers available have to say, use the link in my sig line to go to the Rubicon Research Archives, and search on diving and pregnancy.

 

[Gary D.]

Just sit back and enjoy the vacation watching the Cabana Boys. Besides the kid will be diving for you and the next nine months.

Gary D.

 

[ditch-diver]

My wife did several dives with me and then we found out she was expecting.* I had a contact that is a hyperbaric Doctor about what we may have done.* His advice for diving while pregnant was the best I ever heard....** "There is not evidence it is doing any harm...., but FOR SURE it is not doing any good.., so go into drydock until the baby is here"

Sit back and enjoy being a bubble-watcher....,** diving will still be there nine months from now

 

[ArcticDiver]

I see by your profile you are a Nurse. From that I take it that you have all the medical information available to you and that you probably are aquainted with professionals who can give you all the facts as they are currently known.

And therein is the key: What do you Know vs. what do you Suspect Might Happen? From your post you don't Know, you only think you might discover you are pregnant.

So, if you were my relative I'd ask you to live generally like you might become pregnant at any time. In short make yourself as mentally and physically healthy as possible to promote a good environment to conceive and produce a healthy child.

Then, to make any other decisions based on what you know, not on what you might suspect. To do anything else makes it impossible for any woman of child bearing years who is not engaging in 100% reliable contraception to dive.

Those principles applied to this situation would say to proceed with your dive trip. But, if you turn positive on the trip stop diving right then and there.

(Oh, and to take a good supply of testing supplies so you can test often.)

 

[luckydays]

Davezwife,

I have very little experience on which to offer an opinion about diving while pregnant (new diver, no kids) but given what I do know, I would say that if you think you are pregnant and the general consensus is not to dive for the risk that could be caused, you should not do it. If you are trying to get pregnant, why risk any chance to not have a baby or lose the one that you created/given? That is my .02 worth.

However, instead of posting the question here, as you already know what the populus opinoin is, you may want to have this discussion with your husband and/or your doctor. It is would remiss of anyone to say "just dive, no harm can happen to an embryo at that stage" and I doubt anyone would seriously offer such advice.

Take a pregnanacy test before your trip to confirm your situation so you can make an informed decision vs a hypothetical one.

If I were you, and I thought I were pregnant and I knowingly dove with that information, I would spend the next 9 months worrying if the baby were ok. If the baby was fine, I would breathe a sign of relief and swear not to do that again. If the baby were not ok, I would regret a rash decision to dive for the rest of my life.

You and your husband should be deciding together if you should dive. His opinion counts more than anyone here since it is half his effort to get you pregnant in the first place.

I say snorkel, lay around on the beach, look at the cute cabana boys, see silly men in speedo's, and relax instead of dive. Basically you can do what I normally did on vacation before I got certified.