Embolism? I thought in the womb we were completely immersed and 'drowned' in fluid.
Hi supergaijin,
It is true that the fetus resides within a fluid-filled membrane called the amniotic sac. The baby nevertheless needs to obtain a supply of O2 & to rid itself of waste gases. Through the umbilical cord, arteries carry waste products away from the fetus to the placenta, while a vein carries O2 & nutrients from the mother's bloodstream to the baby.
There is good evidence that in adults gas bubbles can form within certain tissues and enter the circulation upon a decrease in ambient pressure. It is at least theoretically possible that under the right circumstances bubbles also could form within fetal tissues. In adults, bubbles tend to be filtered out by blood circulation through the lungs. However, in fetuses the lungs are not yet functional and are bypassed until the time of birth. Thus, any circulating venous bubbles would be directly arterialized. For this reason, even a small number of gas bubbles/arterial gas emboli could be quite dangerous.
Regards,
DocVikingo
---------- Post added August 15th, 2013 at 05:01 AM ----------
I understand, I guess somethings I need to just see in writing/ get a little separation from to realize that it is a bad idea. It will be are first god willing and as I said above, I am a little lost and my world is going every which way. Thanks!
Hi bennenrkc,
For obvious reasons, there is very little known about this topic & the amount of data from human studies is very small--it can be argued either way.
That being said, I believe that the following work puts forth a prudent position:
"J Obstet Gynaecol. 2006 Aug;26(6):509-13.
Scuba diving and pregnancy: can we determine safe limits?
St Leger Dowse M, Gunby A, Moncad R, Fife C, Bryson P.
Diving Diseases Research Centre, Hyperbaric Medical Centre, Plymouth, UK.
marguerite@mstld.co.uk
No human data, investigating the effects on the fetus of diving, have been published since 1989. We investigated any potential link between diving while pregnant and fetal abnormalities by evaluating field data from retrospective study No.1 (1990/2) and prospective study No.2 (1996/2000). Some 129 women reported 157 pregnancies over 1,465 dives. Latest gestational age reported while diving was 35 weeks. One respondent reported 92 dives during a single pregnancy, with two dives to 65 m in the 1st trimester. In study No.2 >90% of women ceased diving in the 1st trimester, compared with 65% in the earlier study. Overall, the women did not conduct enough dives per pregnancy, therefore no significant correlation between diving and fetal abnormalities could be established. These data indicate women are increasingly observing the diving industry recommendation and refraining from diving while pregnant. Field studies are not likely to be useful, or the way forward, for future diving and pregnancy research. Differences in placental circulation between humans and other animals limit the applicability of animal research for pregnancy and diving studies.
It is unlikely that the effect of scuba diving on the unborn human fetus will be established."
So why risk it?
Regards,
DocVikingo
