diving whilst pregnant?

[Tricia]

OK, I've been gone diving a few weeks and so I'm going to throw in my two cents here.

I have have known two women who (men, brace yourselves) because of irregular periods, etc., did NOT know they were pregnant and dove until about the 4th or 5th month.

The point is that no one knows what COULD happen diving while pregnant because (as someone pointed out) no one wants their fetus to be the guinea pig.

As most of us women know, some of us have irregular periods, etc. and if you wait to know if you are sure, you could wait until 2050....

So my point is - hey, if you think you are pregnant, don't dive. But if you're not sure and you dive and then find out you're pregnant, don't panic. I know personally of two kids, now 6 and 8 years old - and they are perfectly normal, but one never knows, so don't take the chance if you are sure you are pregnant.

Hope this relieves some fears and helps.

Tricia

 

[lostinspace]

I have have known two women who (men, brace yourselves) because of irregular periods, etc., did NOT know they were pregnant and dove until about the 4th or 5th month.
The point is that no one knows what COULD happen diving while pregnant because (as someone pointed out) no one wants their fetus to be the guinea pig.
As most of us women know, some of us have irregular periods, etc. and if you wait to know if you are sure, you could wait until 2050....
So my point is - hey, if you think you are pregnant, don't dive. But if you're not sure and you dive and then find out you're pregnant, don't panic. I know personally of two kids, now 6 and 8 years old - and they are perfectly normal, but one never knows, so don't take the chance if you are sure you are pregnant.
Hope this relieves some fears and helps.
Tricia

Tricia - thanks!

 

[Scubaguy62]

On 12/1/02 my wife and I did our last dive of that year. One week later we found out she was 3 weeks pregnant. 8 months and 4 days later, she gave birth to a beautiful, and normal baby girl, but, if we had to do it over again (gosh I hope not ), she wouldn't dive pregnant, even if by accident.

 

[gfisher4792]

Coincidentally enough, Dive Alert (DAN's mag) has an article on diving and pregnancy. I checked Dan's site, and couldn't find the actual article, but here's some related info: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=103

The article I read had the same kind of advice as above, stopping scuba after start of pregnancy, etc., and noted that there are no real studies available on the issue. And along with what Tricia wrote above, there are numerous instances where pregnant have dove, with no reported effects on the fetus.

Good luck to you!

 

[lostinspace]

update - this has become a moot point for me. I have found I cannot get pregnant 'naturally' so I will not be diving whilst trying 'artificially'.
Thanks for all the posts, comments and viewpoints.