Health Issues and Diving

[SKTIDH]

I wanted to know about freediving while pregnant so if anyone has any imput it would be great! Thanks a bunch

 

[Cacia]

Just curious...how deep?

or better...how long are you holding your breath?

 

[SKTIDH]

Not more than a minute... and only to like 35-40ft.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

I'm no obstetrician, but I suspect the obstetrical opinion would be "no". Unless there is clear evidence that an unusual activity is not harmful, the default position is to assume harm, particularly in the first trimester.

Going 9 months without free diving is not such a hardship in our eyes --- an MD is likely not going to stick his/her neck out and give that the OK.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

To be more technical, the issues would be: 1) hypoxia 2) acidosis 3) hydrostatic pressure on abdominal vascular structures. At 45 feet we're talking over 2 atm, and although blood is non-compressible, I would still worry about subtle effects on uterine blood flow, particularly in a state of CO2 retention.

 

[SKTIDH]

Thanks for the info... I'll just stick to snorkeling. It's just so hard to stay out of the water after diving non-stop for the last year and working at a dive shop is just that more depressing. But I wanted to know for the well-being of my unborn child. So I will play it safe

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

As further info, I did a medline search on scuba and pregnancy --- the latest data (August 2006 Obstetrics and Gynecology) is that there is insufficient evidence to link scuba to fetal abnormalities because too few pregnant divers can be studied to know statistically if diving affects fetal development. Scuba is more physiologic than freediving, so the same holds for freediving too. In other words, it might be safe, but we don't know for sure. When in doubt, don't do it.