Pregnancy and snorkelling

[Uncle Pug]

Congratulations on the baby!

 

[divetahoe]

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.

Congrats! :dazzler1:

When my wife was preggers, we did some research. DAN specifically states that they do not recommend diving while pregnant, simply because there is a dearth of research to support any position.
The issue with diving is pressure related; both gas (N2, PPO2, etc.) and physical pressure on the body. Since you won't be a depth (unless you are a fantastic snorkler!) for any extended period, there shouldn't be a problem especially since the little diver is protected in the amniotic fluid. Even if the airspace in the uterus is compressed when you drop to see something, the placenta protects the fetus from any compression.
Regarding the wetsuit and weightbelt, the wetsuit is somewhat constrictive, but since the amniotic fluid is incompressible, there won't be any problems and the weights are putting the pressure on your hips, not your tummy!
You will find as you progress, your ability to hold a breath for very long will be significantly decreased, further automatically protecting you and keeping you at 1 atm even more.

FWIW...

 

[babar]

I think the boat issue might be more related to deasle fumes, and morning sickness/seasickness.

babar

 

[mrfish87]

My wife "accidentally" dove early on in her pregnancies for our last 2 children...we have 4. She also swam and snorkeled until the belly was just to awkward to manuever with. No ill effects on the kids except for the mask and fins they were born with....just kidding. The boat issue was always there due to the pounding you may encounter in moderate to heave seas. Pick your day and there should be no problem with the bouncing. Also as your waist and other frontal female anatony increase in size you may get a bit fromt heavy.....so balance on anything other than terra firma gets to be tricky. Other than that have a fun (if that's possible) pregnancy and put up some pics of the new arrival and future diver. If you get a chance to see a 3D ultrasound do it...they are absolutely incredible.

 

[mrobinson]

No ill effects on the kids except for the mask and fins they were born with....just kidding.

I'd be more concerned for your wife!
(Just kidding too!)

 

[BabyDuck]

scubachick, i'm a midwife & see no probs with you snorkeling. wear the weights where they are comfy for you - likely pretty low. same for boat rides - if you're comfy, fine, if not, don't go. i hope you have a wonderful pregnancy!