Shallow aquarium dive in early pregnancy

[Tom Smedley]

They can't do invitro testing of the effects of diving while pregnant.

Thus it is totally contraindicated in the interest of protecting the unborn fetus. Best course would be to call the aquarium and tell them the circumstances. They will most likely gladly extend the date on your ticket.

Since you don't know what might happen to your baby why take the chance?

 

[TSandM]

Everything is a risk assessment. The studies (all, of course, retrospective) which have looked at risk to the fetus from diving are conflicting. Because there is no clear answer, the advice is strongly on the conservative side, which is not to dive during pregnancy. But this is not advice based on extremely strong and compelling data, but rather on the idea that zero risk is all that is acceptable.

My gut feeling is that Thal is right, and that the likelihood is that any fetal damage would be due to bubbles, which are extremely unlikely with a brief, shallow dive like you describe. On the other hand, for most teratogens, the period when the fetus is at greatest risk is early in the pregnancy, when any damaged cell will have the most opportunities to divide further and propagate the damage.

No one can give you good, rational advice on this topic, because the data aren't there and aren't ever likely to be.

 

[ScubaRich]

"would hate to throw the $$$ down the drain."

Don't let the thought of losing a few $$$ influence your decision to do the right thing by your child! Hopefully you wouldn't think of risking your childs well being every time the thought of losing a few dollars of having to postpone an hour or two of fun pops up.

It's your body and your child. You and your baby have to live with the consequences of your decisions.

Regardless of the info or lack there of if it's safe or not, Why risk it?

Sorry if this sounds harsh, It's not meant to be directed at you.
If you came here to post this question, It means you know what the right thing to do is, You just may be looking for justification not to do it?

Just my .02, But i'm just another guy on the web with an opinion.
Now go have a healthy happy baby and you will have another dive buddy for the future.

 

[200 Bar]

Hi all, I'm new here and looking for some info.

My Hubby bought me earlier this year a gift voucher for a shark dive at oceanworld. It expires at the end of this year, so I only have just over 4wks to use it (and it wasnt cheap). Problem is, I'm pregnant, approx 9wks.

I've been doing alot of googling and have read heaps of info recommending pregnant women dont dive, which I can understand. However most of the associated risks seem to be applicable to problems with decompression or compression issues while diving - is this likely to be an issue at a maximum of 4m depth inside a tank?

I'm an advanced open water diver and am quite comfortable with such a small depth in this early pregnancy, however am just trying to get an idea of whether im best off to throw it in. I'll be sorely disappointed if I have to, I've been looking forward to it for ages and would hate to throw the $$$ down the drain.

Thanks

Instead of asking medical advice on an open forum, shouldn't you be asking your doctor..?? To me its a no brainer, no diving, why on earth would you take the risk regardless how much the "shark dive" cost..!!

 

[Seadog_Malta]

This being a 4m shark dive. Would the creatures decide to bump/hit/frighten you I dont think your pregnancy will benefit.

 

[spectrum]

IMO it's just not worth the risk. If that child turns out to be challenged in any way, however slight you will always be left to wonder.

Ask for an an extension , re gift the voucher or let it expire but the risk simply is not worth it.

I think it's clear that there is not enough objective evidence to support making this dive.

Pete

 

[BabyDuck]

the theoretical risk is, as bleeb said, microbubbles. they could potentially cause strokes or even missing body parts if they happen to form in just the wrong spot. is it likely? probably not, but as tsandm says, nobody's *ever* going to do the research for ethical reasons, so we won't *ever* know for sure.

that said, i went diving in early pregnancy because i didn't know yet. i got hellp syndrome at 24 weeks and had to have a c-section at 25 3/7 weeks. my baby spent 7 1/2 months in nicu. was it in any way related to that dive weekend? i have no idea. since hellp syndrome is believed to start with micro problems in the placenta, it's not too farfetched to consider, but women who have never seen bodies of water larger than a stream also get hellp.

if it was related, that dive weekend WAS NOT WORTH IT!

it boils down to what risk (likely very very small, but there are no guarantees) you're willing to assume. think about it & do what feels right. best of luck, have a great pregnancy!

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello Jaybe:

I believe that the best solution is to call the aquarium and request a postponement of the dive, as was suggest by another poster.

DCS

There is not a good answer to you question other than to say do not dive. The only definitive laboratory of this question was by me and that was with sheep, not humans. [MR Powell and MT Smith. Fetal gas phase formation following decompression from hyperbaric environments. Undersea Biomed. Res., 12 (1), 59-68 (1985)] Additionally, the first trimmest [in sheep] could not be checked since the fetus is too small. In the later two trimesters, gas bubbles could be found in more severe dives.

Shallow dives and lower gas loads are variable with respect to gas bubble formation. As with weather prediction, the variables are too many in decompression. It is best to postpone the dive.

My teacher in a hyperbaric medicine class once said, “If my kid was struggling with math homework, and I had gone diving, I would always wonder if it was my fault.” Peace of mind does have a price.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Dr Deco :doctor:

 

[idocsteve]

Also thought I should mention I shallow dived (only to about 3m) in my previous pregnancy at around 17wks while taking some photos close to shore with no ill effects on my daughter.

No ill effects that you know of.

Diving and pregnancy is contraindicated, you must have known that when you were pregnant the first time, and here you are considering doing it again?!

 

[Jaybe]

Thank you to most people for being informative and objective and not personally attacking me. There is such a swamp of info on google, it is hard to know you are looking in the right place for well educated information.

Instead of asking medical advice on an open forum, shouldn't you be asking your doctor..??

My doctor has never dived, knows nothing about it, and I didnt consider her opinion informed on this. I was also told to stop jogging while pregnant (as im a regular runner) - what a load of crap. Unfortunately you cannot believe everything doctors say, their intentions may be good but they are not necessarily the most informed people to ask.

No ill effects that you know of.

Diving and pregnancy is contraindicated, you must have known that when you were pregnant the first time, and here you are considering doing it again?!

She is perfectly fine, anything wrong would've certainly shown itself by now! I am more concerned about the effects of immunising her than I am over me taking a few photos when she was in utero.

I was snorkelling with my husband, and free dived down to take some photos in the rocks. I never even considered that there was any risk at all associated with it or that I shouldnt have done it. The only reason I did this time was because I was reading through this forum and read another thread re pregnancy & diving - that prompted my question.

Thank you again to everyone for the information you've provided, its given me alot to think about