teaching pool class pregnant?

[oceancat]

I have recently determined I am 7 weeks pregnant. I work as a dive master at a dive shop and my boss wants me to teach a scuba refresher class in the pool soon. I have already decided I am not diving in the ocean due to risk to the fetus and the temperature extremes up here. I really don't know if I should teach the pool class or not--the pool is 10ft deep. The class will require 2-3 hrs. in the pool. Any insight from medical professionals would be helpful, as I am scheduled to help with several pool sessions for the PADI OW class soon too. Thank you very much!

 

[El Orans]

Congratulations!

I'd stay out of the pool though (just a non-medical opinion)

Laurens

 

[Tom Smedley]

We had the same question by a member of our staff last year. I told her that I could not allow her into a situation where the pressure on her body increased until she called DAN and got a clearance from their experts. They gave her a hearty hell no.

Nothing you can do is worth damage to your unborn baby and there is just no research that says that you should dive to any depth while pregnant.

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello Oceancat:

Congratulations your road to motherhood!

I would say that, as far as DECOMPRESSION is concerned in a swimming pool, my research on this would not indicate a problem.

However, there could well be other medical issues. For experience on this, you would do well to contact DAN and hear what they have to say.


Dr Deco :doctor:

 

[oceancat]

Thanks for the input. I am not really concerned with DCS in a pool, but more concerned about the effects of microbubbles on the fetus--my understanding is that microbubbles can form during any sort of diving due to differences in gas absorption underwater. I did call DAN and basically, there obviously no guarantees that everything would be fine, so their recommendation is to not to do any pool work for the time being. I guess since the NIH doesn't really fund scuba studies too much, there really is a dearth of good information out there on the effects of diving in shallow waters and pregnancies. Most of the studies are old and not well controlled or are in french.

 

[H2Andy]

oceancat, i think you hit it right there. from my reading, basically no one really
knows. and so, they play it safe.

do no harm, right?

congratz on your baby! all the best.

 

[Walter]

It would also be a horrible example to your students.

 

[oceancat]

Walter,

At this point, I am not showing, so the students wouldn't know--obviously, further along, I am not going to fit into my wetsuit or BC and I think having a really pregnant dive master would freak people out, and as you say, would be a bad example. No, I have decided nothing but snorkeling and laps for 7 more months

 

[freediver]

Congrats on the future diver! Glad to hear your decision not to partake. Think of it another way also, if something were to go seriously wrong with a diver in water, would you be able to respond without undue stress to the fetus? Again congrats!

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello Oceancat:

There have actually been several research programs investigating fetal and maternal bubbles during decompression. All of these have been performed on animals with extrapolations to humans.

This topic has been covered on “Ask Dr Deco” and I would invite you to check over the past columns. The primary study was by me and the reference is below. What was shown, in summary, was that bubbles in the fetal sheep appeared at about one half the No-Decompression time limit. This would suggest that bubbles would not be present in a fetus at swimming pool depths unless one was possibly at the bottom for several days.

There are, however, reasons NOT to dive at all when pregnant that are unrelated to decompression sickness. :06:

Dr Deco :doctor:

References :book3:

Powell MR, Smith MT. Fetal and maternal bubbles detected noninvasively in sheep and goats following hyperbaric decompression. Undersea Biomed Res. 1985 ;12(1):59-67.

Pregnant sheep and goats were compressed with air to an equivalent depth of 49 msw (160 fsw) for bottom times ranging from 5 to 15 min. Maternal (precordial) and fetal (umbilical artery) circulation were monitored transcutaneously with a Doppler ultrasound flowmeter to determine the presence of decompression gas bubbles. It was found that the number of bubbles detected precordially in the maternal circulation exceeded the number detected in the fetal umbilical artery for any given bottom line. Additionally, bubbles were found in the fetal circulation even when the mother did not display signs of decompression sickness. Thus, avoidance of symptoms of pain-only decompression sickness in the mother is not sufficient to preclude gas phase formation in the fetus.

Others…….

Nemiroff MJ, Willson JR, Kirschbaum TH. Multiple hyperbaric exposures during pregnancy in sheep. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1981 Jul 15;140(6):651-5.

Stock MK, Lanphier EH, Anderson DF, et al. Responses of fetal sheep to simulated no-decompression dives. J Appl Physiol. 1980 May;48(5):776-80.

Fife WP, Simmang C, Kitzman JV. Susceptibility of fetal sheep to acute decompression sickness. Undersea Biomed Res. 1978 Sep;5(3):287-92.