what do the finns do?

[nordicwannabe]

DH and I will be visiting Finland, where one of the nice things you can do is visit a Finnish sauna and then jump into a cold lake. From what I understand, saunas are usually about 70-80C.

Now, if hot baths are to be avoided, presumably saunas are a no-no as well? Does anyone know how long that kind of heat would knock out DH's swimmers for? And would it also be an issue for me to be in a sauna once the swimmers are inside me, iyswim? We'll be there just while I'm ovulating.

I'm a bit confused, because from what I understand, people in Finland seem to have saunas quite regularly! And presumably, that doesn't cause them any problems? If anyone knows whether Finns avoid saunas while TTC, that would be really interesting!

I'd kinda rather not miss out if it's not necessary, but more importantly I really don't want to restrict DH. TTC is proving quite stressful. DH finds the 'medicalisation' of it all alarming (I've had to drip-feed information about things like my cycle, and what helps/hinders conception), and the pressure to BD at specific times has been difficult. But I don't want to write off another month: I'm mid/late 30s, and feel like we've got no time to mess around. And I just really want a child!

wwyd?

[malinois]

The air in a sauna is extremely dry - which is why you can tolerate 80-100C. It doesn't really raise your body temperature that much, and you are not in there for a very long time. It certainly won't have any effect on your core temp, but might have a bit of an effect on DHs, ahemm, peripheral temp.

I suspect a steam bath - only 40-50C but 100% humidity - would be much worse. I certainly can't tolerate them for nearly as long as a sauna.

[KatAndKit]

Enjoy your holiday and have your sauna. You aren't pregnant yet so there is no need to avoid it. And it takes three months to manufacture sperm so if you conceive that month, it won't be from "sauna damaged" swimmers, if you even believe that such a thing exists. A one-off won't hurt his "production" anyway i'd say.

[nordicwannabe]

Thanks for the reassurance, both of you
I think I'll go for it, but maybe just try to limit the amount of time we spend in there.

[malinois]

Ah, and remember that in Finland, you are expected to be completely naked in mixed saunas - no wimping out and wearing a swimming costume :)