Hot(tish) baths in early pregnancy?

[EarthMither]

Got a BFP on Tuesday (yay), and am about 6+2 today. This is my first pregnancy, so I am a bit clueless, and not due to see the midwife until the week after next.

So after a bit of advice if possible - am I right in thinking it's not a good idea to have a hot(tish) bath in early pregnancy?

[RJM17]

I was told u could have a warm bath but not hot as it is too hot for the baby.
I avoided baths until I was about 12 weeks just to be safe tho xx

[RJM17]

Ps congrats xx

[EarthMither]

Thanks for the speedy response RJM17 (and for the congrats too!) - I think I'll steer clear until 12 weeks too as I can't stand tepid baths so I might as well abstain completely. Cheers for the advice.

[Alexandra6]

I like hot baths but I'm not having any during pregnancy just to be on the safe side! I would def avoid baths until 12 wks. I know lots of pregnant people do have baths though but just warm-ish ones, so around body temp. I'd rather just have a shower.

Post birth I'm going to really enjoy a hot bath with a glass of wine!

[EarthMither]

I can't think of anything more miserable than a body temp bath (having grown up in a house where there was never enough hot water) so like you Alexandra6 I think I'll just stick with showers for the foreseeable.

I can tell I'm up the duff because right now the thought of a glass of wine (with or without a hot bath to go with it) is making me want to vom

[harleyd]

as long as you arent planning to boil yourself like a lobster, baths are perfectly fine

[Hopelass]

The advice I read was that as long as the water isn't so hot you have to lower yourself in or if it turns your skin red then it's fine. The major thing is hot tubs because they maintain their high temperature but a bath will lose it's heat - the danger is in increasing your own core body temperature. As harleyd said above as long as you aren't going to boil yourself like a lobster then in my opinion it is ok.

I had hottish baths about once a week through the first timester (in Feb/March so it was cold) and am now 20 weeks. It is enitrely up to you either way and congrats! :)

[RJM17]

I had my first one last week and it was awful because I love my baths to be really hot. Like my skin ends up bright red when I get out. Haha. But the warmish bath I had last week just didn't cut it. So think I'll stick to showers til after the baby is born x

[BabyHMummy]

I have been having red hot baths all the way through as I have ached so much, baby checked on wed and Mw commented on how strong heart beat was. No one medical has told me not to have them.

Like pp says as a bath quite rapidly loses heat I don't think its a prob, its hot tu s and jacuzzis that cause the worry due to the constant high temp

[Cavort]

A body temperature bath is still quite hot. Give it a go, you will be surprised.

[Excited85]

I asked my mw about this as wasn't sure either. She said the same as another poster above (sorry on phone) that as long as I wasn't tuning red from it or struggling to get in it would be fine. Have had regular baths since as skin so dry it's nice to have a moisture filled bath soak plus to relax!! Likewise sun bathing is fine as long as not overheating/burning and stay hydrated.

[rrreow]

The issue with hot baths is that they can raise your core temperature, and you want to avoid doing that because it can affect the baby. However, a bath has a large surface area and cools down really quickly, likely more quickly than it would take to significantly raise your body temperature. To be on the safe side I'd get a bath thermometer though (won't be wasted money as you'll use it when you do baby baths as well!) and not get in a bath that is more than 39C.

[Trill]

Unless it's hot enough to bring up your internal body temperature (it's probably not) then you'll be fine. The baby is a looooong way inside.

[GobblersKnob]

I had very hot baths all the way through both my pg's, tbh never gave it a seconds thought.

[MrsBri]

I read somewhere that it's the first trimester which is when the problem is due to the developing baby.

We only had a shower til we moved when I was about 20 weeks and I'll have a bath now, but not really much hotter than 41 degrees. I can't stand it really hot anyway.

[MrsBri]

Here we go:

www.babycentre.co.uk/x546741/is-it-safe-to-have-hot-baths-during-pregnancy

[Fakebook]

That's interesting MrsBri, I always was told its the later trimesters to be careful in. I think considering a bath begins cooling the moment you turn off the hot tap it wouldn't be a problem. Maybe saunas and hot tubs are more dangerous though. I'm getting my last comment deleted as its obviously incorrect information.

[HazleNutt]

there's very little actual research about this so it's one of the "well, it has not been proven to be totally safe, so don't do it, just in case" things. In Finland, almost all women keep going to sauna throughout the pregnancy and Finland has a very low rate of those defects overheating is supposed to cause.

[EarthMither]

Gosh lots of replies! Thanks everyone (too many to namecheck). A thermometer sounds like a good idea - I'm aching all over this evening and I could murder a soak. I will definitely ask the midwife about baths too when I have my appointment.

Thanks again for the advice everyone :)