safe to sunbathe when pregnant?

[pregnantmimi]

Hi going on holiday on the 14th was wondering what everyone thought or had read about sunbathing?

I know its not allowed to have hot baths and everytime I been on holiday I have stayed inside since being pregnant but quite fancy a tan and a little swim.

What does everyone think?

I wondered cause if bath are too hot its supposed to be bad for the baby I wondered if it was the same for sunbathing or perhaps being pregnant more likely to get sunstroke etc

I found I burnt really quickly this summer. Normally I have quite sensitive skin, but pregnancy seemed to put the tanning into overdrive!

Yes pregnancy makes you more prone to burn or catch the sun. So plenty of sunscreen! Also how far along are you? Make sure you drink plenty and don't get too hot.

My specialist told me when going on holiday to sunbathe no longer than 30 mins at a time and most importantly which I made sure I did was cover bump with a towel. All this is so the fluid around the baby does not get too hot which isn't good. I also love tanning when away but keeping baby is most important...even if u do end up with a white belly! have a nice hol xxx

Pregnant skin is much more sensitive, therefore you'll need to be more careful than normal.

Drink plenty of water, stay out of the sun during 11-3 and try not to get too hot.

Enjoy your hoilday..

Oh and use a higher factor sunscreen than normal. x

Thanks for your answers Im 24 weeks pregnant I will pack a higher sunscreen scarlett lips and stay out for to long the towel trick sounds good too thanks.
Baby love did your specialist say 30 mins then have a break for how long out of the sun?

Thanks

Im going to portugal on a relaxed hen do in 2 weeks ill be 19wk. Ive not much of a bump (unless it pops out in next 2wk! Which is likely as its No2!) Im planning on wearing boob tubes to tan shoulders and arms for wedding! Will cover up bump most if not all of time..

Oops amd 7 weeks and just spent four days in the south of france in the sun. As ever I wore really high sun lotion (my mum unfortunately had skin cancer a few years ago so I'm always really careful) and I did go pretty brown in just those few days! Feel a bit bad I was in the sun so much, didn't even cross my mind I couldn't sunbathe. I did wear a hat and didn't get too hot, so hopefully will all be ok... xx

ps I've been on holiday with several pregnant friends in the past and they've all sunbathed normally (no covered bump) and had gorgeous healthy babies, but no idea if that's because they were lucky or because it's harmless...?
x

Other than the over heating thing, I think the risk is more to mum. Your skin is that much more sensitive and you are prone to burn more...thus increasing your risk of cancer.

Ha I tried to ask him the very sane question and he just looked at me and said, use your common sense!
Which I took to mean just take a break till u feel a bit cooler, take a dip un the pool to cool down etc. Tbh when you cover belly with a towel you can really feel the difference and how cool the skin us underneath so I did stay out longer than half an hour. I just felt my tummy wasn't too hot and acted appropriately.
Xxx
Oh and he also told me was VERY important to wear the dvt socks on the plane xxx

Just come back from Madeira on Monday. Used a 30 factor sun screen and tanned nicely. I did cover bump now and again but I and Peanut suffered no ill effects.

I've been away twice this summer with no problems but i can tell you that burning the delicate skin on the inside of your belly button is no fun at all so use a high factor if yours is popping out

You can - be be aware of post-pregnancy raisin belly! I had DS2 in August after a summer of (safe) sunbathing. After he was born and my belly started to shrink it looked a lot darker as the skin started to shrink.

thanks really looking forward to being in the sun and having a swim. Spend most of my holiday last time indoors but had bad morning sickness too. Will pack a higher factor lotion. Lol will watch for the raison belly noobythewaspslayer. x

I did during both pregnancies. Even though my skin is fine in the sun I was more careful than usual. I positioned my magazine over my bump to keep it cool and would have a break every 20 mins to sit in the shade.

Hot baths are ok I thought?

The main warning time for overheating is 1st trimester, when the neural tubes are developing. Basically, if a bath is hot enough to make you go pink, or when you step in thinking "ooh, that's hot" rather than "that's nice and warm" it's too hot. I avoided hot baths/spas/saunas totally in 1st trimester. Even toned down my showers as I tend to like them very hot.
The recommendation is for no more than 10mins of 'heat' (spas, hot baths, etc). There are warnings about heat effecting your circulation and thus having an undue influence on baby (reduced nutrient delivery etc). That and overheating's going to lower your BP thus potentially making you dizzy, dehydrated and more prone to bouts of exhaustion.

I just heard that hot bath are ok for us cause we can regulate our temperature but baby cant and gets too hot. This is why I was worried abot the sunbathing going to take the advice of short sunbathing sessions and covering bump.

Either our body regualtes against heat or not...sunbathing or hot bathing...if anything being directly cacooned in heat (as in a bath) where there's no chance for the body to sweat out excess heat is worse that being in the sun in terms of overheating. Baby is very well protected, but a sudden increase in our body temp IS eventually going to heat up baby. It's why they're so worried about is getting fevers.

The body DOES regulate fairly well. I've not hears of an increased rate of NTD or miscarriage in people living in hotter countries just because it's 'hot', the 10minute guideline for hot baths is a sensible one that ensures if you are overheating, you're not going to be for long.

I would really be more worried for mum's sake than babies. Overheating and sunburn are more common for Mums in pg.

I wasnt refering to being just "hot" more about sunbathing sitting in the sun and hot baths.

Ah yes, sorry mimi think I misread your post.