Spa Day

[PeppaTwig]

I've just boked a spa day at a very lovely place (an annual treat) but havent been there pg before. They are adapting the treatments to pg appropriate ones and they have obviously advised not to use the hydrotherapy and whirl pools etc which I knew about. However I did ask if I could go into the hydrotherapy pool but not activate the jets. They said that as the temperature was higher than the swimming pool (I think they said it was in the early 30Cs) then they wouldnt advise it.
My question is, surely my baths are hotter than this so it wouldnt be any different from sitting in a slightly cooler bath. Would you go in? The hydrotherapy areas tend to be where my friend and I spend most of our day putting the world to rights!
For info, they hydro pool has different areas and you can activate the jets for each specific area...
WWYD?

I don't think the issue is the jets - I think it's about getting too hot. I'm really not sure what harm a jet of water can do...

Could you all lounge on recliners instead? Good opportunity to get your nails done too then.

As an aside you must be careful with products contacting salicylic acid/BHAs. They're often not labelled as harmful in pregnancy. Glycolic acid and AHAs are thought to be safe for topical use. Retinoids like rentinol or Retin A are bad news but again not routinely labelled to be avoided in pregnancy. There are other names for all these products so may be worth taking a list with you. I only recently found this out and i'm pg with dc2 so I'm not convinced it's widely known or I wouldn't mention. That and the fact a facial advertised as suitable in pregnancy had a salicylic acid peel AND then retinol in the treatment

Nhs guidelines here: www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2402.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=131

You're not supposed to have hot baths when pg either though.

I went to a spa when I was about 12 weeks. I told them I was pg but they didn't tell me there was anything I couldn't use (and I didn't know then about the hot water thing). So I used everything and DD and I were fine. I would agree with them that you shouldn't use it but maybe make your own decision when you get there depending on how warm it feels to you.

Thanks everyone. It's an incredibly good spa and all treatments are 'pregnancy' treatments so they should be fine but I'll take a list of those things just in case.
My midwife has always said baths are fine if they're not scalding hot but I shall check what temperatures are safe before I go too.
Great advice everyone thanks!

Interesting thread. I must admit I had been wondering about the jacuzzi thing - didn't know whether it was about overheating or about risking being hit in the bump by a jet

A bit concerned about the baths thing though. I like my baths fairly hot though not mega hot. Been substituting baths for wine as relaxant of choice.

I know a bath can be nice and warm, but not so hot that you come out lobster red or sweating, so I'm still having mine pretty warm, but not as hot as I used too! One of the differences between a bath and jacuzzi/hydrapool is that the bath water will gradually cool, whereas the others are sustained at a constant temperature. The key is not to raise your core temperature too much.

That nhs link says to go no higher than 35 in a hydrotherapy pool so it sounds like I'm safe. Are the jets no issue at all then?

my understanding was the jets provide stimulation so they tend to advise you against using these,i went to a spa recently and was basically given a list of things to avoid, the jacuzzi baths etc, along with steam rooms and also treatments needed to be pg ones, i think a normal massage again has the potential to stimulate certain parts of your body, i used the pool and that was about it :( was lovely to chill though :)

Is it safe to maybe just sit on the side & put you legs n!? That way you can still stay with your friends. I'm off for a spa day next week & having a facial! :)

Funnily enough, I had this very same conversation with my GP just a couple of days ago (just discovered I am pregnant).

I am a member of a nearby spa and use the main swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool and jacuzzi frequently. I asked her which facilities would still be safe to use and she said the main pool would be fine, but the other two were not advised. I asked her what the actual risk was and wasn't terribly convinced by her answers - first she said that the jets could accidentally blast water up places they weren't meant to, then she said it was because the higher water temp meant there could be a risk of more bacteria than a normal pool. Oh and it might be less chlorinated and therefore have more bacteria.

No mention of body temperature at all - I really think it depends on who you ask as to what the dangers are.

I might continue to dangle my legs into the hydrotherapy pool (just to get my money's worth as can't cancel my membership) but it would be nice to get a proper scientific answer!

tbh my advise was given my the actual spa rather than mw or gp, their website tells you that these can't be used in pg, i asked why and was told about the stimulation, it made sense to me due to the difference in massages, i think your legs would be ok, in terms of your membership u may be able to postpone until after pg due to restrictions :)

So no jets and a temp under 35 is ok...?!