Anyone broken the rules and had a jacuzzi while preggers?

[summerinthesun]

I'm just wondering if anyone did it and it was ok? I've had a few probs in this pregnancy so I better not risk it. But I'm going to a spa day and I'm desperate just to jump in and let it bubble my troubles away. I can't understand why it is supposed to be dangerous.

I am almost certain it's the heat more than anything that's sm issue. Although clearly if it's one of this jacuzzis with industrial strength jets, avoid getting them focused on your bump!

Most hot tubs are no hotter than a bath so I would be comfortable with that but I'd probably stick with fewer jets. We went to a spa with a pregnant friend for my hen do. She avoided the full on jacuzzi while it was bubbling but they had a big pool with some small focused jets that I think she nabbed!

I had one once by accident when about 8 weeks pregnant (by accident meaning I didn't know you weren't supposed to go in jacuzzis pregnant). It made me feel very faint and nauseous - I even thought I might pass out.

I may eat pasteurised brie and fresh sushi but never again a pregnant jacuzzi, I think it's a sensible thing to be on the 'forbidden' list!

I think the issue with jacuzzis is that they've got heating elements to maintain the water temperature at a very high level, whereas if you take a 'really hot bath' it gradually cools down do you're not explain yourself to a continuous high temp. I've read that jacuzzis are a no-no because the baby can't regulate its own body temp so you'd be exposing it to extremely high, continuous heat.

As for the cured meats...chorizo is too good to give up and the chance of listeria is a ridiculously low percentage.

*so (not 'do')

*exposing (NOT 'explain'!)

Stupid iPhone...

yup and sauna and steam all the way through im now 40wks and was at the sanctuary in covent garden all day last week enjoy,keep hydrated and keep it to short bursts of heat cooling body temp right back down before going in again

It's the heat.

Find out the temp, under 38 degrees is safe. Only stay in for 10 mins at a time, keep your arms out for cooling and if you feel hot, sweaty, flushed, dizzy etc, get out.
I spent a fair amount of time in a jacuzzi while pregnant. I just alternated between sitting in with my arms out, and sitting on the side with my feet in. The spa people can tell you what temperature they keep their jacuzzis at in advance, or you can take a bath thermometer.

Yep, snuck into a hydrotherapy pool at 31 weeks when no one was looking and just made sure the jets didn't go on the bump. I think it's probably the spa health and safety regs that make them twitchy.

It's the heat which, just like you having a temperature, can cause serious issues for the baby, even in later pregnancy. It's why it is so important to keep your temperature down when you have a fever and are pregnant. I would dangle legs in perhaps but not go in completely, also because blood pressure is lower in pregnancy and you might well feel faint.

It's only a few months.....why would you?

I went to the Center Parcs spa during my last pregnancy but stayed out of the saunas and very hot rooms and just stuck to the tepid and warm ones.

I'd second the dangle your legs in approach, that can't cause any harm.

I'm still having baths though, I just don't have them quite as scalding hot as normal.

I have a Jacuzzi at home and asked a private midwife we interviewed very early on.

Essentially it?s all about your core body temperature. If you can turn it down to body temperature (mines at 36/37) and are sensible with how long you sit in it mw said it was fine. First few months the change in temperature (mines outside) getting out made me sick so I used to run inside afterwards and dry with a hairdryer but past this I use it as I would normally - just a few degrees cooler! I wouldn?t use ones in spa's etc unless I could turn the temp down.

Like others have said as long as you don't overheat and don't stay in too long you should be fine. I just hop in it for 5 minutes and it's lovely.

I have - I wasn't sure if it was Against The Rules or not so I sat on a high step within it so only bum downwards was submerged, and didn't stay in it for too long.

I use a heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool regularly and it is currently warm rather than hot (I think they whack the temp up in the winter). My GP had said it was best not to use it when I asked her, but when I asked her why she seemed to be making up stuff and then it didn't even tie in the with NHS website advice!

So I just do what I feel comfortable with - go in for a few minutes and stretch out my poor ligaments and float around a bit. I'm not massively keen on the bubbles, but there is plenty of room for avoiding them as it's a decent-size pool.

There's also a small jacuzzi which I have avoided using as it is really hot, but think it's all down to personal preference and what you feel comfortable with at the end of the day.

I used one at 12 weeks in my first pregnancy because I didn't know I wasn't supposed to and no one said anything. DD was fine.

A friend of mine lost her baby at 32 weeks due to spending a day in a spa (jaccuzzi) Needless to say it was a harrowing experience for her. I would in no way risk it. Why put your baby in distress (which is what it will be in if it's overheating)

It's because it raises your body temp to much so it's bad for baby same reason as a hot bath. My SIL went in one at 35 wks and said it was lovely. Personally i wouldn't risk it. I used to go swimming then sauna, jacuzzi etc now i just do the swim tempting as the others look if anything went wrong i'd never forgive myself.

[[http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2402.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=131
Is it safe to use a sauna or jacuzzi if I'm pregnant?]]

The risks are of fainting really and not harm to the baby. That's a desperately sad story about Emmiedarling's friend, but I would wonder whether it was just a horrible, horrible coincidence.

Ummm...in the article Bart posted the NHS states that overheating could cause problems with the baby's development. Not sure why anyone would want to risk it. It's only 9 months.

"It?s possible that a significant rise in your core temperature may affect your unborn baby?s development, particularly in the first 12 weeks of the pregnancy."

There's no evidence for it.

A PubMed search brings this up as the ONLY article for overheating and pregnancy (it brings up another 7 articles about SIDS). It really is a theoretical risk.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9575323

Adequate hydration and appropriate ventilation are important in preventing the possible teratogenic effects of overheating. Pregnant women should avoid exercise that involves the risk of abdominal trauma, falls or excessive joint stress, as in contact sports and vigorous racquet sports. In the absence of any obstetric or medical complications, most women can maintain a regular exercise regimen during pregnancy. Some studies have found a greater sense of well-being, shorter labor and fewer obstetric interventions in physically well-conditioned women as compared with other women.

And this is exactly why I found my GP's 'advice' rather puzzling - she said the risk was from the jets/bubbles possibly going somewhere they shouldn't, and then she said it was to do with the water temperature/bacteria. The NHS website said something about the temp having a possible effect on your blood pressure or something like that (but no direct risk to baby mentioned) so it seems it really isn't clear.

I actually got a little bit cold in the pool the other night (it was raining) and so it definitely wasn't hot!