Foot soak and hot water bottle in early pregnancy?

[Tina84]

Whilst trying to conceive I was told that I have poor circulation ( my feet and hands are always cold) and advised by my reflexology specialist to do ginger and cinnamon foot soaks, as it aids circulation. I got so addicted to it that now I'm pregnant I'd like to carry on, but can't find any conclusive advice on whether I should or shouldn't.
Also, in the same time, I started using hot water bottle, I warms me up in bed, keeps my feet warm and feels nice and warm on my belly, but again now that I'm pregnant, I'm not sure if this is safe?

can anyone give advice/ guidance on this please?

Not sure about the soaks sorry but I think with hot water bottles you shouldn't put them directly on your tummy. Basic rule is don't heat the baby! Either by overheating yourself ie too hot baths / sauna or direct heat.

I think foot soaks are fine but not sure if ginger and cinnamon are suitable in pregnancy.
Cinnamon is an irritant and cinnamon essential oil is to be avoided on pregancy for sure.
Perhaps replace with something safe as lavender?

As far as hot bottle I think its fine on foot but would not put it on the belly.
You need to avoid overheating you core. Hot water baths and similar can even cause miscarriage. Perhaps put it on your back but not directly on the belly.

Thank you for your advice, it's good to know!

Normal hot baths cannot cause miscarriages. I've read pretty much every reputable book out there and had many sessions with the uks biggest centre of research. Sadly there isn't much I don't know about minimising the risk of spontaneous loss.
You'd make yourself really quite ill before you caused issues to the pregnancy, as your whole core temperature would have to rise more significantly than a mild fever. Pretty hard to do in a domestic bath: youd scald yourself for a start. Maybe if a woman passed out in a poorly supervised sauna or steam room (which is why they are a no no). Though you might feel dizzy/faint if you got out too fast.

It's a horrible hang over from old wives tales of home termination.

Oh and ginger and cinnamon foot soaks are fine. They are not restricted foods so soaking your feet in them is unlikely to cause problems. Ingesting the pure oils or large amounts of the spice (ie more than culinary use) might not be advised but a domestic foot soak should be ok.

I wouldn't put a hot water bottle on the belly - although in early pregnancy it probably won't do much harm it might make you feel pretty rough.

Hi squizita, thank you very much, you really put my mind at rest.

I've had exactly the same advice as squizita on the hot water bottle front. I had awful stomach pain at the beginning of my pregnancy (before I knew) and used a hot water bottle all day, every day and all night! When I found out I was pregnant, I asked my gp, obgyn and mw - all said that to be at any risk of harming the baby, you have to raise your body temperature to at least 39 degrees - as squizita says, more than a mild temperature. I am having a hottie every night and pregnancy is progressing well, so far!

OP, sorry for such a trivial comment on a thread that has such a serious subject matter (and I wish you well in your pregnancy!).....

But Lorelai you really made me chuckle at having a hottie every night. Lucky you .

The 'no hot baths' advice is about risk of fainting not risk of miscarriage AFAIK - can't for the life of me think why you shouldn't soak your feet.

squizita thank you for your post! I Couldn't believe when I read no hot baths - I only like my baths steaming hot, hate a warm/tepid bath and in pregnancy you surely need all the little luxuries you can get! Thanks for putting my mind at rest

Basically if you get out if you feel too hot, it's fine. Saunas and steam rooms encase your whole body head and all so are riskier.
Hot tubs one of the main risks are germs!! Plus again you're in up to your neck.

Iirc it's peppermint products you must avoid in foot soaks and lotions during pregnancy. This was said by my college lecturer 7 years ago but I can't for the life of me remember why

You have to raise your core body temp very high to even have a tiny theoretical risk during a tiny part of pregnancy. You can have hot baths. You can use a hot water bottle.

the only thing to remember with hot water bottles is if you like them superhot you are at a higher risk of erythema ab igne (a type of unsightly thermal burn from a hot water bottle or heat pad) during pregnancy. Although when I say higher risk its still a very very tiny one. Don't use just boiled water in the bottle, let it cool a little first (this is a good idea anyway)