Sat againist heater and worried I have overheated my baby

[Bluebell5569]

Hi all

I'm worried sick about something. I am 11 weeke pregant. Over the past few days I have sat (for around 10 mins at a time) against a radiator (on a footstool). The heater has been on high - so v.hot. I get really cold and like the feeling of heat on my back (I usually wear a top and thin jumper).

But it has just occurred to me that I may have caused damage to the baby. When I touched my back (on top of my clothes) straight after the last time I sat against it it did feel really warm - like when you touch fabric immediately after ironing it.

I'm so terried I overheated my baby. Is this possible sitting against a hot heater? I can't really find much about it online.

Thanks xx

Sorry for the typos!

Your baby will be fine- try not to worry. You regulate your temperature and this will have ensured the temperature in your womb is totally fine for the baby.

I am no expert but I don't think so, the baby is teeny tiny at the moment and very well cushioned from all manner of external factors.

Even if you sat against a naked flame and burnt your back the baby would be perfectly fine. There is a lot of tissue and muscle in the way. You would be cooked alive before the baby (if that helps!)

I think it's very unlikely that you could change your internal temperature enough to harm a baby, just by sitting near a heater!
Your body is excellent at maintaining a stable internal temperature, even when your skin feels very hot/cold to the touch.
When your internal temperature rises even a teeny bit above the norm, you feel awful so you'd know about it.

Tru not to worry/feel guilty too much. Be kind to yourself.

You will be fine. You can use a hot water bottle or have a warm bath, and I'd equate it takes those things. I think you'd feel discomfort on your skin well before any damage could be done.
You shouldn't have a hot tub type bath as they are continually heated and spending too long in there can raise your core temp.

I assume you didn’t get so over heated that you felt faint. The only heat issues I’ve read about are like an above post mentions and that’s with hot tubs or saunas. And even with them there’s just an increased risk and it doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely have issues.

Thanks all! You've made me feel much better xx

I would think it’s totally fine! I had a similar worry after using a hot water bottle for a few days early on but I researched it and it seemed fine. The only worry is if your core temperature goes up and you’d have to do things that would heat your whole body up - which is why hot baths and saunas aren’t recommended I believe. If you only heater one part of your body I doubt it’s possible to get your core temperature up as the other parts of your body are still cool :)

Yeah dont worry it's not like your internal organs start heating up from radiators x

It's fine - it's only if you basically get heatstroke that there is a (tiny) risk. Even hot baths are fine (that advice is outdated) - it's only saunas and hot tubs where 95%+ of your body is immersed that are advised against, and even then the risk is tiny. Hot water bottles are explicitly recommended by the NHS for pregnancy-related cramps, aches and pains (I looked it up the other day after I noticed my tummy was all red from my hot water bottle cuddling!). So don't worry.

Don’t worry at all - you would have to have been dangerously hot yourself to raise your core temperature to the point of it affecting your baby. Remember that at this stage they are very tiny and cushioned by lots of temperature-regulating blood. They will honestly be absolutely fine.