Hot Baths when pregnant

[josefinorving]

Hi Everyone!
I have seen so many threads on this subject so thought id just post my experience. I had a couple of really really hot baths before i was aware this was an issue and was absolutely petrified I had done harm to my baby. I literally hardly slept the week before the 12 week scan. It turned out just fine but what i will say is for peace of mind i now have them under 40 degrees (which is not nearly as nice as I love hot baths!) but its worth it to just not worry. :)

I didn’t worry about hot baths.

I try not to worry about a lot of things pregnancy related.

Are they not just more dangerous to you- ie, your bloody pressure/making you faint when pregnant?

Well .... they say its that but mainly overheating and the baby overheating which is why NHS recommends that you dont have saunas and hot tubs during pregnancy as they can raise the core body temperature to potentially create issues. Ive also read threads on here with women saying that really hot baths caused them misscarriages.
The advise is really rather fuzzy on it all. I personally dont think its a problem but feel better myself just to have them under 40 degrees.

There’s really no way to know if a hot bath causes a miscarriage- it’s really unlikely to be that. Miscarriage mostly happens for no discernible reason, probably down to egg and sperm quality. No woman who had a miscarriage would be able to say a hot bath caused it.

No, i agree - original post was really just to say that i personally prefer to keep my baths around 40 for peace of mind. just my personal view thats all.

A lot of women who do ivf (like myself) are told by medical professionals not to have any baths in early pregnancy (due to the medical procedure) and then only warm baths after a viability scan. I'm still absolutely paranoid about having baths. so I'm happy to read this message. But then I'm absolutely paranoid about everything in pregnancy which after 7 years of infertility, 4 rounds of ivf and multiple miscarriages- may be understandable? Did have my Covid vaccine though

I had IVF so might be slightly different. Was told not to have baths in the TWW, only for risk of infection. After that I bathed everyday and they were pretty hot.

Not steaming hot but still hot enough! I asked my GP and she said it was all to do with bloody pressure and more so if you can tolerate the hot bath being pregnant, rather than affecting the baby.

I wouldn't worry too much :) many people have boiling hot baths and saunas etc before they know their pregnant / in the most risky stage.

Yea i mean i had super hot baths up until i found out like red in the face sweating! So i was really nervous something might be wrong but it wasn't! Now i keep them around 40 degrees which stops me from worrying but i dont think they actually do any harm apart from worry!
Massive congrats on your pregnancy by the way after all that! and you are entitled to be paranoid but im sure everything will be amazing this time!

Yea i think its one of those things that people interpret a little bit how they want and there is no clear guidance on it so leaves room for theories. my midwife said have baths as long as they are not too hot / but didnt specify what too hot was or anything,

I would try not to worry I think the main worry is over heating and dehydration leading to fainting/dizzy spells....when I was pregnant with ds2 I had sepsis and before it occurred to me something was seriously wrong I couldn't get warm for the life in me so I had a mega hot bath....which I kept topping up with hot water. That never did any harm, then while I was in labour I was hesitant to use the pool due to the idea of tepid water full of my bodily fluids, but the midwife assured me I could have it as hot as my usual bath at home as long as I kept up my fluid intake 😊 xx

A lot of the worries about overheating are due to the increased risk of you fainting and hurting yourself when you lose consciousness.

I believe the main concern for hot baths and using hot tubs is a correlation to neural tube defects.
Tepid baths just aren’t the same!

I had lots of hot baths in the last few weeks of pregnancy with my first. I had horrendous back pain and it was the only thing that provided any relief at all. TBH I'd do it again, but would try to avoid in early pregnancy.

@ChaiTRex

I believe the main concern for hot baths and using hot tubs is a correlation to neural tube defects. Tepid baths just aren’t the same!

It is not the main concern at all, the evidence for this is very weak. Very few studies and small sample sizes. It is as basic as dizziness/ lightheadedness plus pregnancy causing increased risk of fainting and falls.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/pregnancy/is-it-safe-to-use-a-sauna-or-jacuzzi-if-i-am-pregnant/