Long baths first 6 weeks 😬

[Bumblingonby]

Hello, I'm currently 6+3. I discovered once I found out I was pregnant that you shouldn't have baths that are too hot, so used an old kitchen thermometer to ensure under 38° and then topped up a bit when I got cold.

I have loooooong baths, like 1.5/2 hrs every other day, they're my favourite thing. But yesterday I went down a rabbit hole and found lots of things saying you must take short baths as otherwise you risk overheating. This freaked me out as I've been in much longer, and worse, I tried another thermometer last night on my typical bath temp and it read 39.9°! (The old one I'd been using read 36. I then tried a meat thermometer to compare and that also said 39, so clearly the old thermometer I'd been using was unreliable/broken). I don't go red and sweaty but I do always feel noticeably warmer for about an hour after a bath (which I like as I generally run quite cold but now worried I've raised my core temp!)

I've read that overheating in the first 6 weeks can cause neural tube defects, and now I'm worried that I've boiled my baby and won't find out the damage till 20 weeks! 🙁

To be honest I had no idea the bath thing was even a thing and only looked it up out of an abundance of caution- neither the doctor not the NHS website said anything about it, I only found out from other websites.

Did any of you take long hot baths in the first 6 weeks and live to tell the tale? I know ntd are quite rare so even if doubled is still only about 0.2 % but I could do with some reassurance as I feel like I've effed up by having long 40° baths 😬. (I do take folic acid.)

Thanks in advance for responding!

It's true that long hot baths do increase the risk of miscarriage and defects, but it's by no means likely to happen. The advice on baths is a relatively new thing (bearing in mind in the 80s and previous most homes didn't have a shower, just a bath) and we got along just fine before that. Obviously now you know, try to avoid them but I wouldn't worry too much.

First please don’t go down the Google rabbit warren… you’d have to get seriously overheated for it to be a risk, that’s why they advise not going in sauna. Maybe just try cooler water and shorter time in there.

Absolute crap. I had plenty of hot baths, my kids are fine.

When I was first pregnant over 20 years ago, you weren’t even supposed to have coffee. If that was true there would be no one alive today in my mum’s country!

I'm sure it will be fine as pp said.

However, I just wanted to sympathise and say that I was in the same position as you this time last year. I love a lengthy hot bath. I really wound myself up trying to work out what temperature it should be, used a meat thermometer etc. A lot of people say 'have a cooler bath' but it's just not the same is it!?

In the end, I just didn't have any baths, and waited until DS was born. I didn't find a cooler bath as enjoyable. I'd had a couple of hot baths before I knew I was pregnant, and he's perfectly fine. Hopefully that's reassuring.

That first hot bath after he was born was fabulous!

I think they mean the kind of bath where your heart rate goes a bit higher and you go red, like a sauna.

TBH your days of 2 hour long baths are numbered!

Oh I know long baths may soon become a distant memory, that's why I've been enjoying them so much!

I mean the part of me that goes in the water always goes a bit pink even in 39° but I reckon that's because I've got skin that flushes if you so much as tap it.

Thanks for the replies, I feel a bit better about it now. I do sort of wish the doc had mentioned it if it's so important in the first 6 weeks. Unlike dietary stuff, I'd never even heard of it!

Please don’t worry too much, the water would need to be hot enough to significantly raise your core body temperature which would need to be uncomfortably hot. The main problem with hot baths is that is raises your blood pressure and can cause you to feel faint and pass out which is obviously a risk for you (baby would likely be fine in this case)

Enjoy your baths, just make sure you drink plenty of water and if possible have your other half in the house so you can have help to get out if you feel lightheaded. Best advice is to stay away from google too and just stick to nhs advice, otherwise it’ll be a long unpleasant pregnancy.

Having a child/children doesn't stop you from having long baths. Doesn't for me. Even with a newborn I still had long baths.

It's really fine, I had probably a long bath everyday when pregnant with dd (it was lockdown and I had no kids yet and I had so much free time). She was born completely healthy and average.

The only warning I'd say is watch out for thrush and BV and the like. I personally am more susceptible during pregnancy and baths exacerbate it. Your baby will be fine but you might not...!

I just bathed as normal in pregnancy, and I do like them on the hot side. Both kids came out fine. I wouldn't get too worked up on it.

Thanks so much everyone, I feel much better now!