Swimming in the sea while pregnant

[Howeverfar]

Has anyone swum in the sea while pregnant? I live by the coast (bathing water tested, quality is excellent), and every year I swim June-October (so fair weather swimmer). I'm 16 weeks. The guidance is only to do it if you're used to cold water swimming, I wonder does it count if I haven't done it since last year. I really want to take a dip. I'm 35 if that makes a difference.

You can absolutely do it. Perhaps just be mindful to keep dips short, take breaks to warm up in between so as to not let your core temperature get low, and stop if you feel unwell.

FWIW I swam in a lake in Finland in June, kayaked in August in Ireland and jumped in after, and dipped in the sea on Boxing day (but kept it to like 1 minute as it was freezing!).

Use your common sense and listen to your body and enjoy your swims!

Yes, I was an occasional sea swimmer and kept doing it when pregnant — and off the west coast of Ireland so both rough and chilly. No issue if you take the usual precautions when going for your first swim of the season.

Thankyou both, that is reassuring. I am so close to the sea that I've decided to just do it gradually. Up to my waist first day then see how I go after that, my fear was somehow giving the baby hypothermia or going into cold water shock, but I will go gradually.

I swam in the sea often, and a few times a week in a unheated lido - baby fine! in fact I credit diving down in the pool (from the surface, not the side) with getting my baby to turn head down. I was only careful with the sea if it was somewhere with known sewage discharge, I'd avoid.

I was and still am a sea swimmer living on the south coast of the Uk. I swam weekly, right up until 5 days before I gave birth.

once I reached about 6months I made sure I didn’t go alone or had someone (DH) keeping an eye on me from the sand in case anything odd happened.

i also bought a neoprene zip up jacket as the bigger I got the slower I swam and would feel the cold a bit more.

i mean 5 days before birth wasn’t swimming! More ‘floating in the bay’ but it was lush.

its good for you and you’ll enjoy the mental freedom.