lovetodive

My husband and I have planned a trip to Fiji for 5 weeks. We are both SO excited about it and we leave in under a week. I just went to the doctor and found out I'm pregnant! I couldn't be happier about it. BUT...I want to dive the South Pacific! I am about 2 weeks pregnant and when we go diving I will be about 1 month pregnant. I'm not trying to be foolish or anything like that but is diving when the baby is smaller than a grain of rice going to hurt it? What does it do to the fetus? I feel like I can understand not diving when the baby is about 3 months and older. Somebody please tell me what to do! I am wanting to do this one dive I arranged for my husband and I, would one dive make me lose my baby???

Scuba Mama

Yes, the baby is almost not seen or noticed, what type of chance do you want to take. What is one dive to having a miscarriage? There is not enough information on diving while pregnant, so its a complete contradiction to diving.

By the way congrats, I wish you, your husband and the new little the best.

Resqdivemedic

I highly agree with Scuba Mama, why risk the baby. I did a little research and found a study from 1980 which showed a higher number of birth defects, especially to the spine and heart, in women who dove compared to those who didnt. Another consideration is the effects on mom. With the increase and shifting of fluid in the body, this may lead to a delay or decreased in the dissolved gasses (nitrogen) from getting into the bloodstream and out of the body. This leads to a greater chance of decompression sickness.
Anyway, congrats and good luck.
Dive Safe.

BanditDJB

Well, I find it interesting that this should come up! My wife and I found out we were about 2 weeks pregnant. The next day we wanted to do our last dive together until the baby would be born. That was 2 weeks ago. We didn't think anything would affect the baby because it was so soon and we already had the dive planned. I mean most people don't even know there pregnant yet at 2 weeks. We dove to 83 ft. and the next day her pregnancy harmones started to go down and the lines on the pregnancy tests started to get lighter. She went to our doctor and he said that she had a miscarriage. Did the diving cause this? I don't know. But I can tell you that next time we find out she is pregnant we won't be diving. Scuba Mama is right. There isn't any testing that I know of on the effects of diving pregnant. What I do know is the first trimester is the most important part of your babys development and after 2 weeks you are sharing blood with the fetus (I know that because my wife made me read a bunch of stuff about babys...lol). I would think there is alot to do in Fiji that would make your vacation memorable and I would wait to dive after the baby is born. I hope you don't take this the wrong way but, snorkling the pacific is an option.

PS. If you choose not to dive...Dude, Your going to Fiji! Its gonna be a great vacation! Have a good trip, And congrats!


Here is a quote from DAN:
Pregnancy

Description of Condition: Having a developing embryo or fetus in the body. Duration of pregnancy from conception to delivery is approximately 266 days/9 months.

Fitness and Diving Issue: There is little scientific data available regarding diving while pregnant. Much of the available evidence is anecdotal. Laboratory studies are confined to animal research and the results are conflicting. Some retrospective survey type questionnaires have been performed but are limited by data interpretation.

An issue to keep in mind is the risk of decompression illness to the mother due to the physiological changes which occur while pregnant. During pregnancy, maternal body fluid distribution is altered, and this redistribution decreases the exchange of dissolved gases in the central circulation. Theoretically, this fluid may be a site of nitrogen retention. Fluid retention during pregnancy may also cause nasopharyngeal swelling, which can lead to nose and ear stuffiness. In regards to diving, these may increase a pregnant woman's risk of ear or sinus squeezes. Pregnant women experiencing morning sickness, which could then couple with motion sickness from a rocking boat, may have to deal with nausea and vomiting during a dive. This is an unpleasant experience and could lead to more serious problems if the diver panics.

Due to the limited data available and the uncertainty of the effects of diving on a fetus, diving represents an increased exposure for the risk of injury during pregnancy. There's a baseline incidence of injury including cases of decompression illness in diving. One must consider the effects on the fetus if the mother must undergo recompression treatment.

Additional Considerations: This is a summary of the available studies of diving during pregnancy:

Diving and Pregnancy Outcome

Bangasser Survey 1978 - no increase defects
Bolton Survey 1980 - 109 women who dived prior to pregnancy, 69 stopped when pregnant higher rate of defects in groups who continued including two major cardiac anomalies multiple hemivertabrae, absent hand, VSD, coarctation, pyloric stenosis, birthmark - no major defects in group that stopped (but no higher than the general population and may be influenced by recall bias)
Turner Case Report 1982
twenty dives in 15 days, days post LMP 40-50
most less than 60 ft., three dives 100 ft., one 110 - one rather rapid ascent from 60 ft., three dives 100 ft., one 110 - one rather rapid ascent from 60 ft.
Sudafed also taken
multiple anomalies
head circumference normal, development normal, karyotype, EMG, muscle biopsy normal
mechanism of DCS injury - fetal embolism or bubbling.

Please remember that one anecdotal report does not create a syndrome or disease
Fife Survey 1991 -- 1,037 female divers -- only 1.4 percent dived while pregnant
Animal studies of DCS during pregnancy also have noted increases in cardiac malformations. If a woman dives inadvertently before pregnancy is diagnosed during the first trimester of pregnancy, acknowledging that a very limited amount of literature and experience exists, I suggest getting a second trimester ultrasound (sonogram) with emphasis on limb and spinal development and with good detailing of the cardiac structures and the configuration of the great vessels around the heart -- aorta, pulmonary arteries, etc.