Can You Scuba Dive While Pregnant?

As an adventure sports lover, scuba diving is probably one of your go to activities to wind down. However, now that you are expecting is it wise to continue scuba diving? Can it endanger your unborn baby or lead to complications at birth? If you can relate to the questions, or you are looking for more information on scuba diving while pregnant, consider reading the post below!

What Is Scuba Diving?

Scuba diving is a recreational activity where a person dives or swims underwater for a longer time span. The diver carries a tank of compressed air, which makes it easy to breathe underwater. The word scuba stands for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, as the diver carries the breathing apparatus during the activity. People take part in scuba diving for recreational purposes, as they can explore the majestic creations underwater while scientists and marine biologists also scuba dive for scientific reasons (1).

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Can You Scuba Dive While Pregnant?

Before you indulge in any recreational activity while you are expecting, be sure to consult your gynecologist. There is no medical evidence to support that scuba diving is harmful to expectant moms. However, in most cases, doctors usually prohibit scuba diving when pregnant.

Scuba diving creates gas bubbles in your unborn baby’s blood and it can impose several health complexities. For such reasons, doctors advise pregnant women against scuba diving. If you must indulge your love for exploring the sea, a half hour snorkeling session is the way to go about it. Snorkeling along the water surface is safer than deep sea scuba diving for pregnant mommies (2).

[ Read: Nausea And Vomiting During Pregnancy ]

Risks Of Scuba Diving During Pregnancy:

It is unclear whether scuba diving is unsafe for pregnant women, but it can lead to certain risks for pregnant women. We list some of them below:

1. Decompression Illness (DCI):

• During pregnancy, your fetus carries oxygenated blood while remaining within the placenta.

• Your fetus does not have the lungs that can filter nitrogen. When you scuba dive, the air passes to your fetus, it cannot expel the bubbles from the blood.

• In increases the likelihood that the bubbles travel and move around your fetus’ vital organs like spine and brain.

2. Risk Of Fetal Complexities:

• Scuba diving creates gas bubbles in your baby’s blood and increases risks of miscarriages and abnormalities.

• Some possible health risks associated with scuba diving during pregnancy are birth defects, low birth weight, and neonatal respiratory problems.

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3. Risk Of Developmental Abnormalities:

• A range of developmental abnormalities occurs due to hyperbaric exposure that occurs while you are scuba diving.

• Some potential development abnormities prone to occur in your fetus are premature delivery, limb weakness associated with decompression sickness bubbles in the amniotic fluid, malformed limbs, abnormal development of the heart, and abnormal skull development.

4. Risk To Mothers:

• In addition to the possible risk to the fetus, scuba diving can also impose a risk on you.

• During pregnancy, the abdomen grows and the shape of the body changes that makes diving more problematic than normal. A woman cannot fit into the swimming costumes easily, and the poorly fitted gear increases the risk of potential hazards.

• Entry of water into the mucous membranes makes the mother difficult to hear, and nausea increases her discomfort (3).

[ Read: Water Exercises during pregnancy ]

Health Benefits Of Scuba Dive During Pregnancy:

While, it isn’t advisable to scuba dive during pregnancy, there are some health benefits of the same, which include:

1. Improves Body Flexibility:

• Scuba diving is an adventure sport that offers great physical, physiological, emotional benefits to the expectant mothers.

• When you dive in the water, every inch of your body muscle stretches to float and swim constantly.

• Stretching the muscles improves your body elasticity, and you develop great flexibility and endurance.

• Scuba diving helps awaken the unused muscles of your body like the muscles of your thighs and shoulders.

• Increased body flexibility helps prepare you for your labor and childbirth.

2. Improves Blood Circulation:

• During pregnancy, the blood circulation needs to be proper so that the blood and oxygen reach the growing fetus effectively. A restricted blood supply imposes adverse effects on your pregnancy and can even lead to cause sudden miscarriage.

• In scuba diving, all the body muscles work simultaneously and help your body perform a full-fledged cardiovascular workout.

• Each working muscle requires an adequate supply of oxygen. During diving, the heart provides enough oxygen for your blood, and the blood circulates in a regulated manner. Hence, scuba diving is often claimed to be a great cardiovascular exercise.

[ Read: Skating During Pregnancy ]

3. Reduces Blood Pressure:

• Hypertension is a common occurrence in pregnancy that imposes negative impacts on your pregnancy.

• Scuba diving helps to lower your blood pressure level.

• Researchers conclude that diving on a regular basis reduces the risks of stroke and heart attacks.

4. Improves Respiratory System:

• Scuba diving keeps your lungs fit and improves your respiration process.

• During diving, you intake sufficient amount of air, and you exercise your lungs by expanding them to absorb more oxygen from the gas tank.

5. Relieves Stress:

• Diving is a relaxing experience that improves your body’s circulatory and respiratory systems.

• The soothing environment beneath the ocean or lake water helps you attain peace of mind.

• Scuba diving helps in relieving stress from work, anxieties, and social problems. The activity takes you away from your stressful life.

6. Relieves Acute Pain:

• In scuba diving, your body remains suspended in water temporarily that alleviates the aches and pains associated with pregnancy.

• Your swollen joints retain less water than normal, and the sore muscles feel relief from acute pain.

[ Read: Horse Riding While Pregnant ]

A Word Of Caution:

• If you indulge in scuba diving, your unborn fetus is at a greater risk. Some of the potential health complexities include decompression sickness, hypoxia, asphyxia, and hypercapnia.

• During pregnancy if you choose to dive against medical advice, you should remain aware of the potential fetus deformities as you reach to the no-decompression limits.

• Most of the doctor advises the pregnant women not to practice scuba diving during pregnancy, as the amount of nitrogen present in the blood can distress the fetal development.

• It is recommended not to dive underwater after the 4th week of pregnancy. During the early phase of pregnancy, scuba diving imposes less harm to your fetus. It is because of the fact, that during the early phase the mother and the baby do not share the same blood that they do in later pregnancy phase.

To conclude, we can say that pregnant women shouldn’t scuba dive while pregnant. If you must exercise while expecting, consider some prenatal yoga, aerobics, or swimming.

Did you scuba dive during pregnancy? Did your doctor permit you to dive in your later phase of pregnancy? Share your experience about scuba diving and pregnancy with other would-be mommies here!

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