hmmm.... intresting question there....  

Hmmmm .. Interesting q indeed ...  

Well, as far as I am concerned there is no documented study to show the effect diving on pregnant lady and the foetus. Nobody have ever done a study on this matter for lack of volunteer and it is too expensive to equip a lab rat for diving.

BUT ... I've met somebody who went diving without realising that she is pregnant (it was the early trimester). Without a doubt, the next 7 mths after the diving the foetus is closely monitored by the doctor and (thank God) the baby cames out ok. But i have to stress that this is NOT a go ahead or anything as such.

Rule state that Please refrain from diving if you are aware of the pregnancies.


My two bubble worth ...

regards ....

I think I wrote this in this forum just before that cr**py server incident about a month ago made that topic disappear.

I agree that the general rule of thumb is NOT to dive when you are pregnant. Foetus do not have developed lungs so they cannot filter the excessive nitrogen formed during diving efficiently. It is also believed that the foetus may develop some kind of DCS that will cause tissue damage to it, and may cause it to deform.

Tahan la a bit. Don't make the baby suffer a lifetime just because the mother wants to enjoy for an hour.

heheh... pregant ? dah ada pelampung ori lagi..tak yah pakai pa pe..bwk jek tong gas tu ikat kt blakang... wakakakak...  ;D

Sorry but what are you saying? I dont understand.. can you pls translate to English?

Hey guys, sorry for the late reply. I just got back from Sabah, doing dive medical check-ups for our Bomba divers there.

About the question, can a pregnant women dive? The rational answer is: Pregnant women should not dive! :-[ If we look at the
potential problems of the pregnant diver, there are too many risks as compared to benefits for both the mother and the baby.

For example, during pregnancy, there is an increase in total body fat, which as we know, absorbs nitrogen more than any other body tissues. Therefore offgassing time may not correspond to the standard dive table, putting the mother at higher risk of DCS. Fluid retention in pregnancy also causes nasopharnygeal swelling, which increases the risks of ear and sinus barotrauma. Furthermore, morning sickness + motion sickness makes it worse for the pregnant diver to enjoy her dive, and can be made worse if she vomits into her regulator.

Even for the fetus, there is an increased risk of malformations related to maternal DCS, and teratogenic effects of pressure, probably due to oxygen or nitrogen inhaled by the mother that crosses the placenta.

I would agree that human data on recompression and fetus are very limited, as it would be unethical to put the mother and baby at risk for the sake of a study. However, retrospective surveys done suggests that diving during pregnancy increases the incidence of low birth weight infants, birth defects, and neonatal respiratory difficulties.

My advice is this, Pregnant women should not dive because of the above-mentioned reasons. And since many teratogenic exposures occur early in pregnancy, even before a pregnancy is diagnosed, women who are actively trying to become pregnant should be advised to put off diving until after delivery.

Even after vaginal delivery, a women should refrain from diving at least 4 weeks. This is to allow the cervix to close, therefore decreasing the risk of introducing ascending infection. Double, or even triple that time period for those who had Caesarean section, and you ladies should be fine...

Thanks for the question...