A bathhouse is not just a hygiene product.
It heals the soul, cleanses the body from the inside, gives a feeling of relief and washes away all the accumulated negative, has a special energy!
Even city dwellers living in comfortable apartments with a shower and bath cannot deny themselves the pleasure of taking a steam bath with a broom in a Russian bath.
Nevertheless, pregnant women are often warned that they should not go to the bathhouse.
Is it possible for pregnant women to go to the bathhouse, or is a ban on it another prejudice that has no scientific justification?
Can pregnant women go to the bath: how can this be dangerous?
The main danger of the bath is for pregnant women in the first and last trimester.
• In the first trimester women are strictly forbidden any excessive load on the body. At this time, the temperature may rise slightly in women, the heartbeat becomes more frequent and global hormonal changes occur. In parallel, a very tiny child is developing inside the future mother with lightning speed. He laid all the basic systems of the body and any excitement or adverse effect on the mother’s body can stop the development process.
The bath during this period is the strongest irritant. High temperature, especially in combination with a natural increase in the temperature of a pregnant woman, can cause overheating, provoke an increase in pressure and bleeding. All this can lead to an abortion at an early stage. Gynecologists do not associate such miscarriages directly with a visit to the bath, believing that a gestation period of up to 12 weeks is in principle very dangerous and often the slightest deviations in fetal development result in termination of pregnancy for natural reasons. However, it is noted that a visit to the bath can provoke this process as well as any other excessive load, therefore it is recommended to abstain for some time.
• Second trimester is relatively calm, without serious restrictions, so pregnant women can go to the bathhouse, remembering their situation and adequately loading their body.
• Third trimester for the body of a pregnant woman in general, it is very difficult not only because of the grown abdomen. By the 28th week, the pregnant woman’s blood volume increases to the maximum level, therefore, the load on the heart and blood vessels increases significantly. If, in such conditions, you also visit a hot bath, then this can provoke gestosis, water discharge, placental abruption and premature birth. Even for pregnant women who are at a time when childbirth by itself does not threaten the health of the child, in no case should a bath be provoked by labor. This can lead to an unpredictable reaction of the body, severe bleeding, increased pressure and result in an emergency cesarean section to save the puerperal and her baby.
Is it possible for pregnant women in the bath: what to do if you really want to?
First of all, before visiting a bath, a woman in a position needs to consult her gynecologist, who is pregnant. Only a doctor will be able to adequately assess the risks and say whether a pregnant woman can in a bathhouse or not. If your gynecologist considers that the bathhouse in your particular case will not do harm, then you can go, remembering basic care:
• do not get involved in too hot a bath (up to 80 degrees);
• not be in the bath for too long (no more than 10 minutes);
• cover your head with a towel or a special hat;
• monitor your condition and heart rate;
• Do not climb onto the top shelf to avoid loss of balance and fall;
• do not get wet with ice water, it is better to relax a bit after the steam room and take a shower with warm or slightly cool water.
If you follow these rules and do not neglect your well-being, then visiting the bathhouse, you can facilitate the period of bearing a child and the upcoming birth.
• The bath helps to strengthen immunity, prevents the development of infectious diseases, trains the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, which during birth experience a tremendous load.
• Hot, humid air helps prevent varicose veins. Here you can not confuse a bath and a sauna, since dry air with varicose veins, on the contrary, is a contraindication. Pregnant women when visiting a bath should remember that you can’t specially soar your legs, lowering them into a basin with hot water.
• The beneficial effect of the bath on blood vessels increases the stamina of a woman, increasing the pain threshold, and teaches to relax. Consequently, women who regularly visit the bath before and during pregnancy experience much less discomfort during childbirth than if they did not.
• In the warm, humid atmosphere of the bath, all the muscles of the pregnant woman, including the uterus, relax, and overall stress and fatigue are reduced. At this time, it would be nice to remember your feelings and try to tune in to the same wave during childbirth. This will make labor more effective and less painful.
Regardless of the experience of a pregnant woman in a bath, it is better to visit her in the presence of a person who can help in case of an unforeseen situation (increase / decrease in pressure, fainting, dizziness).
It is strictly forbidden to visit the bathhouse when:
• the risk of abortion;
• high blood pressure;
• viral or infectious diseases;
• detection of gynecological diseases;
• elevated body temperature.
Can I go to the bath if pregnancy is just planned?
Well-known obstetrician-gynecologists not only do not prohibit visiting the bathhouse during pregnancy planning, but also recommend doing this twice a week in the first half of the cycle.
The bath, along with a healthy diet and adequate physical activity, cleanses the body of toxins, rid the skin of dead cells, thereby stimulating the improvement of metabolism, thanks to the renewal and rejuvenation of tissues, dilates blood vessels, trains the heart, and relieves tension of the nervous system.
All this allows women to get rid of obsessive thoughts about pregnancy, improve the body and prepare it for bearing a child.
In the second half of the cycle, it is recommended to reduce the intensity and duration of visits and the temperature in the steam room, that is, behave as if pregnancy has already begun.
