When you are pregnant, there are a lot of things to consider, even the simplest ones. When pregnant, you are advised not to take certain foods or to take certain exercises. It is reasonable, because those little things you normally do might bring negative effects to your pregnancy, and vice versa. When you are pregnant, you might experience nausea and find certain foods or drinks can ease the uneasiness. Similarly, you might feel some stomach cramps during pregnancy and try to find the solution to relieve the pain. Before pregnancy, you might have experienced the same kind of uneasiness every month during your period and find that hot water bathing can ease the pains. Since you are pregnant now, you have to consider what is good and bad, not only for you, but also for your unborn baby.

Why have a warm-water bath?

A warm-water bath is heaven in freezing morning or evening. Not only it feels comforting, a warm-water bath also gives a number of advantages to your body.

1. It opens up our skin pores. Showering with warm water or soak your body into a warm-water filled bathtub help cleaning your skin pores by slightly opening them while bathing. Do not forget to rinse with cold water to re-close them after bath.
2. Warm-water bath also relax your blood stream. Relaxed blood stream will provide more oxygen for the brain and avoid us from getting a migraine or severe headache.
3. It can relieve your stiffed nose and cough. The steam occur when you are soaking your body in the bathtub will get rid of the mucus that blocks your nose and comfort your sore throat while having cough.
4. Warm-water bath also help relieving stress and muscle stiffness.
5. Taking a warm-water bath before sleeping time will give you a good sleep, so that you will get up with better stamina.

Those benefits might ensure you that a warm-water bath is actually a sanctuary of relaxed and comforted body and mind. However, as other things you consider doing or taking during pregnancy, a warm-water bath has to be proven first to be safe for your unborn baby, because it is what really matters, doesn’t it?

Is Bathing with Warm Water Safe during Pregnancy?

Warm-water bath can be either safe or harmful during pregnancy. It is safe when done in suitable temperature—not too hot or cold. It has the benefits whether you are pregnant or not. However, this kind of bath might be harmful when the water used is too high in temperature. The dangers of hot water bath includes boosted up heart rates, reduced blood flow through placenta, and stressed baby. When a pregnant mother bathes with too-hot warm water, the baby might undergo birth defects. You might also experience miscarriage when taking a too-hot warm water bath during your early pregnancy.

What to consider to have a safe warm-water bath during pregnancy?

Being pregnant does not mean you have to give up all comforts and pleasures you can give to yourself, including a relaxing warm-water bath. You only need to do it cautiously, because whatever you are doing will give effects to your baby. You need to consider several things before taking a hot-water bath when pregnant.

1. Make sure the water temperature is not too high. The safe temperature for a soon-to-be mom bathing is 37 degree of Celsius or 98 degree of Fahrenheit. This is the safe temperature as it is similar to your body temperature. When you have higher temperature, it will stress your baby out because you decrease blood level that is going through the placenta.
2. Avoid taking hot-water bath in sauna as the temperature might be too high and the steam might be dangerous for your unborn baby.
3. Do it in turn with cold-water bath, because cold-water bath also has beneficial effects to your body. Too frequent hot-water baths may lead to dry skin.
4. Drink plenty of water after taking hot-water bath to keep you hydrated. Water will replace sweat you excreted during bathing.

Enjoy your not-too-hot-water bath and get the benefits for your body and pregnancy!