Medical Questions
Pregnancy and Diving
I am a diving instructor and I am in the sixth month of pregnancy. Can I do confined water sessions? The swimming pool is 1.5 mt deep. After giving birth, how long should I wait before coming back to diving again?
Answer from DAN experts:
Recent knowledge suggests suspending the dives the moment the pregnancy is verified. Once this happen, we advise against diving for a pregnant woman, both because it can be dangerous for the fetus (bubbles formation, gas toxicity) and because of mother’s physiology alterations which can compromise some essential functions to diving safety (danger related to acid reflux, reduced inspiratory reserve volume, problems with equalization due to the edematous status of the mucous membranes). We recommend you to go back to diving only in perfect psycho-physical condition, however not before 4-6 weeks in case of natural childbirth and not before 6-10 weeks in case of caesarean section.
