Shooting while pregnant.

This is a question that I never thought of until today when my 6 month pregnant wife and I decided that we wanted to go target shoot. The below link is a Google search of the question and most of the answers are the same or very close. To spare some of the long reading I will share some of the main concerns and advice given. When reading the various links I mainly focused on the third trimester advice, but here is what I found.

It is recommended that one should not shoot during pregnancy due to possible hearing damage to the unborn child and well as lead exposure to the mother. However, they do go on to mention that it is a little safer if the mother to be is shooting a .22 or is using a suppressor. We decided to not go to the range today even with a .22 because I've heard some .22's that seem to be just as loud as larger caliber guns. Not to mention the lead factor. Just something to think about.


https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=can+a+pregnant+woman+shot+a+gun

Sounds like a bunch of hooey. The only complaint the wife had was that the kid would kick her every time it went bang. The daughter didn't develop hearing loss until she became a teenager.

Where do ear plugs go? Nothing but the ear canal. Gunshot noises still hit every other part of your body, including the outside of your head. But the foam in the ear canal is all you need.

Now, how much protection against loud noise do you suppose the fetus has?

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor a parent. I'm just giving my thoughts.

MAC702 said:

Where do ear plugs go? Nothing but the ear canal. Gunshot noises still hit every other part of your body, including the outside of your head. But the foam in the ear canal is all you need.

Now, how much protection against loud noise do you suppose the fetus has?

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor a parent. I'm just giving my thoughts.

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I was thinking about this too, and was wondering how much water would insulate the sound too.

When swimming the instant you go below surface outside sounds are dramatically muted.

At the same time sound waves travel better through water.

suppressors allow pregnant women to shoot, why do the democrats continue this war on women?

I would think the skin plus the womb would absorb most of the sound waves...

probably should avoid indoor ranges though because the noise tends to reverberate. the lead issue is silly. lead used to be present in absolutely everything. I don't think the minor amount one is exposed to from a day at the range is anywhere near harmful level...

I GOT IT

you know the foam they make those ear plugs out of?

Well make a sheet of that, form fitted to the woman in question, use snap buckles to secure it, with a spandex tank top built in to make an airtight seal. the foam will absord the shock waves of the pistol shots and thus the little un would be safe.

think of how many female cops aren't allowed to do qualfiication while carrying a littl' un because of the fear that fotay would hurt the fetus?

maternity shooting wear! "If it saves just one day of your childs hearing, then isn't it worth it?"

Patent pending, don't steal my idea.

Binged it. Seems most say no, but some articles lay out a case for yes. Interesting topic.

Most of the academic literature on this seems to be on the fence. Basically, loud rock concerts would probably be fine. The fetus is actually in a very noisy environment in any case. Gunshots are a great deal louder, so the conservative thing is to avoid them.

sudden valley gunner said:

I was thinking about this too, and was wondering how much water would insulate the sound too.

When swimming the instant you go below surface outside sounds are dramatically muted.

At the same time sound waves travel better through water.

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They travel better through water, but the transition barrier between air and water is where they lose most of their energy.

EMNofSeattle said:

you know the foam they make those ear plugs out of?

Well make a sheet of that, form fitted to the woman in question...

Patent pending, don't steal my idea.

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Sorry, pal:

MAC702 said:

Sorry, pal:

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Yeah but mean doesn't have the dorky chew toy on her head.....

MAC702 said:

They travel better through water, but the transition barrier between air and water is where they lose most of their energy.

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That's what I would figure too.

Seems like some healthcare sites disagree, yet they really don't have any definitive proof for their thesis.

sudden valley gunner said:

That's what I would figure too.

Seems like some healthcare sites disagree, yet they really don't have any definitive proof for their thesis.

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Yet reading the OPs link it seems some LE agencies don't let women shoot qualification or work in firearm related roles while pregnant over the very issue.

TTTinker said:

Sounds like a bunch of hooey. The only complaint the wife had was that the kid would kick her every time it went bang. The daughter didn't develop hearing loss until she became a teenager.

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...too funny.

+1

There is no "safe" level of lead for a child.

I read through this whole thread and I'm confused... what is "Binged it"? I checked the Urban Dictionary and nothing?

Anyway, if you can bonk until your water breaks, I doubt that loud, scary... even percussive noise will harm that nOOb.

Turbod'1 said:

I read through this whole thread and I'm confused... what is "Binged it"? I checked the Urban Dictionary and nothing?

Anyway, if you can bonk until your water breaks, I doubt that loud, scary... even percussive noise will harm that nOOb.

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It's like Googling it, only using Bing instead.

As has been mentioned the transition between liquid and air dramatically reduces the loudness of any shot or shots.
I'm more inclined to worry about accidental lead ingestion.

I also suspect, (but have no concrete evidence) that the 'medical' aspect of it is a result of medicine's rather well known prejudice against both the shooting sports and the ownership of firearms.

Someone just needs to conduct a peer reviewed study of what happens when you wrap the microphone to a sound meter in a few centimeters of amniotic fluid and gelatine with the same density of human flesh.

I would tend to believe the sound level is what has the greatest impact, followed by the concussive forces. The effect on the pregnancy? Probably nil in basic moderation (i.e., not shooting everyday for 8 hours, or Feinsteining* for hours). Jacketed bullets reduces lead exposure. Layered clothing help absorb sound. Yeah... like preggers like to be bundled up.

*Feinsteining: Firing from the hip, indiscriminately.

My opinion is based on spending years in the racing community where moms bring little ones and spend many hours in the grandstands, or moms-to-be in the pits. Most racecars are 120db @ 75 feet, and it can go for hours. My nephew, less than 6 months old, was sleeping during the races with a minimum of ear protection - like a beanie and a blanket. 14 years later, he's pretty much a standard teenager, except he's a giant. Pretty sure that's genetics, not from being exposed to loud noises.

Also in racing, I've had my fair share and then some of lead exposure. I've never had any symptom related to "high levels" of lead exposure.

In regards to hearing loss, I've heard (or read) that it's long-term exposure, not short-term, up to a certain decibel level.

The conservative thing is don't expose the fetus

mikeyb said:

My opinion is based on spending years in the racing community where moms bring little ones and spend many hours in the grandstands, or moms-to-be in the pits. Most racecars are 120db @ 75 feet, and it can go for hours. My nephew, less than 6 months old, was sleeping during the races with a minimum of ear protection - like a beanie and a blanket. 14 years later, he's pretty much a standard teenager, except he's a giant. Pretty sure that's genetics, not from being exposed to loud noises.

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Gunshots can be somewhere between 150 - 160 db. So that is a fair amount more than 120 db (a factor of 1000-10000 times more power). I don't think there is really any hard data on the effects during pregnancy. And like most things having to do with pregnancy, people just don't want to take the chance. So the professional advise would generally be "don't expose your unborn child", just to be on the safe side.

It is similar to the situation with most prescription medications. There just isn't enough data to know that many drugs are safe in pregnancy, so they are put in the class of unknown risk but not recommended. Of course, in the case of medications, there is the positive effect and reason for the mother to take the medication which is weighed against the potential harm.

It is of course up to each parent-to-be, but I don't think my wife would ever want to expose an unborn child to the potential risk in exchange for the pleasure of shooting a firearm.