Tanning While Pregnant

Tanning While Pregnant - Is it Safe?  by Timothy Croy

Tanning beds can be the source of many risk factors for pregnant women. Of course, any dermatologist would tell you to stay away from tanning beds in the first place. They have the same, of not more, of the harmful UVA and UVB rays as the sun does. An increasing amount of younger boys and girls are getting skin cancer because they do not know (or simply ignore) all of the risks of using a tanning bed.

So, of course there is a concern for expecting moms when it comes to tanning beds. Now it is not just your dermatologist that will warn you to stay away from those tanning beds. Your gynecologist and obstetrician will warn you when you are pregnant as well. If you are expecting and are exposed to tanning beds you are exposing yourself and your unborn baby to excessive heat for a period of time. That is dangerous. You have probably heard that you should not take hot baths when you are pregnant. Laying in a tanning bed is the same thing, if not worse. This exposure to the heat of a tanning bed will raise your body’s overall temperature, which is not good for your growing baby.

It can cause overheating, hyperthermia, deplete the folic acid in your body that is vital for your growing baby, and even add risk factors for your baby.

If you tan while you are pregnant you could be setting your baby up to have spinal malformation, neural tube defects, spinal bifida, and more.

While you are pregnant you are also more vulnerable to getting sunburns, which increases your chance of getting skin cancer. It can also cause your skin to get yellowish, brownish spots or pigments on your skin. You are also risking getting sun stroke from a tanning bed while you are pregnant.

No one has to use a tanning bed for any reason. Some experts say that you can use tanning beds while you are pregnant as long as it is only for short periods of time and that you drink a lot of water – a lot! You should not be in a tanning bed for more than five or ten minutes, and you should not be at the tanning salon every day! Two times a week should be your maximum while you are pregnant.

However, I would recommend that while you are pregnant you completely avoid tanning salons and tanning beds. You do not need to be more tan. Getting tans on a regular basis alone (not just sunburns and sun poisoning) will increase your risk for skin cancer, which can be deadly. Stay alive and healthy for your baby by quitting going to tanning salons. Plus, you will save a lot of money! Stay healthy and natural. You might just stick to avoiding tanning salons even after you give birth to your precious baby!

Article by Timothy Croy