Shooting While Pregnant?

[S&WM&P40]

My wife is pregnant with our third child(a boy I hope lol) and we have been talking about doing some firearm training together. She said it would hurt the baby and she did not wish to do it while pregnant. I have done some research and found a few things stating the lead dust may hurt the baby among other things. I did not give any thought to sound levels till I read this.

Recommendations About Shooting While Pregnant



The question about whether women should shoot weapons during their pregnancy has come up in a number of contexts, recreation, law enforcement, military, secret service, etc. However, the answer is not a simple yes or no. Basic research on the topic, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, indicated that fetal sheep suffer hearing loss and damage to their inner ears following intense exposures to steady-state noises and impulse sounds.



Before we go too far, let me explain why pregnant sheep were used for this type of research. Like humans, fetal sheep begin to hear during the last trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, the dimensions of the abdomen of human females and sheep are similar, certainly more so than guinea pigs.



Scientists have recorded the sound levels in the uterus produced by noise sources outside the ewe, estimated transmission loss of sounds entering the ear of the fetus, measured the hearing of the fetus before and after exposures to intense impulses (equivalent to a howitzer - 170 dB), and studied tissue damage in the fetal inner ear following high-level exposures.



The simple message is extremely intense, long-duration exposures alter fetal hearing and produce tissue damage to the inner ear, a sure sign of hearing loss. Exposure to 20 rounds of howitzer-level impulses produced permanent damage to the fetal inner ear. Does this mean the same thing would happen to the human fetus? We don’t know the answer to that. However, it is best to be prudent. A national standards organization offers some guidance (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists).



Pregnant women should avoid steady-state noise levels over 115 dB (that’s really loud and not commonly found outside of heavy industry and the military) and impulses over 155 dB. Consequently, pregnant women should avoid shooting weapons that are more powerful than a .22 caliber rifle or pistol. It makes good sense for pregnant women to avoid loud equipment as well, particularly if their bodies come in contact with the devices.



Some organizations that require pregnant employees to qualify with their weapons are concerned about this issue and have curtailed this practice during the woman’s pregnancy. Shooting is fun and is not hazardous to unborn babies as long as one takes proper precautions.


Regards, Ken Gerhardt, Ph.D., Professor of Audiology

Read more: Shotgunworld.com • View topic - Shooting While Pregnant NOISE

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Did your wife shoot during her pregnancy?

 

[HootmonSccy]

Lead and other chemical exposure would be my biggest concern..
Since it is a recreation activity, it should probably wait until after pregnancy.. Of course if it is a self defense situation, then blast away IF needed.

 

[santa]

first congratulations! i hope things go well. my wife went shooting with me while pregnant a few times and even fired my 458 magnum. we became parents of a girl who as a teenager could not hear us but sure could hear her freinds on the phone all day and she could hear my wallet open up at 100 yards. she is now 28 and shows no ill effects. but while it was no problem for us i agree that it is better to be safe than sorry. perhaps there is a difference in each woman that we do not know about meaning shooting can be safe for one and not another. at times it seems that some new study comes out saying this or (whatever) is harmful to us in some way. dont be too concerned in a few months you will have a new bundle of joy and then its back to the range. its never too soon to think about your childs first gun and i bet there is thousands of opinions what that should be. but seriously i hope that you are there at the birth and whatever you do, respect your wifes wishes. wishing your family the best.

 

[S&WM&P40]

first congratulations! i hope things go well. my wife went shooting with me while pregnant a few times and even fired my 458 magnum. we became parents of a girl who as a teenager could not hear us but sure could hear her freinds on the phone all day and she could hear my wallet open up at 100 yards. she is now 28 and shows no ill effects. but while it was no problem for us i agree that it is better to be safe than sorry. perhaps there is a difference in each woman that we do not know about meaning shooting can be safe for one and not another. at times it seems that some new study comes out saying this or (whatever) is harmful to us in some way. dont be too concerned in a few months you will have a new bundle of joy and then its back to the range. its never too soon to think about your childs first gun and i bet there is thousands of opinions what that should be. but seriously i hope that you are there at the birth and whatever you do, respect your wifes wishes. wishing your family the best.

She thinks our girls should go shooting she just wants them to wait till they are a little older (3 and 5 now). I told her when we find out the sex of our baby(in about two months) if it's a boy I'm buying him a little 22 rilfe. She laughed at me and said ok. The girls picked out their pink 22's the other day now they just have to wait a few years. You are right it does seem like they are always looking to tell us something will harm/kill us. I remember reading last year they claimed to have linked eating charred meat to a increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Link Removed So you are right it's never ended lol.

 

[marionandjohn]

again congratulations on the new one! I personally waited till my son was old enough to wear hearing protection before I took him shooting, I think he was about 3. He will be 7 this year and will be getting a 22 rifle for either his birthday or from Santa. He shoots my P22 regularly but doesnt like my XD40 (too heavy) He cant shoulder my 22 rifles yet but loves the bolt action and shoots the tar (only way i found to get rid of tar) out of it when I help support it. He is now has a little sister so maybe I wont have to be the one to scare her boyfriends:sarcastic:. I know babies in the womb can hear and on top of the lead you might wanna wait till the little fella (fingers crossed) comes out. My wife did go a time or two to the indoor range while pregnant with the second but when she wasnt shooting she left the range area and washed her hands really well. She didnt shoot a WHOLE bunch but just enough to keep her comfortable with the weapons. Again congrats and this is what I have done.

 

[CharlieK]

Two years ago I gave a friend of mine a copy of a shooting magazine that had on the front a photograph of a very pregnant womam holding a pistol across her belly. When my friend saw the photo, she said that when she was pregnant, she went shooting with her husband and that when she or her husband fired, the baby would kick and jump in her womb. She said that it was obvious that the sound of the shot scared the baby, so she quit doing that.

 

[S&WM&P40]

again congratulations on the new one! I personally waited till my son was old enough to wear hearing protection before I took him shooting, I think he was about 3. He will be 7 this year and will be getting a 22 rifle for either his birthday or from Santa. He shoots my P22 regularly but doesnt like my XD40 (too heavy) He cant shoulder my 22 rifles yet but loves the bolt action and shoots the tar (only way i found to get rid of tar) out of it when I help support it. He is now has a little sister so maybe I wont have to be the one to scare her boyfriends:sarcastic:. I know babies in the womb can hear and on top of the lead you might wanna wait till the little fella (fingers crossed) comes out. My wife did go a time or two to the indoor range while pregnant with the second but when she wasnt shooting she left the range area and washed her hands really well. She didnt shoot a WHOLE bunch but just enough to keep her comfortable with the weapons. Again congrats and this is what I have done.

Yeah she wants them to wait till they are 10 (or 9 1/2 lol). I know what you mean on scaring the boyfriends. My wife is into the whole twilight thing and when Bella brought home Edward for the first time her dad had his guns out on the table cleaning them. My wife laughed and said that was so somthing I would do lol.

 

[handgonnetoter]

Yea, my wife never went shooting with me while she was pregnant, but has gone a number of times, in the number of years, since. I never really thought about shooting and a baby in the womb, but it does make you think. I think I would probably wait and just be on the safe side.:biggrin:

 

[KCD1974]

A few local ranges here will not let you shoot if you are expecting. I would think if you are worried about lead, she could wear gloves and shoot outside. As far as the noise, I never even considered that but it could stress the baby I suppose.

Better safe than sorry I guess, the same way that "in the ole days" women smoked, drank, ate whatever and there were still strong, healthy babies born. But now that "we" are more educated on these types of things we try to avoid all the risks.