Tanning beds?

Question

I have been tanning and found out I am pregnant. Does tanning harm your baby or cause birth defects?

Answer 1

There are no studies that indicate that tanning beds are harmful to a developing fetus, but they certainly can be harmful to the most important person in your baby's life...you! Play it safe while you are pregnant & use a self tanning lotion if you want a little color. Just to be certain, ask your OB/Gyn what he or she thinks & do what you feel is healthiest for both of you. Best wishes with your pregnancy!

Answer 2

I have read up on this because I just had a baby and when looking to see if tanning is safe while breastfeeding it said a lot about while pregnant. Doctors don't suggest it at all during pregnancy but especially during the first 13 weeks because that is when the baby is developing the most. And even though there are no tests to prove that it will in fact harm the baby they do not suggest tanning or even standing in from of a microwave. I suggest getting the book Your Pregnancy, week by week. It helped answer a lot of my questions and it shows you how your baby is developing which is really nice to read about.
Also don't listen to the people talking about cancer, in the high performace beds there is less of the ray that can cause skin cancer then if you were in the sun. AND lung cancer is completely different from skin cancer so I don't see the connection between tanning and smoking!

Answer 3

nostalgia88 is correct. The tanning beds rays will not harm your baby. The rays from the tanning bed are safer than the sun so you are doing the safer version of tanning. Just make sure you wear your eye covers. Also, you won't want to be laying on your back while you tan once your baby really grows, the pressure will cause pain in your back. Anything you have done already will not harm your baby. Do not let the other people freak you out. Double check with your doctor to see what he/she wants you to do. Being pregnant will allow you to burn quicker though, just be cautious of that.

Answer 4

Doctors recommend that pregnant women should never go into any tanning beds. One research study done in California found that intense or prolonged exposure of pregnant women to UV light may cause a folate deficiency in the mother (folic acid is a form of Vitamin B), which can in turn cause a neural tube defect (NTD) in the developing baby during the first weeks of pregnancy. The neural tube is the portion of the developing embryo's body that eventually becomes the brain and spinal cord, and defects in this area might result in anencephaly or spina bifida. Other studies suggest that the increased body temperature of the pregnant mother from a tanning bed could contribute to decreased growth of the baby. Don't go in tanning beds.

Answer 5

UV rays don't penetrate further than the lower layers of your dermis, so they cannot reach the fetus. The only harm you are incurring is the possibility of melanoma, which typically won't affect the fetus either. This is a good question though, and one that I went looking for since I like going to the tanning salon as well.

The rays that you get from a tanning bed are not substantially different (in terms of damage) from the sun's rays. If you are worried about tanning bed rays, you would probably worry about being in the sun in general.

Answer 6

Tanning beds could cause you to become dehydrated while you're pregnant, same as hot tubs. You wouldn't want to become dehydrated...if you do, your body takes fluids away from the baby for yourself, therefore putting your baby at risk for pre-term labor. Only reason I know this is because I got dehydrated at 30 weeks and almost had my baby two and a half months early. My body was thinking of my baby as a foreign invader, basically, and went into labor to push it out. Thankfully, the doctors were able to stop my labor and I had a healthy baby at 36 weeks.

Answer 7

tanning dose not harm the babby because the uv rays only tan the top of your skin

Answer 8

no not directly but you should stop because the baby can see and UV light may eventually hurt its eyes
I asked my OB because I was tanning and she told me no its not a risk to the baby but there is a risk of cancer to me (ya know how doctors are)
She said there have not been enough studies though so she recommended I stop .

Answer 9

if you just found out your pregnant then the baby should be ok but i wouldnt go back....also when your pregnant you burn more easily. i am dark skinned and i got a horrible burn while i was pregnant just from being in the sun for a half hour...and ive never burned in my life. here's an article if it helps any

http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/psafe/0,,3pbw,00.html

Answer 10

No, you should be fine, but you should stop until after the baby is born. They UV rays don't pose much threat to the baby, but the heat can!