Everything You Need To Know About Jet Skiing Pregnant

Jet Skiing carries a lot of potential risks, which becomes even more dangerous for pregnant women. The first 20 weeks of the pregnancy aren’t as crucial, so women can potentially go jet skiing (that is also at their own risk). Many jet ski enthusiasts (pregnant women) ask whether they can jet ski while pregnant. And that’s what brought you here today.

While jet skiing, the potential for infected water to enter the vagina is high. Such a situation becomes riskier during pregnancy. It can result in vaginitis, cervicitis, miscarriage, and pelvic inflammatory disease. Hence, one must avoid the activity during pregnancy and three months postpartum.

If you’re looking for more in-depth insight into jet skiing pregnant, please keep reading this article until the end. It’s all about everything you should know about using a jet ski or similar watercraft while pregnant.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. You should always seek medical advice from a qualified physician before undertaking any extreme recreation before, during, and after pregnancy.

Precautions When Jet Skiing Pregnant

This section has included a couple of safety measures (precautions) that you must adopt if jet skiing pregnant.

Before proceeding, please keep in mind that all the precautions (below) are for EARLY PREGNANCY ONLY. It would be best if you avoided jet-skiing during mid to late pregnancy.

Boating While Pregnant

1. Ensure boating in a calm and relaxed environment. Avoid skiing in crowded areas or water bodies where too many skis are in action. 
2. Water reflects sunlight. Staying in the sun continuously for a long time carries the risk of dehydration and heatstroke. Both are highly dangerous for you as well as your baby. If you’re planning to do so, ensure applying sunscreen. But also ensure the sunscreen is safe for use while pregnant. It’s highly effective in such a situation. Furthermore, if possible, avoid staying out for too long in the first place.
3. You can get a feeling of nausea due to the moving water. If you start to feel nausea, get out of the water as quickly as possible. However, you may resume skiing once you’re feeling better, but ONLY if you are 100% that you feel okay, NEVER risk it.
4. Jet skiing in salt water will be a big ‘NO-NO’ even if you’re at an early stage of pregnancy. Make sure you jet ski only in freshwater, as it’ll often be less contaminated than saltwater. Furthermore, saltwater generally means open water, which houses other real threat(s). And sharks are not likely to stop doing what they do just because you may be pregnant.

Tubing and Pregnancy

Tubing is considered one of the most dangerous boating activities to perform during pregnancy. However, if you still decide to go tubing, ensure that the speed is meager (depending on your pregnancy stage). The moment you start to feel uneasy, STOP TUBING.

There’s no time limit for tubing for pregnant ladies. It depends on your pregnancy conditions. So, the best practice is to ask your doctor first in any case.

Riding Speed Limits While Pregnant

If you’re riding a jet ski, the vibrations can be hazardous to your baby. Higher the speed, the more the vibrations. So this means that you must watch out for the riding speed. There’s no specified jet ski riding speed limit. So any pregnant woman must keep the speed within their comfort zone. Also, avoid riding a jet ski continuously for a long time.

And avoid ‘jumping’ the jet ski at all costs. The slam of the watercraft as it lands back in the water may be enough to trigger a miscarriage and should be avoided at all costs.

A personal watercraft becomes very risky if you fall off it (during pregnancy) while it’s in motion. Since hitting the calm water can be similar to hitting concrete (when at speed), imagine how dangerous it could get for the unborn baby. Also, it’s nowhere written that you can’t fall off a slow-moving jet ski, so absolute caution is a MUST.

Lifejackets & Pregnancy

Lifejackets can reduce the risk to some extent (no lifejacket can guarantee 100% safety). Also, make sure to wear a lifejacket that fits perfectly without putting stress on the baby. You must never wear a lifejacket that might make you uncomfortable.

Other Important Precautions For Jet Skiing While Pregnant

1. Always consult your physician before getting on a jet ski. The doctor knows your condition better than any other human being in this world (even you). 
2. Consult your doctor to know about what activities you can and can’t do, for how long you can do a particular activity, and what safety measures you should take to avoid a bitter experience. Furthermore, you can also ask for medications (if any) to take in case of emergency.
3. Just in case of emergency, it’s always nice to have a good knowledge of the location of a nearby medical facility. It’ll also be even better if you know whether or not an ambulance can make it to the shore. Or how far do you have to drag yourself to reach the ambulance? It may seem grim, but you are always better off being prepared.
4. Avoid each and everything that can make you uncomfortable and or make you feel uneasy. It would be best if you never got out of your comfort zone to jet ski while pregnant.
5. During the first 20 weeks of the pregnancy, the baby is approximately up to a banana size. It can roughly weigh 10 ounces, and the height might be 6 to 7 inches. You can jet ski without too many worries during your first 20 weeks. However, skiing after 20 weeks will be hazardous and will pose all kinds of danger.

So basically, no matter how relaxed and safe jet skiing may sound, skip this activity for enough months to get you past the pregnancy and then some. And always consult a doctor BEFORE going jet skiing.

https://youtu.be/pef6wZHhN3U

Tips For Safe Jet Skiing While Pregnant

1. Opt for early or late jet-skiing sessions because that’s when there’s no crowd (typically). The worst thing that can happen during skiing is falling from your boat. However, there’s a reasonably good chance that someone might run into you with their jet ski (knocking you out), which will be even worse. So, avoid the crowds.
2. Take some time to get on the boat (even if you’re a pro). Since you’re carrying a life inside, it’s always advisable to get comfortable on the jet ski before beginning the ride.
3. The moment you start to feel tired, take some rest or perhaps wrap up your skiing session. Remember not to push yourself just for the sake of fun.
4. Stay warm. Don’t get wet and cold, no matter what.
5. Make sure someone’s attending to you at all times and doesn’t leave you alone (even for a second).
6. Lifting, bending, or standing for a very long time aren’t safe. Hence it would be best if you avoided all these activates.

Exercising While Pregnant

If you were physically active before pregnancy, skiing or riding on a PWC during early pregnancy might not present a problem. However, precautions are still essential, and no matter how active you were earlier, you can’t jet ski the same way during pregnancy as you did before. Additionally, you can continue with your exercises during pregnancy but for how long? Ask your doctor.

Exercising during pregnancy is recommended as long as it is comfortable and there aren’t any medical complications preventing such action from being safe. Furthermore, exercising is advised assuming the physician gives it the green light.

Exercises during pregnancy will be different from the daily exercise routine one had before pregnancy. It’ll include light exercises (yoga is highly preferred), which can keep you active, fit, and healthy without causing stress to the unborn child. Furthermore, such activities will keep you ready for a jet ski session as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are there any health benefits associated with jet skiing during pregnancy?

Considering that you’re skiing during early pregnancy, skiing might be a great way to refresh your mind, which will be good for your mental health. However, there are no physical health benefits. In fact, it’s the opposite, which means that you’re in frequent danger of harming your unborn child.

What are the significant risks when skiing during pregnancy?

Major risks include:

1. Falling from your jet ski (more severe if falling stomach-first).
2. Crashing into an object, shore, or something else.
3. Fast-moving jet skis cause vibrations.

Miscarriage is the worst thing that can happen (but rarely).

What activities during boating won’t cause a miscarriage?

During boating or jet skiing, activities such as jumping and vigorous exercise won’t necessarily cause a miscarriage. However, trauma and nausea may be the cause, but that’s again very rare. Furthermore, stress and emotional shock as well aren’t the cause of miscarriage. But, to be safe, consult your doctor before getting into the water.

What do doctors say about skiing pregnant?

Different doctors will have different opinions. The first response of every doctor will typically be a big NO. However, upon examination and a healthy counseling session, the doctor might modify their opinion. You must inform your physician about your physical fitness routine, which will help them study your endurance level and thus your ability to go jet skiing.

Is it wrong to ignore precautions?

Many pregnant women (especially the first-timers) believe that precautions are for weak ladies and tend to ignore them. They believe that nothing can slow them down or stop them from having fun (not even pregnancy). 

There’s a relatively high chance of receiving damage from jet skiing while pregnant, which (in the worst-case scenario) might not be realized even by the doctors. Adverse effects of jet skiing during pregnancy might become visible in the long term (perhaps after childbirth). Hence it’s awful to ignore precautions.

Conclusion

By now, we’ve learned a lot of essential precautions along with some tips for those interested in jet skiing while pregnant. Now, if you’re still wondering whether or not can you go skiing when you’re pregnant, here’s a quick conclusion. 

There are no hard and fast rules about going jet-skiing when pregnant. It’s totally up to you whether or not you want to go, and you can always enjoy boating or jet skiing as long as you’re comfortable (during early pregnancy only).

Our job was to give you the right information, and now you have to follow your feelings, but please, talk to a doctor first.

Stay safe and have fun!

Sources:

• Featured photo by Asad Photo Maldives from Pexels
• https://www.thebump.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/20-weeks-pregnant
• https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/is-it-safe/is-it-safe-common-pregnancy-concerns/
• https://www.crystalski.co.uk/skibuzz/lifestyle/health-and-fitness/can-you-ski-when-pregnant/
• https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/teens/ask-experts/what-can-cause-a-miscarriage