Can prego's shoot

20yrs ago the wife brought me lunch out to the range while I was practicing with a comped 38Super. 6 months pregnant at the time and wearing earmuffs, even at a distance she said our daughter kicked her every time the gun went off. She didn't stay long.

So I guess unborn kids can hear very well. I'm not taking sides other than to suggest mom should have the final say.
 
Take lead seriously.

I don't shoot all that often (once a week on average, sometimes less) and I thought I was careful about hand washing etc. But my lead levels have been consistently elevated.
Have her lead level checked, and if it's in any way elevated, stop all shooting until after the pregnancy, and stop any contact with lead (clothes that others used to shoot).
Lead is not that big a deal for adults. It does its worst damage in kids, and on neurological development.
 
Posted on another shooting forum from a person asking a specialist on the subject.
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
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From the CDC on lead exposure:

Pregnant Women


Are You Pregnant?


Prevent Lead Poisoning. Start Now.

Lead poisoning is caused by breathing or swallowing lead. Lead can pass from a mother to her unborn baby.

Too much lead in your body can
•Put you at risk for miscarriage.
•Cause your baby to be born too early or too small.
•Hurt your baby’s brain, kidneys, and nervous system.
•Cause your child to have learning or behavior problems.
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A lot of folks that will suggest because they did it and things turned out fine that its of no concern. There are people today that are dying today of cancer due to there parents brining home asbestos on there clothing 40-50 years ago. And since you have no baseline to compare to how would you know other than a major disease that there has not been an effect.
 
Lots of opinion, but I'll tell you We didn't because of two irrefutable facts. 1) lead exposure. 2) I wear hearing protection to prevent deafness, and sound travels 20x better in water. So it's more likely fetus ears can be damaged.
 
We read a few studies about pregnant factory workers, the results of these studies persuaded us to wait. If you want empirical data can look for such studies.

Lead tends to accumulate in the body and is difficult to remove. Figured that at such an early stage of development best not to add lead to the mix, so again we choose to wait.

Joe-NWT, good point about unborn kid's ability to hear - ours would start kicking in response to different voices (could hear who was on the other end of a telephone conversation).

Canadian-Caesar, I can hear my stomach growl as am typing this - and that is from below a lot of insulation :)

Why risk your kids becoming politicians?
 
mildcustom2 said:
The complications that can arise from shooting while your misses is pregnant go much further than just hearing. Think what those sound vibrations do to a fetus in a woman womb submerged in fluid. Think what this can do to brain development. Also the chemical discharge from a round going off combined with the lead is extremely hazardous to the fetus and its development. Whatever environmental conditions your women experiences the fetus experiences. Whatever chemicals your woman's body takes in the fetus also takes in. All these can have a very negative impact on fetus development.

I found out these things the hard way and this is going much further into it than I'd like too but if it helps prevent one person from having to go through what me and my misses went through than its worth bringing it up.

9 months is not too long to wait for the health of your child and the development of your child for the future.
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So basically, you are for enforcing a 9 months segregation of all pregnant women in antiseptic and bacterial-free containment field ?
 
lineofsight said:
We read a few studies about pregnant factory workers, the results of these studies persuaded us to wait. If you want empirical data can look for such studies.
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There is a difference between constant factory noise and "once in a week" trip at the range.

lineofsight said:
Canadian-Caesar, I can hear my stomach growl as am typing this - and that is from below a lot of insulation :)
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Sounds is not only transmitted by the air, but also by tissue conduction. This is how Google Glass' sound works: bone conduction.
 
Not sure if this is relevant to the question, but even if the "doc" says its ok, if you are shooting at a range i'm not even sure they would allow it due the insurance liabilities.

Just my tuppence worth.
 
bollox said:
You are not involved in a collision everytime you drive. You are 100% assured to be exposed to damaging levels of sound when you choose to shoot.

Weak analogy.
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It was more about mitigating risk while pregnant.



By your theory the indigestion I experience in my stomach I hear must be of nuclear proportions then.
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Depends how much bean-dip you had the night before ;)
 
Regardless of whether it is harmful or not, this isn't a bad time to introduce her to other shooting sports that aren't as loud.
 
relic38 said:
Sound originating in water is transmitted very well. I'm more interested in the loss occurring at the transition point between air and skin/clothing. Whatever gets through that point will be transferred efficiently to the innards. With only speculation to go on (no significant data I found on this yet), I'd say the loss is significant at the transition point, especially with clothing on.
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I understand what you're saying and the first thing I thought about, previously living in a house that had a pool, was how sounds originating outside the pool were muffled. BUT, I also know when someone wanted to get my attention when I was swimming under water they would just tap the edge of the pool, since the edge is attached to the side of the pool which is touching the water, the sound traveled VERY well.

so... Woman shoots, sound / shockwave are external, but she's holding the firearm, so vibration and recoil go down her arm into her torso where baby is growing in womb, everything's touching which means increased transmission.

You also mention that the sound would be muffled further by clothing, here's a test for you, wrap a t-shirt around your head and fire off a few rounds, let us know how well that works for sound suppression. :)

I say if there is a chance of risk being put to your children, is it worth it?
Just like with anything in life, me risking my own life doing something I want to do and knowing I could be hurt or injured is one thing, putting your unborn children at risk without knowing 100% that it's safe, well that's just idiocy.
 
I haven't read the previous posts so this may have been mentioned. Lead exposure during pregnancy I was told can cause birth defects and mental dificiencies.
I also agree with the sound and vibration issues brought up. My wife is 7 months along and I haven't brought her to the range even though she is interested in shooting.
 
MattRidge said:
Why take the chance of crossing the street when you can be hit by a car :-/
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jay walking at night, wearing all black in a busy intersection is different than crossing in day light in a marked intersection with traffic control

You know the risk to your own hearing, that's why you wear hearing protection, if you wear it, your children should DEFINATELY wear it. You're the parent, you need to make good life choices for your children.
 
MattRidge said:
There is a difference between constant factory noise and "once in a week" trip at the range.


Sounds is not only transmitted by the air, but also by tissue conduction. This is how Google Glass' sound works: bone conduction.
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There's very little difference between shooting a case of ammo vs shooting one round without ear pro, it is proven that one round can cause damage.
I was shooting at the range one day, had a .223 out, but lots of rounds down range, was chatting up a buddy during a cease fire, range went live, I wasn't thinking, didn't put my ear pro back on, got on my rifle and took a shot and I will NEVER do that again... my ears were ringing for a few days after that and I have noticed my right ear closest to the rifle/ejection port / wall it echoed off of has had diminshed sensitivity.

....So the woman shooters hand touch the gun will transmit sound into her womb
 
No one has quantified the risks perfectly, but from a risk reward point of view, you don't need conclusive evidence. Don't do it. There is nothing a pregnant woman can't do 9mos later.
 
*MALICE* said:
Most sources that tell you not to shoot while pregnant are basing it on a 'just in case' mindset. This includes doctors. Driving a car while pregnant carries far more risk to child/mother than shooting does.

I know many children whom attended the range before being born and whose mothers shot while pregnant (my wife/daughter included), all can hear just fine and are happy and healthy.

My doctor and my wife's OBGYN, when asked, stated there wasn't any real credible evidence that it was harmful.

Having said that, I don't know that climbing behind a .50BMG or standing next to a howitzer is the best idea. ;)


At the end of the day, though, it's you/your wife's decision to make. And if the woman has a history of miscarriages............maybe a comfy chair for the next 9 months is a better idea.




--Is it safe to shoot while pregnant?
--As long as you don't aim for the stomach
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Driving a car carries far more risk as there are considerably more drivers on the road than shooters on the range, they are driving 24/7 in all conditions, shooters generally don't shoot at night... it's generally harder to get a PAL than a Drivers License. The more time you spend doing a risky task, the better chance you'll have experincing a negative result.

That's great, I can also tell you drivers that have been driving every day for 20 years that have never been in a car accident, but there are examples of people getting into accidents their first day.

so there was no real credible evidence that it WAS harmful... was there any credible evidence saying that it was NOT harmful?

when it comes to my childrens lives, I guess I'm more of a poppa bear protecting my young. It's a decision that you're making for them before they can make it themselves. if you can explain the possible risks and they understand and want to go a head with it then that's a different story. I want to give my children all the advantages that I can and reduce the risk of anything possibly interfering with their development.

at the end of the day, you have to decide what's best for your family.
 
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