Is it possible to tan while pregnant…

It can­not be unequiv­o­cal­ly stat­ed that it is harm­ful for preg­nant women to sun­bathe or, on the con­trary, it is use­ful. This process has both pos­i­tive and neg­a­tive impacts.

So, under the influ­ence of sun­light, vit­a­min D is pro­duced, which is nec­es­sary for the body to absorb such trace ele­ments as cal­ci­um and phos­pho­rus (they have a direct effect on the for­ma­tion of the skele­tal sys­tem). Also, the sun’s rays have an anti­de­pres­sant effect and help to improve mood, sig­nif­i­cant­ly increase immu­ni­ty and give the body strength to fight virus­es. In addi­tion, under the influ­ence of ultra­vi­o­let light, acne is reduced.

How­ev­er, tan­ning, espe­cial­ly dur­ing preg­nan­cy, should be safe. Sun­bathing is rec­om­mend­ed when the sun is in its inac­tive peri­od — that is before 10 am or after 6 hours of the evening. At this time, the risk of get­ting sun­stroke and heat­stroke is min­i­mal.

It is desir­able that preg­nant women begin to sun­bathe “at a min­i­mum”, receiv­ing small dos­es of ultra­vi­o­let radi­a­tion. In the first few days, 5–10 min­utes will be enough. Dur­ing the day, you can stay up to one hour, and you need to increase this time grad­u­al­ly.

It is impor­tant for preg­nant women and the use of sun­screen — this will help pre­vent skin burns. You should also pro­tect your­self as much as pos­si­ble from over­heat­ing — both your­self and the baby. To do this, use a tow­el or sheet on your stom­ach, a hat and sun­glass­es. Sun expo­sure can lead to dehy­dra­tion, so drink plen­ty of water. And it is desir­able to swim more often and be in the shade.

But improp­er expo­sure to the sun can harm you or your baby. So, at the end of the term, over­heat­ing can even pro­voke pre­ma­ture birth. In addi­tion, ultra­vi­o­let radi­a­tion has a direct effect on the for­ma­tion of the baby’s ner­vous sys­tem, so the time spent in the open sun should be strict­ly dosed.

But it is unde­sir­able for preg­nant women to sun­bathe in a solar­i­um. After all, the dose of “arti­fi­cial” ultra­vi­o­let here can be much high­er than that you get nat­u­ral­ly. And this will lead to increased pro­duc­tion of melamine, which, in turn, can pro­voke chloas­ma — focal pig­men­ta­tion.

How­ev­er, there are cas­es when any sun­burn should be exclud­ed: dia­betes mel­li­tus, mastopa­thy, dis­eases of the blood and car­dio­vas­cu­lar sys­tem, the threat of mis­car­riage.