Are long baths bad?

[AlyssaDeVaul]

In the morning when I feel horrible it seems like baths are the only thing that calms me down and makes me feel better.
I know it's bad to take hot baths so I always take lukewarm baths so I don't harm the baby.

Is it bad to take long baths though? I know it sounds ridiculous but sometimes I spend up to 2 hours in the bath.

Will that cause my baby birth defects?

 

[Fruitmash]

I'm reading a case study on the effects of maternal bathing in relation to birth defects and it states that the theory of birth defects were not supported by bath lengths or frequency

 

[DobbyForever]

My latest version of what to expect says long HOT baths are not good. You shouldn't sit in water that raises your body temp to over 102 for an extended period of time. It's just the temp though not the length. I would just be sure the tub is clean but your mucus plug forms early so infection shouldn't be an issue. Bathe away

 

[Mummafrog]

No, there is no evidence at all to support baths are harmful, as long as they don't make your skin red or raise your heart rate. They can still be warm to your skin, just not hot.

 

[Sambatiki]

As op have said baths are fine hot ones aren't. Enjoy your soak xxx

 

[xdxxtx]

I love a good bath. I especially love scalding hot baths. You're not really supposed to take extremely hot baths while pregnant. Oops, I did just last week, at 5 weeks along. Didn't know I was pregnant yet, though. In a bath, the water cools... sometimes pretty quickly. So even if it starts out hot, it usually won't stay hot long enough to cause damage. Hot tubs are a no no because they stay super hot.

 

[misspriss]

Hot baths even are usually not a problem. Hot tubs and heated baths are dangerous because the water keeps being heated. From the moment you start your bath, the heat is escaping and the water is cooling. Also, it is hard to put your entire body in a home bathtub, so your core temp is usually not at risk to be raised. Hot tubs cover much more of your body.

So you do not have to have cool baths, warm to slightly hot is fine, so long as you keep half your body out of the water and don't keep the water heated.