Heating Pad Pregnancy

Unbeatably, pregnancy is indeed one of the most beautiful phases in a woman’s life, but it comes with its own concerns and long lists of why’s and why not’s; do’s and don’ts. While the woman’s body goes through major changes leading to excruciating pain and uncomfortable times, she prefers to ensure all her pain-relieving methods are safe for her baby as well. And why not when it is a very critical point in time in life and the mothers to be would endure almost anything to have a healthy baby. One way to ease out the discomfort like back pain, muscle soreness in leg, neck and feet as well as breast tenderness is through the use of a heating pad during pregnancy, with caution.

Heating Pad Use during Pregnancy

Use of heating pad during pregnancy, preferably not the electric ones, can be very functional and is much safer than popping those pain-killers. Heating pads are a safe way to ease out discomfort at such times. However, it is advisable to consult your doctor, if you are skeptical about its usage. During the nine months, mothers frequently complain of sore muscles, leg cramps, injuries, aching joints and tension headaches, neck and shoulder pain. A heating pad comes in handy and as a viable option for such problems. It is useful to remember that heating pads do not increase your overall body temperature; instead they just dilate the vessels of specific area and ease the blood flow thereby causing flexibility and relaxation. While heating pad during pregnancy could be used to relieve the pain, it is advised to not use it in and around the belly area. Excess heat could be harmful for the fetus and it is better to be cautious and avoid the usage of heating pad. Abdomen should also be avoided and any pain there should directly be reported to the doctor. If the heating pad isn’t helpful for its specified area then the pain should be immediately reported to the doctor.

Precautions of Heating Pad Usage during Pregnancy

While using heating pads during pregnancy, being cautious is very useful and important. The temperature of the pad and duration of is usage need constant monitoring and anything uncomfortable should just be avoided. Excess of anything could prove to be harmful and being alert is better. Although it is highly unlikely, that using a heating pad on a specific area would increase the overall body temperature, having unnecessary high body temperature could be risky. It is also for the same reason that saunas and hot tubs are considered unsafe during pregnancy. Usage of electric heating pads during pregnancy requires extra monitoring as they reportedly emit electromagnetic rays and should therefore only be used with a doctor’s consent. If left unsupervised, long duration of heat exposure could lead to burns and blisters. Also, some tests indicate that these could lead to birth problems, defects and increase the chances of miscarriage. Therefore, it is important to not panic and just be more vigilant while using a heating pad during pregnancy.