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Women shooting while pregnant...yes? or no? and why

14K views 88 replies 48 participants last post by  Steyr 
#1 ·
Here's a question we have not discussed yet. I am curious, is it safe for a pregnant woman to shoot? I have no idea and would like all your thoughts. I attempted to google this question first to see if I could find some good info on the subject, only to come across a lot of debate and not any actual facts.

My major concerns are noise, lead and of course accidents. What says you?
 
#2 ·
Miss Kitty....are you trying to tell us something?

I do know that when the wife was pregnant with our twins we went to the Tractor Pulls one weekend. She said they kicked something fierce, come to think of it they may have landed a good kick to the head of the other....that could explain a few things from their teenage years.

Actually that is a pretty good question you asked!!!
 
#3 ·
Ha! :)

Having given this a lot of thought, I'm thinking early on it would be safe given that you wash your hands well, maybe have someone else handle the ammo for you? Stick to lower calibers, shoot at out door ranges. I'm not sure about later on. Like you stated about your wife. When I was pregnant with my son we went to an auto race. It was not pleasant for either of us. I thought he was going to kick his way out before we left. So I know the baby can hear pretty well in utero, but is the noise from shooting to much? That I don't know.
 
#81 ·
That's my thoughts as well. Besides, outdoors would help with the noise from others compared to indoor ranges. I would think that as she got closer to 9 months, she wouldn't be shooting 12 gauge but only hand guns (no, not the 50 cal either). :)
 
#5 ·
I'd be concerned about the lead too. When you fire a bullet that isn't enclosed at the base, it vaporizes lead off the back of the bullet that goes into the air. If you're indoors you're going to breath it. You could reduce the risk by shooting total jacket bullets, but if the guy on the lane next to you doesn't have total jackets you're still going to have lead in the air. Best to be outdoors and upwind of the muzzle, if it's possible.

The other thing is the sound. Sound travels four times faster in water than it does in air, and your body is 70% water. I don't know if it poses a risk to an unborn's hearing, but I can see where it could. JAT
 
#6 ·
My youngest daughter was an officer with a state police agency while she was pregnant.
Even though she loved going to the range, her OB wrote a letter to her HR department that asked that she be exempted from her quarterly qualifications (.40 Glock 22) because of the noise.
The OB told my daughter that the loud noise would not be good for the baby.
 
#12 ·
LOL, true!

Personally I would not do it. Obviously there are some very heated debates going on about this topic. With more and more women picking up firearms, this question has to be addressed. I imagine that most, if not all doctor's would say no, but there are women who would say once in a while is ok. I think you have to ask yourself if taking a chance, no matter how slight, is worth it.

BTW, no I'm not expecting, just curious about the topic. Jack would have a heart attack and die if I were.
 
#8 ·
I would not want to risk it. Found this link, which is very similar to a baby development book we got in 1992. Loud Noises During Pregnancy
 
#9 ·
I'll add this as it pertains to sound - not only is it best to be outdoors, but outdoors in the open. Gunfire is much louder indoors than outdoors, but if you're shooting from a structure (like a covered range) you're still going to get a lot of sound reflected back at you. I just noticed that the other day when I was shooting at my club's plinking range. It's maybe forty feet across, with walls on two sides and a roof. I had been shooting there for a couple hours and decided to move closer to the target, so I moved out from under cover and away from the roof. The first thing I noticed was how much the sound was reduced. It really does make a huge difference. But I have to agree with those that suggest hanging up your guns 'till the baby comes. It just flat doesn't seem worth the risk, and it's an opportune time to put the baby's safety first. It's not all bad though - just think of all the ammo you could amass in nine months. :D
 
#15 ·
Can you elaborate on that? I thought lead was an element (Pb), and lead is lead. They put other stuff in bullets too - mostly tin and antimony, but it's still got lead in it. Hard cast bullets are much harder on the rockwell scale - 4 for pure lead as opposed to 15-20 for hard cast bullets - but that's still fairly soft metal. Soft enough that the powder charge should still be able to vaporize some of it and put it in the air. Do the properties change when it's alloyed with other metals, or is there a molecular change that keeps it from doing what lead normally does if it gets in your body? Just curious.
 
#17 ·
The amount of lead retained in the system will not appreciably change during one or even 9 visits to the range. If a lady who is expecting has been a long time shooter and not particularly careful about lead ingestion the damage is already done. Activities increasing ingestion would be shooting in a crowded, poorly ventilated range, smoking and eating during or after the session without thoroughly washing hands and face and wearing clothing indoors after a session at the aforementioned range.

I am with NYPD on the 22 caliber at an outside range and always thinking about your lead exposure to minimize it.
 
#18 ·
Just shoot totally jacketed bullets to eliminate the lead. For the noise use a suppressor. I KNOW you and Jack have a couple of .22's that would look great with suppressors on them. Jusy sayin. ;)
 
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#19 ·
I asked my wife. She's a midwife. She laughed. About all it might do is wake the baby up if it's at the gestational age where it's developed ears. So at full term you might notice an increased level of fetal activity while shooting. Lead exposure is not at a level high enough over a long enough period of time to be an issue. The baby, with all the fluid in the amniotic sack has better hearing protection than the mom does.

Pregnant women are no more susceptible to firearm accidents than anybody else.
 
#20 ·
I asked my wife. She's a midwife. She laughed. About all it might do is wake the baby up if it's at the gestational age where it's developed ears. So at full term you might notice an increased level of fetal activity while shooting. Lead exposure is not at a level high enough over a long enough period of time to be an issue. The baby, with all the fluid in the amniotic sack has better hearing protection than the mom does.

Pregnant women are no more susceptible to firearm accidents than anybody else.
OH!!! Please thank your wife for that bit of info. Interesting!
 
#22 ·
My wife and I had exactly this discussion not long ago. We haven't been shooting together in a long time, and she's expecting our second, so we thought we'd get out for a range day early in the first trimester before the ears developed. It didn't work out, unfortunately, and we didn't feel comfortable after that on account of the noise. Later, she asked her OB/GYN. Wife's doc is pretty easy going, which is one of the things we like about her. But even she was uncomfortable with the idea, largely on account of the noise, though the vaporized lead (remember, there's lead in the primers, too) also gave her pause, though minor. Either way, we decided that if there was any risk to the baby, even just mild hearing damage, it wasn't worth it to us for the sake of our own recreation.

By the way, she still wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on a BG, and I'm actually getting her to carry more often.
 
#28 ·
There is a fair amount of anecdotal information that indicates that noise can cause fetal movement. My step-daughter, the the third-trimester, attended a Southern Baptist Funeral Service. The shouting of the triumvirate of preachers was enough to cause the baby to kick in earnest.

I am unaware of any focused studies conducted on this subject. Doctors, especially in this litigous society, will answer no to almost anything that hasn't been studied to death.

That said, I would go with shooting outdoors, using the .22 (in as long a barrel as one can), and a suppressor if affordable.

As to lead, it's not going to zero in on you because one is pregnant. Airborne lead, even in a properly ventilated indoor range, isn't going to be a problem. I mean, if the nanny-state allows it, with all of it's anti-gun helpers, there isn't much of a risk. Lead on your hands and face is a larger, but still minor, threat. Wash you hands and face before eating or drinking is good advice for anyone, not just pregnant women.

To keep the fetus safe, one should, ideally, remain in bed, waited on hand and foot, for the entire gestation period. You need to be monitored medically that entire time, as well.

OR, one could use good sense, and have a perfectly healthy child. If one believes that noise may adversely affect their unborn, then, for peace of mind, noise should be moderated. Walking past a jack-hammer on the street, or a loud car, or loud music, are other examples of noise pollution that we can't always avoid.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Sorry for venturing into the ladies forum, but I have an opinion on this one. My wife would talk to our twins before they were born, and within hours of their birth, my daughter would look at my wife when she talked to her, but nobody else. This leads me to think that the unborn certainly do respond to positive sounds in a positive way. Consequently, also negative sounds in a negative way.

My take is that going shooting should be avoided till after the kids are born.
 
#30 ·
My advice: Because I can find no consistent findings on the net, is, go shooting and let the unborn child get used to the sound of gunfire....It will make futire range trips with Grandad that much less of a test.

AND, many congrats MK!
 
#31 ·
My wife was shooting sporting clays until the last few weeks of her pregnancy, our daughter didn't seem to mind it and has no ill effects that I can tell. I would think the problem would be just going out of the blue to shoot, then the sudden noise would be a shock, my wife went every week so I am sure the baby was used to it.
 
#32 ·
I have known plenty of women who shoot during pregnancy, there does not seem to have been any side effects. While lead could present a problem, its like anything else, well ventillated area makes all the difference I'm sure, and the ranges where I live are all open, outdoor ranges. I know women who take their babies to the range with them, the babies sleep through it . . same women who shot during pregnancy, all these women put ear plugs in their babies ears when at the range. Maybe next time I am there and see them I will get a pic, is kind of cute. They are all snoozing in the car seats with their ear plugs in place.



CD
 
#33 ·
The once concern I would have is about exposure to lead.

It's been recommended that one wear a respirator made for keeping out lead airborne particals. The mask needs to fit properly as well.
This is for indoor ranges mostly.
 
#35 ·
while I agree that shooting anything over a .32 isnt a good thing for baby,(experience from wife shooting when she was pregnant) why give it all up..shoot a .22 rifle or pistol and use low vel or "quiet" shorts! baby wont hardly even kick with the "quiet" shorts!
 
#36 ·
I'm glad you asked this MissKitty, I saw a sign posted for the first time at the range this weekend and its the first I have ever heard of it.
 
#38 ·
Well then you tell the women and people who have absorbed lead other than through paint that it isn't happening whne it is.

Even the ammo companies and at shooting ranges bear placards that tell us to wash out hands after handling,shooting, or having the rounds out and about.
Learn About Lead Hazards - LSZ, Inc.
Colorado: Department of Public Health and Environment, Occupational Health Surveillance Program
February, 97 Lead
www.vogelusa.com/LeadMgtGuide.pdf

A number of class world credentialed gun instructors have documented this as well. There are women and girls who wear tailored to fit gas masks when they shoot because lead particales are in the air from firing off rounds. So yes, there is a real hazord where lead is considered.
 
#41 ·
Well........believe what you wish.
I do not believe the info in these links is complete or factual. I do believe it may be a "cover yourself" in case a lawyer wants to take you to court. There are people (in politics) who believe they need to bend every rule and scientific study to get the results they want.
To me- recreationally shooting a gun, while having to wear special clothing and a gas mask for safety is about as stupid as washing your car wearing a scuba outfit.
We need to think about this...
I don't want to lead anyone astray....you people believe what you wish.
 
#39 ·
There is an old southern wive's tale about marking a child. Anything that causes anxiety or fear in the mother can cause the babies birth mark to be an image of what caused the anxiety or fear.

Maybe shooting during pregnancy would give the kid a gun birthmark. Oh that would be cool. :eek:
 
#40 ·
I am curious, is it safe for a pregnant woman to shoot? I have no idea and would like all your thoughts.
Is it safe for a pregnant woman not to shoot?
 
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