Pregnancy is a very special period in the life of any woman who decides to have children. Being an altered state or condition, pregnancy carries a lot of questions and dilemmas in regards to what you should or shouldn’t do.
A huge part of these dilemmas revolves around figuring out which treatments are safe while you’re carrying a baby. That’s why, in this article, we’re going to try to answer some of these questions, so you can be absolutely sure that both you and your baby or fetus are safe.
In This Article
Body Treatments
The question of whether you should include body treatments during pregnancy is the one that’s really hard to answer unanimously. On the one hand, it seems as if though there can’t be anything wrong/hurtful for the baby when we think about exfoliation, deep cleansing, detoxifying, and moisturizing your body.
On the other hand, this is something that is generally not considered to be safe for pregnancy. Any type of treatment that’s detoxifying in nature is probably not recommended during pregnancy. On top of that, there’s always a serious risk of injury since women get really slippery after body moisturizers. Our final verdict: body treatments are not recommended.
Massages
This is another one that’s tricky to answer unequivocally. Any massage is designed to relax you and refreshen after a long, stressful day or period in life. Pregnancy can be rather stressful for some women, so why wouldn’t you want to include it?
Well, no one says that you shouldn’t, but we’d still recommend you to wait at least until the first trimester is finished. The fetus is most vulnerable during this time, and massages can stimulate the adrenal system which can lead to muscle spasms. Although no one can say for certain that this is something that caused troubles with pregnancy, it’s still better to take all precautionary measures and sustain from massages during the first three months. Our final verdict: massages are alright, but wait until the first trimester is finished.
Teeth Whitening
The question of whether teeth whitening is safe during pregnancy looks like an easier one, at first glance. As soon as we tell you that there’s no hard evidence that proves that bleaching or teeth whitening during pregnancy can be a risky treatment, chances are that you’ll immediately jump to conclusion.
However, most healthcare providers would still recommend you to wait until after pregnancy and breastfeeding are over, and then have your teeth bleached. The reason for this is the carbamide peroxide that most of these products used for teeth whitening contain. Bleaching your teeth involves the oxidation process that can harm your tissues and cells. It can also be hard on your gums, so our final verdict would be to wait.
Manicures and Pedicures
Even though the idea of getting your nails and toes done during pregnancy can be very attractive – especially if you yearn to feel pretty again, with all the hormones going wild and body changes that are happening – we would still advise you to be cautious.
We’d particularly recommend you to abstain from using acrylics or powder dips as these are reportedly highly toxic. The fact that there are safer ways to get your toes and nails done still doesn’t fully convince us that this something that you should be doing on a regular basis during pregnancy.
Hair Treatment
Most women report that their hair is getting much more luscious and thicker during pregnancy, but this still doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need some form of treatment or care.
At the same time, we can’t really say that any kind of treatment is completely safe for you. The same advice that we gave you about treating your nails and toes would have to apply here as well: just make sure the treatment is non-toxic and that it can’t harm your baby or a fetus. For instance, simply cutting your hair is not going to affect either you or the baby/fetus, but we’d recommend you to be more cautious if you want to make other changes, such as hair coloring.
Final Word
Pregnancy can be a pretty stressful and confusing period that raises a lot of questions. Some of these queries concern which treatments are safe during pregnancy. And although it’s very hard to definitely answer some of these questions, we still hope that we gave you a clear idea of what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to this matter.
Whatever you decide to do, we strongly advise you to consult with the professional, prior to engaging in any of these treatments or activities.
