[Idaho]

My fiance', a new but enthusiastic shooter, stumped me with a question. I told her that if anyone knew, it would be someone on this site.

We anticipate that she will be getting pregnant in the not-too-distant future. Can she still shoot while pregnant? Are there any concerns about the loud noise traumatizing, perhaps even physically damaging, a fetus? Anyone here have any insight or experience? She really doesn't want to go 9 months without shooting (9 months without caffeine and alcohol are bad enough....)

[Ladybug]

From my understanding of the topic... the jury's still out. But I think overall the recommendation is to keep shooting to a minimum (thought there is no definitive data to suggest NOT to ever go shooting during pregnancy). I would, of course, ask the ob doctor, since each pregnancy is unique. Also, obviously, avoid lead exposure - use lead-free ammo, shoot outdoors, wash hands, etc. There's some debate about whether that level of noise is bad for the fetus.

[JohnKSa]

The noise can penetrate to the baby it's muffled, but possibly still loud enough to be a problem. I've not seen any numbers so it's pretty unquantifed.

Also, pregnancy is a good time to limit lead contact as much as possible.

In this case, since there is an absence of evidence that it's perfectly safe, there's only one rational course of action.

9 month's of no shooting is not warranted, however (assuming that you can resolve the lead exposure issue). Ask your doctor about the point at which the baby's ears have developed to the point that they could be damaged by loud noises.

[BlkHawk73]

I had the same question while my wife was pregnant. From our doctor and from what we read was that the noise could cause some stress towrds the end of the preganncy when the hearing of the fetus is more acute. (I guess that's the word) just like they say to sing to the fetus to sooth it, I guess loud, sharp noises can effect it adversely. Also, as mentioned, the lead contact would be bad also. Perhaps this would be a good opprotunity to get some sort of good airgun. At least she'll be able to keep the basic skills tuned nd even while she's @ home.

Best of luck with any little one! :D Have fun when you can, 'cause they grow fast.:)

[prezzz]

My wife is Pregnant right now with twins. She has not, and will not shoot until after they are born. It's not worth the risk.

[Gordy Wesen]

And what will you do when the kid begins to walk and demonstrates some rare disorder that they trace to explosive noises?
He'll have to live with it and you will only have gotten smarter.

[alan]

I cannot say for certain, however I hadn't noticed pregnant women ceasing to drive automobiles, and that is most certainly more dangerous than most any form of target shooting I can think of.

Have to ask my wife, who has close contact with doctors.

[Edward429451]

Cars dont normally go bang so thats irrelevant. I'd think that at most it should be limited to 22 rifles. But I could be wrong ther too, probably aint worth the chance.

[Pendragon]

Love your kid.

Stay home.

Ears develop fairly early and they cannot choose to avoid the noise.

Even very small ammounts of lead are very very bad for a developing fetus.

Being a parent is about putting your kid first - especially when they are most vulnerable.

edit: take up archery or airguns. .22s are particularly dirty.

[dude]

Unless you could get some really (really) small earplugs............. I would say the concept of shooting while preggers is insane, perhaps criminal

[sm]

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=141128&highlight=pregnant

[Jim March]

If she wants to keep her hand in, get her a pair of good quality airguns (rifle and handgun). Set up a range someplace with no gunfire going on, and trade off with her on long/short air guns.

[TallPine]

Well, your kid certainly won't be afraid of loud noises by the time he or she is born. :)

They can tell whether something is bad or not by the emotional/chemical response of the mother passed through the placenta. If the mother enjoys it, then the baby will be fine with it too.

You probably will have another "gun nut" on your hands in a few years.

[Darrin]

If only mufflers were legal....... :rolleyes:

[mtnbkr]

My wife is 6months pregnant. When she went to the OB/GYN for the first visit, one of the things she was told not to do was shoot guns (I assumed it was the lead or recoil, never thought about noise). Luckily, she's not into them, but even if she was, we wouldn't risk it. Nine months is not too much to ask to ensure the baby's health and wellbeing.

As far as airguns go, make sure it's outside. Airgun pellets can introduce a lot of lead into the air when they hit a hard backstop (like a metal pellettrap).

Chris

[Oleg Volk]

Airgun pellets produce a lot of airborne lead. You might want to use jacketed BBs instead, though they'd be less accurate.

[alan]

My wife is a hospital social worker, pediatrics in particular. She is going to check this with some doctors she works with. For whatever it might be worth, I will post such data as developes.

[Ian Sean]

At knob creek about 1994 or so I saw a pregnant mom going to town with an M2 .50. Her and Hubby were both into class 3 and there were other little rugrats running around. They didn't seem any worse for wear.

Wish my mom and dad were into class 3 growing up!!!!

Not that I condone it, its just something I saw.

[Carlos Cabeza]

I like to hear of people startin' 'em out young but...........:D
I still ascribe to what others have stated here.

[rock jock]

Latest research indicates that the fetus is much more sensitive to noise than previously thought. At what point in the pregnancy the fetus develops a sense of hearing, I don't know. So, there is the possibility of hearing damage or trauma at the least. Of greater concern I would think would be the inhalation of lead dust. This would be a MAJOR health issue at any point in the pregnancy. I would strongly recommend against a pregnant woman shooting anything.

[AJ Dual]

Sounds like a perfect situation to look into Airsoft. I'd reccomend a spring-cocker, or an elecrtic though. The "green" gas for gas powered models is non-toxic, but you never know. Plastic 6mm bb's ought to have nil toxicological impact.

The ability to buy near exact airsoft clones of a favorite carbine, auto or revolver you already own is a plus too.

[Mike Irwin]

Shooting produces two kinds of lead contamination:

1. Elemental lead from the bullet

2. Organic lead from the primer

Of the two, the organic lead is the much greater concern. Organic lead, in the form of lead styphanate, is very readily absorbed into the body through the skin and lungs, while elemental lead isn't so readily absorbed.

Given that even minute amounts of lead can cause severe developmental problems for a fetus (interfers with the way the neural paths develop in the brain, IIRC), I'd say that it's best to do NO shooting during pregnancy.

Limited shooting with the "Lead Free" ammunition might be OK, but I don't know.

[Sheslinger]

I would not be as concerned with the noise as I would with lead. Too big a risk to take, just wait 9 months.

Sheslinger

[DRC]

My contention would be:

Don't take the risk. Stop shooting until the baby is born because logic dictates that if you don't do something that could injure your unborn child then you won't injure it. Just like if you don't stab yourself with a knife you won't bleed or get cut :D

The answers I received veried to the point of me coming to the conclusion that doctors have no idea if it is detrimental or not. They specualte based on known circumstances but those circumstances are based on children that have already been born. So the professional answer is "The jury is still out." If they don't know then you don't know either so don't risk it.

The lead issue I feel is a bit far fetched. Exposure to lead in higher quantities happens more often than we know anyway so the low amounts from shooting wouldn't be enough to make much of an impact (no pun intended) on the unborn child.

So in conclusion my opinion is that children are the greatest thing in the world (next to shooting and even then shooting takes a back seat) so don't take any chances.

Take care and pre-congratulations on the future birth of lifes greatest joy.

DRC

[MrAcheson]

Second the suggestion of airsoft. The BBs are plastic so no lead is present whatsoever and they are quieter than many people I know.

[redneck]

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
You could get her a daisy powerline rifle (880 is good) or crosman pumpmaster for less than $50, scope it for another $20 and she could shoot bb's all she wants. Those guns are surprisingly accurate to about 50ft, sometimes farther. Only hitch to that is if the only place you have to shoot is the local range, which exposes her to noise and lead regardless of what she's shooting.

If she gets one of those homicidal cravings I suppose you could get her a good respirator by 3M, and load .22 mags for her all afternoon ;)

[mtnbkr]

I too like the idea of Airsoft. Not only are they quiet and safe, they can be quite accurate as well. The springcocked Glock version I had would do "minute of papercup" from across the room. I'm sure the nicer ones are more accurate. As a plus, when the kid is old enough, you can use it to teach gunhandling and shooting skills. :)


Chris

[Mike Irwin]

TONS of information on the web on children and lead exposure...

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/digest/lead_april.html

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2000/108p527-531han/abstract.html

http://www.baby-parenting.com/pregnancy/pregnancy_lead.html

http://www.lead-poisoning-news.com/html/dangers.html

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/leadbone.htm

Essentially, when it comes to a fetus or a young child, any lead is too much lead.

[Pendragon]

There is enough stuff to worry about with kids without adding to the mix.

I have a 17 month old son and as any parent can tell you, the love defies description.

You and your wife will be glad when your child is born that you went the extra mile to ensure that you minimized as many risks as you have control over.

There is nothing more helpless and precious than a baby, even though "the jury is still out", one thing is certain - there is no benefit to your baby by going shooting. The very best you can hope for is that it will do no harm.

Is that the standard of behavior you want to adhere to as a parent? My wife and I are the opposite of over protective - we let our son play hard and do things for himself so this is not comming from a mindset of an over protective ninny.

I just get tired of seeing people putting the best interests of their children behind what is easy and convenient and fun for the parent. Not saying this is you - just saying that it bugs me.

I just found out - a friend of mine has a son who is 4 and his daycare person KNEW that her 13 year old son was sexually violating him for MONTHS (they are both headed to serious prison time)- it is infuriating and thats why I feel compelled to write more here. Protect your kid, at any cost, in every way you can.

[Dave R]

Wow, Pendragon, that is so sad. Condolences.

On topic....

Folks, the noise is an issue, too. Fluid transmits sound better than air. All kinds of studies show that fetuses (feti?) can hear very well in the womb. Therefore, any sound that is a danger to Mom's ears is a danger to baby's ears, too. Ain't no way to use hearing protection for the fetus, so DON'T SHOOT PREGNANT.

[VaughnT]

I don't have kids. I've never been a parent. Never even been married.

However, what Pendragon related strikes a chord and I have to ask: Is any woman ready to be a mother if she can't give up something she enjoys to spare her unborn child the possibility of harm?

I cannot imagine what I would have done if I was the father in the above story, but I can imagine that it wouldn't have been pretty or legal. Protect that child, now and in the future; I firmly believe that there is a special place in Hell reserved for negligent/abusive parents.

[Mastrogiacomo]

Bad decision. If I were pregnant or looking to become pregnant, the last place I'd go is the firing range. I love to shoot as well but if she's concerned for the well being of her child, she wouldn't expose him/her to lead floating in the air (especially indoors). Another thing to remember is loud noise is harmful. Think they don't hear -- why are so many ladies playing Mozart to their belly? To be safe, keep away from gun ranges, loud noises and cleaning solutions for the firearms. All bad. Just this woman's two cents...;)

[Bowlcut]

As all have said....just dont shoot. And dont go cleaning your guns in any place than a locked and ventalted place not in your house. If you dont have a place to clean your firearms and keep the fumes and lead out of the house....you shouldnt be doing it around a pregnant wife. IMHO....


so sounds like a perfect time to pick up something like a pair of airsoft plastic pelet guns. Get you like a rifle and a pistol. Spring or electronic, no gas ones. Something you two can have fun with and keep up on your skills. Then you can pass them on to someone else or such later on.

[redneck]

I think I'd go for a pneumatic BB gun over the airsoft, you can adjust the power by the number of pumps, so its good for anything from long hallway or basement with a newspaper backstop, to shooting outside at longer ranges.
Noise isn't a problem, and all steel bb's don't pose any harm.

[Holiday]

Don't do it. When my wife was six months along with our daughter, I had my wife out doing a little practice. When I cut loose with my .357, she said she felt the baby jump. We stopped there. My daughter is now ten, we haven't noticed any problems, except for a decided lack of fear of loud noise, but why risk it?

[Idaho]

I chose, perhaps, poor phrasing in the original post in order to make it more colorful. My intent was not to say that there was no way she would give up shooting, nor that we would do anything known to endanger the child - I merely intended to show her enthusiasm for shooting, and ask a question about a topic which, prior to this point, I had never given any thought. (Heck, there are lots of things about kids that before now I hadn't considered, from schools to safety plugs in the outlets. Doesn't mean I won't think about it or do the right thing - but we aren't married let alone pregnant at this point, and I am just doing the research.)

I appreciate everyone's advice. I think we will find alternate recreation, and I have been telling her she needs to do more dry-practice. :) Airsoft or bb's also sound good, though I don't know that I would be able to find an airsoft P7 (her handgun of choice.)

[MrAcheson]

They make P7 airsoft guns. The spring cocker doesn't work quite right though since its actually just a grip safety on the airsoft. I think they may be green gas guns though. Do a google search and see if you can find anything.