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Shooting while pregnant?

I love this forum. This is a thought provoking question. The baby has no ear protection. I'm sure that it effects the baby. I agree with the Dr. that said that the one shot encountered in a hunting situation is probably ok. Range visits should be out of the question. Of course the one way to be absolutely sure is to not indulge at all.
 
I have 4 kids and unless you just be a inconsiderate dumb butt a give her a 50cal. Or a pump shot gun with 3 1/2" 000 buck she will be fine. One thing for sure or Dr. Which has delivered thousands of babies and has thousands of women under his care jumped my butt for taking her across the mountain on our 4 Wheeler said that all the bumps cou ld have killed my baby girl so I will not do that again. I would also use a good bit of caution on getting her In a stand incase something failed or she slipped. I dont believe sound is a bad thing I mean we put fingers in our ears. I would say that the baby doesn't know the shot is about to happen so I would guess that it just startles them a bit.
 
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I'm involved in a Training role and government procedures are to warn any prospective persons that there are issues regarding to exposure to unborn babies, this relates to hearing issues and also to recoil.
 
A noise generated in air and then hits fluid is greatly reduced. A sound generated in fluid travels up to 4 times faster than in air. Think about every time you go swimming and your underwater. Voices are very faint and boat motors are very quiet. You can hear the whine of the gearcase and the prop easily because they are underwater. You can't really compare Sound DB between water and air. The reference number for air is 20 microPascal and the reference for water is only 1 microPascal. Sound doesn't transfer between the two very well. Sound generated in air mostly reflects off the surface of a fluid. Also it takes much more energy to create sound in a fluid. So basically if my daughter can hunt safely without hurting herself I highly doubt that the sound of the gun or lead poison will hurt the baby. And our Dr said go for it. He is an avid hunter himself so we don't get the anti gun bias from him. Like I said before do what's comfortable to you after getting your own facts.
Shep
 
Frankly, my dear, I don't ... know. Considering that nobody else does either, I REALLY don't know. There's a lot of tender stuff developing in there. And it's a lot more than ears. After the little varmint arrives, I'd still keep the concussive exposures down for a few years. Subsonic rimfires? At age 2, my father took me out back to shoot his little .32 acp. That was a bit sharp for my expectations. I did an unhappy dance and pee'd my pants. That immunized me from wanting to shoot that thing for a number of years.
From there it was cork-on-a-string guns, shooting at a wind-up metal bear before it could walk off a kitchen chair. There was no pointing of cap-guns or water-pistols ... ever. Once that was learned, the Daisy Red Ryder followed; then a Sheridan pellet gun, and finally a Browning .22 (with Dad's help on the last $10 !) Then it was Mom's old 20ga and a M94 in 32-40. And a 722 in .222 Rem. And blackpowder. (And yes, I've been "burned.") It didn't stunt my growth, nor did it diminish my fascination with hunting stories and firearms.
I'm an Old Man now, and I have so many ways to throw a bullet that it's embarrassing. 2 big safes, plus a safe-room with a vault door. I could use a few more, but a fellow's got to make-do.
If it was me, I'd consider it a great excuse for getting a couple of very good suppressors, even if only for a few years. Lot's of stories, books, and campfires from now, I hope you have a good, safe partner on the trail.
 
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Bigeclipse said:
My wife is 6 months pregnant. She loves hunting and shooting but has done neither yet during pregnancy with a gun. All hunting has been with a bow so far. Rifle season starts here in November 16th. Her pregnancy doctor is not a single doctor but rather a group of 4 doctors. So she rotates between them depending on who is available during her visits. Anyways, every time she goes she asks about shooting while pregnant. We have received 3 different answers. One doctor said it is fine. The second doctor said they would not risk it. The third doctor said an occasional shot (hunting as an example) is fine but range shooting should be avoided. I think we have simply decided to play it safe and just not shoot period but I am curious what everyone's thoughts here are or see if anyone else here has any experience with this. Thanks!
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If any doubt I would say don't do it. Why take the chance.
 
Bigeclipse said:
My wife is 6 months pregnant. She loves hunting and shooting but has done neither yet during pregnancy with a gun. All hunting has been with a bow so far. Rifle season starts here in November 16th. Her pregnancy doctor is not a single doctor but rather a group of 4 doctors. So she rotates between them depending on who is available during her visits. Anyways, every time she goes she asks about shooting while pregnant. We have received 3 different answers. One doctor said it is fine. The second doctor said they would not risk it. The third doctor said an occasional shot (hunting as an example) is fine but range shooting should be avoided. I think we have simply decided to play it safe and just not shoot period but I am curious what everyone's thoughts here are or see if anyone else here has any experience with this. Thanks!
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My wife shot 2 Turkey and buck at 9 months pregnant. The boy is now a man at 20 and out shoots me most of the time. Just go slow and enjoy the outdoors and the wonderful company she is to you.
 
The sound can definitely hurt the unborn baby. While some suggest the fetus has to be at least 8 weeks old before any injury could occur, we'd stop the female officers from shooting on our ranges as soon as they told us they were pregnant. Why risk it? A single shot likely wouldn't amount to much....but definitely not good to be on a range with lots of loud noises.
 
I am also a physician and I think it would be fine. I just wouldn't have her lay prone or fall down. Pretty sure every woman in my family has been exposed to gunshots and shot firearms while pregnant and all offspring have been fine. Granted it's a small case series but nevertheless my bet it is that this has been the same experience of thousands of women.
 
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