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I heard that you were not allowed to. It will hurt the baby.

its not advised although some people claim to have gone during pregnancy and everythings been just fine,its not worth the risk though.

It's perfectly fine to do... UV rays do not penetrate the body like x-rays and do not come near the baby... the only risks a__sociated with tanning while pregnant is getting too hot, heat stroke, and just the fact that tanning isn't the most healthy thing to do in the first place... pregnant or nt.

My girlfriend owns a tanning bed and her book says that too much exposure to the rays can cause spinal bifida. No joke. She didn't know she was pregnant and was using it at lot, her daughter was born with spinal bifida. She still wonders to this day if that caused it or not. Not trying to scare anyone, just thought I'd share that story. It's not worth the risk. Try a self tanner till the baby is born.

Like Meg said, UV rays don't penetrate that far down, so there is no way it could harm the baby. The reason they say not to use them while you are pregnant is the pigment in your skin reacts differently while you are pregnant, and it could cause you to have dark splotches on your skin...this can also be caused from getting too much sun exposure while you are pregnant.

The condition I was talking about in my previous post is called cholasma. The dark spots may or may not go away after pregnancy. I have also heard of the risk of raising your core temperature high enough while tanning to cause your baby to have brain damage, but all the tanning salons I know of have fans on or by the beds, and the average time is roughly 20 minutes, which wouldn't be long/hot enough to harm the baby.

I went to my doctor last week at 12 weeks who has been a doctor for 30 years he said it is not good for me of course(skin cancer)but it causes no harm to the baby and i don't htink if there was a chance of it hurting the baby in any way he would've told me that and no you are not supposed to raise your temps to a certain temp but 20 minutes will not do that.what about our grandmothers working in cotton fields while preg.that had to raise their temps joking but really that's what my doctor told me and i trust him completely

It will not hurt the baby. I asked my doc last week. He said of course tanning is not ever healthy, but it will not harm the baby in any way. So if it makes you feel good, go for it.

My doctor told me that tanning during pregnancy was fine. I am also 17 weeks and I have been going. The only thing to worry about is gettin too hot, but a few minutes every other day or 2 is fine.

I've both read and been told to not use tanning booths while pregnat it can hurt the baby. Even tanning outside is not really good for your baby.

i dont think any of us have the answer really,ive heard and read so many things about tanning.......but no facts !

I have been tanning since I was 16..I'm now 19 and just recently found out I was pregnant..I want to tan cause I just don't feel like me if I don't. Has anyone tanned that can give me some rea__surance?

I had a friend who went to the tanning bed while she was preg. She would take a big towel and put it over her belly while she was laying. Her baby came out just fine.

I dunno... I wouldn't dare to... one of my friends tanned while she was pregnant and she ended up having a miscarriage... i just think of it like it would be "cooking your baby"... and it is soooo easy to overheat in those things... i am disgustingly white right now and would LOVE to tan... but I'm just not willing to risk it... I can definately hold off for a few more months... anything for my baby girl! :)

There is NO Possible way a tanning bed is like a microwave! That's ridiculous! The only problem with tanning is raising your body temperature and possible harming your skin from the UV rays! If you're going for 10 min intervals you're not going to raise your temperature to the point where you'd harm you or the baby. Every web site I've gone to has stated "there is nothing proven tanning is harmful".

Here ladies check out this site it is questions and answers by professionals about tanning while pregnant. http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q244.html Here is one to ease your minds Q: I have done lots of research on the Internet in reference to tanning while pregnant. I asked my doctor because he says that it's not the radiation that he is concerned about. It's the fact that the radiation increases the body's temperature and that can cause birth defects! Is this true? I am six months pregnant; isn't my baby already developed anyway? A: The light waves that are involved in tanning do not penetrate beyond the superficial layers of the skin and will have no effect on the developing embryo and fetus at any stage of development. At six months of pregnancy all of the organs are developed and the fetus is primarily growing, although some tissues are still developing. You can be a__sured that the tanning is not going to increase your risk for any reproductive effects, even during the earliest stage of pregnancy. It is true that very high temperatures in a pregnant woman could interfere with development, but this will not happen in a tanning salon. Prolonged stays in a hot tub might represent a risk if it is overdone. So relax and enjoy the remainder of your pregnancy---and good luck. Robert Brent MD, PhD