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Wanted to get a general opinion of the fine folks on this forum on shooting while pregnant. The wife and I are thinking about starting a family soon, and we're trying to decide if she should stay away from the range during this time. My concerns would be the noise and concussion vibrations and the affects on a fetus. We asked the OBGYN and he was unable to give a definitive answer as there are not any studies on this question. He said the unborn child is heavily insulated, but it's hard to say for sure on what effects it could have. I've googled this subject and found answers supporting both sides.

What are your thoughts? Obviously, I'm not taking answers as medical advice, but wanted to see if anyone has experience in this subject.

I am not a doctor, but I do know that both the Army and the AF restrict pregnant females from small arms qualifications until six weeks after delivery. You cite a couple of points with the potential for noise and concussive exposure, but you also have to remember the potential for lead exposure. My D-I-L is an avid shooter and former Army Officer. She absented herself from shooting during all pregnancies and was greatful for the stress relief shooting provides when she returned to shooting after delivery.

I wish we had a way of tagging people in this forum. hopefully your title will bring a couple of the other women to this post. We had a fairly active member a couple of years ago carry while she was pregnant, but I'm not sure if she practiced during her pregnancy. Your wife could possibly wear a mask if it's an indoor range, if it's outdoors it's probably pretty safe if there's a breeze, just don't stay there for hours.

I'm not a doctor, nor did I stay at a holiday inn express, however I have a 7 month old baby and a 3 year old.

You're baby can definitely hear from a very young gestational age, however the baby has great noise protection inside of the mother's womb so there's probably no reason to be too concerned about noise, other than maybe startling the baby. We were around noise quite a bit. Certainly, though, it's not a bad idea to try to limit the noise exposure if possible.

But as the others have said, I'd be more concerned about the potential lead exposure.

If you ask your OBGYN, they will probably tell you not to take her to the range. You always should wash your hands when you're done shooting, but especially when there's an unborn baby involved you should take more caution to clean the residue from your hands, clothes, etc.

Many unborn babies over the centuries have definitely survived far worse treatment than target practice at the range, but as always when it comes to protecting your baby, it's better to err on the side of safety.

Noise and concussion are not the only issues. You are exposed to lead and nitrates from the burning power.

There are various opinions of Doctors. here are a couple of articles. https://iweb.tntech.edu/cpardue/pregnant.html and http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/shootin ... houldnt-i/

Personally, I would contact your OBGYN and see what they say.

Keith B wrote:Noise and concussion are not the only issues. You are exposed to lead and nitrates from the burning power.

There are various opinions of Doctors. here are a couple of articles. https://iweb.tntech.edu/cpardue/pregnant.html and http://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/shootin ... houldnt-i/

Personally, I would contact your OBGYN and see what they say.

And then I'd hold off anyway, but that's just overprotective me. If the little fellow can hear Mozart playing quietly in the background, feeding his expanding mind, a gun shot at three feet and somewhat below the muzzle, not directly behind where the shooter's ears are, seems sure to be an alarming sound.

Seriously, I'd wait on range time for the kiddo until after you can teach about keeping one's booger hook in nostril, not in trigger guard, save the appointed times.

treadlightly wrote: Seriously, I'd wait on range time for the kiddo until after you can teach about keeping one's booger hook in nostril, not in trigger guard, save the appointed times.

I can't keep'em from keeping their little booker hooks out of their nostrils

Thank you everyone for your replies. We were heavily leaning towards staying away from the range and I think this confirmed that for us.

If the urge to shoot is great, some options: a CO2 powered BB pistol ( if you have anywhere to shoot it legally ), or one of the laser ammo options available. Neither option is they same as "the real thing," but either could help with keeping aim practiced and with stress relief.

JagsfanNtexas wrote:Wanted to get a general opinion of the fine folks on this forum on shooting while pregnant. The wife and I are thinking about starting a family soon, and we're trying to decide if she should stay away from the range during this time. My concerns would be the noise and concussion vibrations and the affects on a fetus. We asked the OBGYN and he was unable to give a definitive answer as there are not any studies on this question. He said the unborn child is heavily insulated, but it's hard to say for sure on what effects it could have. I've googled this subject and found answers supporting both sides.

What are your thoughts? Obviously, I'm not taking answers as medical advice, but wanted to see if anyone has experience in this subject.

I don't have any experience or expert knowledge, but I would err on the side of safety.

My wife didn't go shooting with any of our three. If I t were me, I would stay away from an indoor range unless you had to for a job. Outdoors, I wouldn't after the first 3 months. The risk/reward ratio is too unknown to take the chance.

I asked my Dad about this when my wife was pregnant with our twins. He is an OBGYN and has been practicing for almost 40 years. He was head of L&D for St Lukes in the Woodlands, a partner in the oldest OBGYN office in Montgomery County, and president of Texas Association of Obstetrician's and Gynecologists. I say all that just to give everyone an idea of the level of expertise he has.

His opinion was that it should be avoided if possible. If she wanted to spectate he recommended wearing a very thick outer garment, standing a good 15-20 feet away from the shooter, and only shooting outside. No black powder, no firearms that have a loud report (.50 cals, .300 Win mag, etc), and no handling of spent cases or anything else that could have powder or lead residue. Even better would be to just watch a video of it as even that could be harmful.

The bottom line is that, while no studies have been done it's just not recommended. Even shooting a .22 could be harmful as you have to load the ammo and many .22 lr ammo has an exposed lead bullet. Take a break from shooting and enjoy pregnancy. It will be over before you know it.

I can't post this without including a photo of our new additions. They are almost six months old! Time flies!

gregthehand wrote:I asked my Dad about this when my wife was pregnant with our twins. He is an OBGYN and has been practicing for almost 40 years. He was head of L&D for St Lukes in the Woodlands, a partner in the oldest OBGYN office in Montgomery County, and president of Texas Association of Obstetrician's and Gynecologists. I say all that just to give everyone an idea of the level of expertise he has.

His opinion was that it should be avoided if possible. If she wanted to spectate he recommended wearing a very thick outer garment, standing a good 15-20 feet away from the shooter, and only shooting outside. No black powder, no firearms that have a loud report (.50 cals, .300 Win mag, etc), and no handling of spent cases or anything else that could have powder or lead residue. Even better would be to just watch a video of it as even that could be harmful.

The bottom line is that, while no studies have been done it's just not recommended. Even shooting a .22 could be harmful as you have to load the ammo and many .22 lr ammo has an exposed lead bullet. Take a break from shooting and enjoy pregnancy. It will be over before you know it.

I can't post this without including a photo of our new additions. They are almost six months old! Time flies!

Wow congratulations! Hoping to have one (or a few) of my own in the near future. Thank you for passing on this information. We were certainly leaning towards not having her at the range once she's pregnant, and this thread has confirmed it. Great information here.

We're waiting to tell family and friends, so you all are the first to hear it. WE'RE PREGNANT! Just found out today after taking several tests. Looks like my bullets are shooting straight . This will be our first kid and we're beyond excited. Now I'll have something to take my mind off of waiting on my LTC to arrive in the mail.

BABY!!!!