Heat Exposure During Pregnancy, What’s Safe and What to Avoid

Pregnancy Podcast

Vanessa Merten

Newborn, Parent, Homebirth, Vbac, Kids & Family, Doula, Firsttimemom, Midwife, Pregnancy, Doctor, Parenting, Pregnant, Vanessamerten, Physician, Csection, Prenatalcare, Breastfeeding, Naturalbirth, Nursing, Birthcenter, Family, Baby, Hospitalbirth, Health, Obgyn, Research, Trimester, Expecting, Labor, Mom, Diet, Dad, Birth

4.5 • 948 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode explores how various sources of heat exposure can impact your core temperature and your baby during pregnancy. Get evidence-based information on everything from hot weather and physical activity to hot tubs, saunas, and heating pads. This episode breaks down the nuance in the research to go beyond the typical conservative advice to avoid everything. Learn how to stay cool, protect your baby, and confidently navigate heat exposure. Whether the heat comes from something you can control, such as a hot yoga class, or something you cannot, like a summer heatwave, this episode will help you make informed decisions and stay safe.

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Read the full article and resources that accompany this episode.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, get a copy of the Your Birth Plan Book, and more.

Check out the 40 Weeks podcast to learn how your baby grows each week and what is happening in your body. Plus, get a heads up on what to expect at your prenatal appointments and a tip for dads and partners.

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to the pregnancy podcast with Vanessa Martin.
0:10.6	Hello, thank you for tuning into the pregnancy podcast.
0:15.9	Today's episode, we're talking about heat exposure during pregnancy. What is safe and what to avoid.
0:23.5	We will explore how various sources of heat exposure can impact your core temperature and your baby during
0:30.2	pregnancy. We will go through evidence-based information on everything from hot weather and
0:37.1	physical activity to hot tubs, saunas, and using
0:40.7	heating pads. This episode breaks down the nuance in the research to go beyond the typical
0:47.0	conservative advice to just avoid everything, learn how to stay cool, protect your baby,
0:53.4	and confidently navigate heat exposure.
0:56.9	Whether that heat comes from something you can control, like a hot yoga class,
1:02.5	or something you can't like a summer heat wave,
1:06.0	this episode will help you make informed decisions and stay safe.
1:14.2	You can find the complete article and all of the resources for this episode at Pregnancypodcast.com slash heat exposure. The minute you find out
1:24.2	you're pregnant, you have a ton of questions. The good news is that there is an
1:29.2	episode of the pregnancy podcast with the answers you're looking for. You're currently on the
1:35.4	public feed, which gives you access to add supported content for the last year. Become a
1:42.1	pregnancy podcast premium member and get access to the entire
1:46.6	back catalog that's all ad-free. This gives you access to hundreds of episodes exclusively
1:53.6	available for premium members. Whether you have a question about whether something is safe
1:59.8	during your pregnancy pregnancy or you want
2:02.1	more evidence-based information on an intervention for your birth, there is an episode that
2:08.2	examines the research. Pregnancy podcast premium members have access to every single episode,
	...

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