Breastfeeding & Scuba Diving

QUESTION: I am planning to go on vacation this coming week and would like to go diving. Does anyone know the risks with the water pressure on your breasts and breastfeeding and the mix of gases in your bloodstream to the baby? My son is 8 months old.

Dear Una,

Your question was forwarded to me for reply by Breastfeeding.com.  What an interesting question - and one that I have never been asked during the 15 years I've been working with breastfeeding women!

My gut feeling was that this was OK, but I wanted to have an answer for you that I knew was correct. So I went to the Divers Alert Network, which is a website run by Duke University Medical Center.  They answer any and all questions concerning diving safety. (And I was pleased to see that I was right!)

One concern that came to my mind is that you will need to feed or pump prior to diving. Extra pressure from wetsuits and/or tight bathing suits puts you at greater risk for plugged ducts.

The reply follows along with the website.  http://www.diversalertnetwork.org
Oh, by the way, have a great time on your vacation!

Cher Sealy, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Montgomery, Alabama



"Cher, thank you for your inquiry and know we appreciate you and your patient's interest in diving safety. Nitrogen is an inert gas and plays no role in body metabolism. Although nitrogen does accumulate in all of the tissues and fluid of the diver's body, only small amounts of nitrogen would be present in a mother's breast milk, which would be insignificant to the infant.

There is no known risk to the infant then accumulating nitrogen and is simply passed into, and equalized within, the digestive tract of the nursing baby. Not unlike drinking a carbonated beverage.

The most important issue is for the mother to take extra precautions in guarding against dehydration. Daily oral fluid intake will need to be increased to make up for additional fluid losses through breast feeding and immersion dieresis. There are no known contraindications for breast-feeding after SCUBA diving.

Divers Alert Network
Daniel A. Nord, EMT-P, CHT
Coordinator, DAN Medical Services
Duke University Medical Center
(919) 684-2948 ext. 232

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