CCW while pregnant

[Paco]

Last night as I was going over my Wife's CHL class tomorrow and refreshing her how to load, chamber, etc. the pistol she asked me that since she is now pregnant how will she carry.

My response was to get on defensivecarry.com and check out Lima's stuff, but short of her adding one more thing to her already busy schedule I thought I'd search the forum and when I didn't find anything I decided to ask the Moms on the forum who have carried while being pregnant.

What did you do, how did you change things around? My Wife has never carried so there won't be any retraining of any habits or anything like that.

She typically wears T-Shirts that don't flow (didn't want to use the term tight T-shirt) and jeans. When she works she wears jeans and a sweater, but wouldn't be good for concealment as they are a bit tighter than the kind a guy would wear.

Man this is difficult to just get the question out.

Now in the near future she will start to wear maternity shirts which might conceal a pistol, but no belt loops on prego pants.

With 4 kiddos already I don't like the idea of a purse carry, but I might suggest a tactical diaper bag by Maxpedition .

Thoughts, suggestions? I know we will need to prepare and since we are in TX will have at least 90 days to experiment, and up to more depending on the work load down in Austin.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Superhouse 15]

My wife carried, and still carries a bag from Bagmaster. It has belt loops, a spring steel clip, and a space for ALICE clips so you can carry it in any kind of waistband. Hers is purple, but they seem to have discontinued that color. Looks like a camera/cell/PDA type case and attracts no attention. Much better than a fanny pack.
BAGMASTER - Quality Bags, Cases and Holsters
Look under "Fanny and belt bags" Hers is a small and conceals a Beretta Tomcat, 2 spare mags, and a bit of cash, DL and etc. I imagine the only options for on the body carry with no belt loops is the same if you're pregnant or not. Pocket carry, paddle holster, or shoulder holster if you don't use a belt bag.

And my diaper bag is from Countycomm, very tactical, but I think Santa is bringing me a Maxpedition.
EOD Utility Bag, Mine bag

[Agave]

She is going to shoot while pregnant? This seems very irresponsible to me. Please ask her wear a mask and to wash her hands afterward.

[havegunjoe]

No shooting while pregnant unless in self-defense please. Bag carry for the time they are pregnant is what my female students have done when in this condition. Not the best but it is only for a few months. Pay particular attention to not leaving the bag unattended. You have to make concessions at times.

[Paco]

No, she won't be shooting unless it is in self defense and God forbid that have to happen.

I was just looking for carry options for her and examples form Moms who carried while carrying, so we can check those options out.

Oh, wait you guys meant during her class, no we have that taken care of with a mask and she will be washing her hands anyway, one of her borderline OCD traits anyway.

[jofrdo]

Pocket carry doesn't work well for ladies. Ladies' jeans and other pants have much smaller pockets, in general, than men's because men carry more in their pockets (not having purses). Pocket carry doesn't work for women unless they enlarge the pockets on every pair of pants in the closet.

Belt holsters can be difficult for ladies. Their hips have more curves than men's, so pistol grips tend to not hug the contours of the body as well, making them hard to conceal without wearing bulky clothing. Maternity clothes could work very well, however.

I don't like purse carry. A lady's purse is often the object of robbery, and a lady could quickly find her purse, and her defensive weapon(s), in the hands of the BG.

Best for women's concealment are closed belt-mounted packs (fanny packs, PDA-like pouches) that conceal the gun in plain sight. A SmartCarry would also work well with loose fitting pants.

[Janq]

Training while pregnant is not a good idea not just for the air quality issue but remember the infant is inside of a fluid chamber with no ear protection.
The audible sound and sound pressure alone is too much for most adult humans never mind a developing embryo/baby. Then there is also the transfer of sound energy from air to womb through the embryonic fluid.
Not a good idea except under the extreme of an emergency, as related to training.

As to carry she might look into IWB, a shoulder holster, or the CamelBak 'Goblin' fannypack holster system...all of which allow invisible carry on persons who are larger in body and gut size, and not just women or pregnant persons.

- Janq

[Thumper]

Where is Lima when we need her?

Oh yeah, taking care of the new baby!

[mp45fan]

Last night as I was going over my Wife's CHL class tomorrow and refreshing her how to load, chamber, etc. the pistol she asked me that since she is now pregnant how will she carry.

My response was to get on defensivecarry.com and check out Lima's stuff, but short of her adding one more thing to her already busy schedule I thought I'd search the forum and when I didn't find anything I decided to ask the Moms on the forum who have carried while being pregnant.

What did you do, how did you change things around? My Wife has never carried so there won't be any retraining of any habits or anything like that.

She typically wears T-Shirts that don't flow (didn't want to use the term tight T-shirt) and jeans. When she works she wears jeans and a sweater, but wouldn't be good for concealment as they are a bit tighter than the kind a guy would wear.

Man this is difficult to just get the question out.

Now in the near future she will start to wear maternity shirts which might conceal a pistol, but no belt loops on prego pants.

With 4 kiddos already I don't like the idea of a purse carry, but I might suggest a tactical diaper bag by Maxpedition .

Thoughts, suggestions? I know we will need to prepare and since we are in TX will have at least 90 days to experiment, and up to more depending on the work load down in Austin.

In the same boat as you. My wife was looking at busting out the old fanny pack to use for a while. But like you and your wife we have some time to experiment. Good luck and if you come up with something good let me know!

[MichaelP]

My ex-wife used a belly band for a while when pregnant, up high above the belly. When the belly got too big for that, she switched to a Smartcarry (but mostly resorted to purse carry, to my chagrin).

x2 on the warnings about the potential hearing damage to the baby.

Regards,
Michael

[Paco]

We checked with several Dr. and all over WebMD and everyone said it should be fine, since she was only shooting 50 Rd. and as long as she wears a mask and washes her hands she would be good to go.

She had someone else clean up her brass and I know she washed the mess out of her hands, she is that way anyway.

She called me a little while ago and she passed her written test and proficiency test (scored 245 out of a possible 250).

[Janq]

Shooting While Pregnant: Dangerous or Not?
By Elizabeth Kennedy and Fabrice Czarnecki, M.D.

Noise
Noise, especially very loud noise and chronic exposure to loud noise, is usually considered as detrimental during the pregnancy. In most European countries, health regulations forbid pregnant women to work in surroundings with a level over 80 dB continuous noise and rapid impulse noise changes of 40 dB, which is much less than the noise of a firearm. In the United States, the Department of Labor limits for impulse (not continuous) noise is 140 dB (Dept. of Labor Bulletin #334, 1971) with additional regulations for ongoing noise. The sound levels of firearms are about 125-140 dB for rimfire rifles, 140-150dB for rimfire pistols, and 150-160 dB for centerfire rifles, pistols, and shotguns.

...Numerous studies demonstrate that exposure to noise during pregnancy, has been linked to such disorders as miscarriage, intrauterine growth retardation, premature delivery (less than 37 weeks), decreased birth weight, hearing loss in babies and children, altered immune response in the fetus and hypertension during pregnancy (a potentially severe disorder). Interestingly, one study showed that a combined exposure to noise and lead seemed to have an increased toxicity, causing heart lesions, which was not observed for either of those agents in isolation. The question again, is "how relevant are the studies to our very specific question?" The answer again, is "we just don't know." Is it something we want to chance?

One thing we do know is that fetal response to sounds begins at about 16 weeks, and the ear is structurally complete by 24 weeks. (At 25 weeks, a baby will move in rhythm to an orchestra drum!) According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, "the hearing threshold (the intensity at which one perceives sound) is approximately 40 dB at 27-29 weeks, and decreases to a nearly adult level of 13.5 dB by 42 weeks of gestation." It would appear that even though the structures are all in place, the sense is not full developed until birth. We also don't know at what point the fetus is most susceptible to noise damage of the ear, whether it's during the first trimester, second or third.

Interestingly, "the vestibular system, [the part of the ear] designed to register head and body motion, as well as the pull of gravity, begins developing at eight weeks." It is believed that "receptive hearing begins with the skin and skeletal framework, [and] is then amplified with vestibular and cochlear information as it becomes available. Hearing is clearly a major information channel operating 24 weeks before birth."

Source - Shooting while pregnant

Recommendations About Shooting While Pregnant

The question about whether women should shoot weapons during their pregnancy has come up in a number of contexts, recreation, law enforcement, military, secret service, etc. However, the answer is not a simple yes or no. Basic research on the topic, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, indicated that fetal sheep suffer hearing loss and damage to their inner ears following intense exposures to steady-state noises and impulse sounds.

Before we go too far, let me explain why pregnant sheep were used for this type of research. Like humans, fetal sheep begin to hear during the last trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, the dimensions of the abdomen of human females and sheep are similar, certainly more so than guinea pigs.

Scientists have recorded the sound levels in the uterus produced by noise sources outside the ewe, estimated transmission loss of sounds entering the ear of the fetus, measured the hearing of the fetus before and after exposures to intense impulses (equivalent to a howitzer - 170 dB), and studied tissue damage in the fetal inner ear following high-level exposures.



The simple message is extremely intense, long-duration exposures alter fetal hearing and produce tissue damage to the inner ear, a sure sign of hearing loss. Exposure to 20 rounds of howitzer-level impulses produced permanent damage to the fetal inner ear. Does this mean the same thing would happen to the human fetus? We don’t know the answer to that. However, it is best to be prudent. A national standards organization offers some guidance (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists).

Pregnant women should avoid steady-state noise levels over 115 dB (that’s really loud and not commonly found outside of heavy industry and the military) and impulses over 155 dB. Consequently, pregnant women should avoid shooting weapons that are more powerful than a .22 caliber rifle or pistol. It makes good sense for pregnant women to avoid loud equipment as well, particularly if their bodies come in contact with the devices.

Some organizations that require pregnant employees to qualify with their weapons are concerned about this issue and have curtailed this practice during the woman’s pregnancy. Shooting is fun and is not hazardous to unborn babies as long as one takes proper precautions.

Ken Gerhardt, Ph.D.
Professor of Audiology and Interim Dean at the Graduate School of the Univeristy of Florida

Source - View topic - Shooting While Pregnant NOISE

The sound issue is a serious concern for pregnant women.

- Janq

[rex03]

Is this Lima you mention the woman on Youtube? If so, her videos are awesome, and VERY informative..

[retsupt99]

A small fanny pack off to one side might work.

[KevinDooley]

Is this Lima you mention the woman on Youtube? If so, her videos are awesome, and VERY informative..

Yes, she has several videos on YouTube, as well as tons of posts here - in my opinion she is one of the "go to" people when it comes to women's carry concerns and also when it comes to shooting while pregnant advice. She knows her stuff, that's for sure!