Is it safe to play paintball when you’re pregnant? A lot of women ask this wondering if there is any way they can still enjoy their favorite sport. Unfortunately, ladies, you can’t play paintball when you’re pregnant. There are some paintball establishments that will also disallow pregnant women from playing regardless of what trimester they are in. Here are the reasons why.
Why You Can’t Play Paintball When Pregnant
There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t play paintball when you’re carrying a baby. If you don’t believe it yet, here possible paintball scenarios that can possibly hurt you or your unborn child.
Falling or Tripping
One of the most common occurrences in paintball is falling or tripping. You can always trip on a branch or a rock. Even professional paintball players trip, so you’re not an exception! What’s worse is that when you trip you might collide with a tire or a wall which will just double your pain.
What if you’re just a few weeks in? You might think that even if your baby is just an embryo, it wouldn’t matter so much if you run around in paintball; however, that is so far from the truth. Why do you think people get a lot of miscarriages?
While miscarriages can be caused by a lot of things, stress and a lot of jumping and running are some of them. When you play paintball, there is still stress even if they’re the good kind. No matter how you claim to be “chill” in your paintball game, everyone knows that that is almost never the case.
Just think about it this way. When you trip or fall, there is a high chance that you can damage your placenta. The placenta is the organ that nourishes your baby. If that breaks, then you will be damaging your baby. Some problems like abnormalities and premature deliveries can happen.
Collisions
Paintball isn’t a contact sport, so why should you worry about collisions? You’re right, collisions don’t always happen but when they do, they’re not just your minor problems. A lot of collisions involve hitting some obstacles or other people and the impact can be damaging to your body.
Just like falling on the floor, there’s a lot of damage that can happen to you or your baby. If you collide with a solid object and it hits your belly, then there’s a chance that the force might destroy your placenta. If the placenta gets damaged, then you already know what happens.
It’s not just your placenta that can break. It can be any organ in your belly. When that happens, there are so many possibilities that can go wrong with your baby and you don’t want to risk that.
Getting Hit by a Paintball
The goal of paintball is to hit people so it comes as no surprise that the chances of you getting hit are high. If you can guarantee that your opponents will only hit you on your limbs, then you can play paintball. But you know that that is next to impossible. Even if you’re friends with the opponent and you can ask them to hit you in certain areas only, they won’t be able to guarantee that.
Don’t forget that people can be very competitive when paintball starts. The last thing players want to do is to try to be cautious because someone pregnant is joining the game. They might not say it to your face but they will probably think that you’re a buzzkill.
Just to be safe, it’s best not to even attempt to play paintball when you’re pregnant. It’s going to be hard not to get hit unless you’re very good at paintball. However, that’s still not a guarantee. Besides, if your belly gets hit by a paintball, it will often hurt more than usual. Some even have marks left on their stomach even after a few days.
Overheating
What does it mean to overheat? If you didn’t know, pregnant women have a higher body temperature than a non-pregnant person. This is mainly because your body is using more energy because it’s now taking care of two people. Yes, even if the baby is just a fetus, your body still uses energy to nurture it.
When it comes to overheating, you won’t be in this state all the time unless you constantly do strenuous activities. And yes, paintball is included in that list of strenuous activities. When you play paintball, not only will you be running around in a field, but you will also be wearing several layers of protection. If you’re pregnant, then you’ll be wearing more. Needless to say, playing paintball in the summer is not a wise choice.
What happens when you overheat? You’ll know you’re overheating when you feel warm all over. You’ll also feel nauseous or weak during the length of the game. If you don’t have that much strength in you, then that’s probably you overheating already.
Is there a way to prevent overheating when you’re playing paintball? If you’re not pregnant, you can always wear light clothes especially when you’re playing in the summer. However, if you’re pregnant, you can’t do that. In fact, the more you need to wear more layers to add a layer of cushion to your belly.
Aside from tripping and falling, one of the worst things that can happen is your body overheats. When that happens, your baby will be at risk for abnormalities and body temperature problems while in your womb. You might even end up having a miscarriage.
Injuries
Paintball is a relatively safe sport – it’s not even a contact sport! However, you can never say for sure that it is risk-free. Anything can happen when you’re out in the paintball field and you can’t risk that for your baby. One of the most common injuries people experience is a broken or sprained ankle.
What does that have to do with pregnancy? You’re probably thinking of the same question. The simple answer is there’s no connection between your pregnancy and your sprained ankle except for stress. Stress is a dangerous feeling especially for pregnant women because that can lead to miscarriage. Even if you’re used to having ankle sprains, that’s still no excuse to subject yourself to additional stress.
There will rarely be any major injuries, but why risk it? There are cases where people can trip and fall right on their stomachs and that causes damage to their baby. Again, the worst that can happen is a miscarriage. It might sound impossible but it does happen especially when you overheat or get stressed at the same time.
What If You Really Want to Play Paintball?
This question is very debatable since you will always have a choice not to play paintball. If you do push through with playing (even if it’s just one game), know that you are putting your future daughter or son at risk. Remember, pregnancy is an important stage for any baby, and any problems during this stage has to be taken seriously.
But what if you really want to play? If you still stick to your decision of playing paintball, then the best you can do is to protect yourself by wearing a lot of protective gear. Your focus is your belly now so you have to double the protective pads you put in front of it. But don’t overdo it to the point that you would overheat. Remember, overheating is also a major risk for pregnant people.
Another thing you can do is to stay in shaded areas. Since you’re prone to overheating, you might as well stay in cooler spots like under a tree or behind some obstacles. That way, you can also shield yourself from other attacks. If you plan to hide behind a tree, just make sure that you’re careful where you step. You don’t want to trip over a few big roots.
It would also help to choose a playing field that doesn’t have a lot of obstacles and roots. Of course, this will make hiding difficult because there will just be a few things to shield you. But this is a lot better than having a lot of obstacles that might cause you to trip or fall.
Lastly, you have to hydrate. Even when you’re in a very competitive game, make time for small breaks. Eat some snacks and drink water because you will need the nutrients and minerals. Stay in a safe spot, though, when you take a rest. It also helps to drink at least a glass of water before you start the game.
Conclusion
Can pregnant women play paintball? They can’t, but there’s no rule against it, so some of you will definitely consider it. When you continue playing paintball while carrying a child, know that this is very risky. Any injury to you can harm your baby and the worst-case scenario is you lose your baby altogether. To avoid situations like that, it’s best that you don’t even attempt to play paintball.
