7
2012
Pregnancy and heat don’t mix! How to cope in the hot weather
An article by 
We welcome a guest post from Brighton mum of two Tamsin McCahill of brightonhobbyproject.posterous.com. She remembers the joy of being heavily pregnant in the summer months and shares her tips on how to cope with the heat.
I love hot weather. So when I found out my second baby was due in August, I was excited about spending my maternity leave basking in the sunshine. I imagined myself serene and earth goddess-like, swanning around in my maternity bikini.
Fast forward to August and I was praying for a freak snow storm. Earth goddess? I was more like a very grumpy hippo. Turns out temperatures above 30 degrees aren’t much fun if you’re lugging around a bump that seems to have its own central heating system with the thermostat stuck on ‘really blooming hot’. The final straw came when I tried to do a bit of last minute shopping for baby bedding and found I couldn’t tie my sandal straps around my swollen ankles.
So if you’re heavily pregnant in hot weather, you have my sympathies – and also my top tips on coping.
Top tips for keeping cool
Work was a relief for me as my office was beautifully air conditioned. Hopefully, that will be the case for you too but, if it’s not, see if your employers can issue you with a desk fan.
Sitting with your feet in a bucket of iced water may raise some eyebrows amongst your colleagues, so instead try using a water spray on your face, feet and back of your neck and running your wrists under the cold tap when you visit the bathroom.
When night draws in, toilet trips, heartburn and restless legs mean that sleep can be elusive during pregnancy. Add hot weather into the mix and you can really start to struggle. To cool things down in the bedroom, keep your curtains closed during the day. Sleeping under just one cotton sheet feels cooler than having nothing covering you at all, as it creates a bit of a draught. And putting your pillowcases in the freezer an hour before bedtime can also feel blissful.
Keep your maternity nightwear as skimpy as possible. If wearing nothing is not an option, go for something made of ultra-light cotton. Silk may feel cooler initially, but in my experience doesn’t allow the skin to breathe quite as well. And avoid all forms of manmade fibre against your skin day and night. This is particularly important when it comes to the items closest to your skin, such as maternity lingerie.
Finally, whether you’re drinking it or wallowing in it, water will really be your saviour in your last weeks of pregnancy. Always keep a bottle of it in the fridge as not only is drinking water a great way to keep cool, it can also prevent the puffiness that comes with pregnancy. Cool showers and washing your hair in cool water can also offer relief.
And not only is swimming a great way of keeping fit – if the pool’s nice and cold, it can cool your entire bod, too. Failing that, get out the kids’ paddling pool, put it in the shade and just wallow in it, preferably while slurping on an ice pop. Enjoy!
This guest post was brought to you in conjunction with John Lewis. Their new Chichester store is open now featuring their Click and Collect service, ideal for busy parents.
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