Hot Tubs, Saunas & Steam Rooms During Pregnancy

This is one of the more consistently cautious pieces of pregnancy guidance, and unlike some other advice on this site, it doesn’t come with many exceptions.

Why heat matters in pregnancy

Raising your core body temperature significantly — as hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms are specifically designed to do — is generally advised against during pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester when the baby’s major organs are developing. Sustained overheating is linked to an increased risk of neural tube defects and other developmental concerns in early pregnancy, and the concern doesn’t fully disappear later in pregnancy either, where significant overheating can contribute to dehydration and, in some cases, is linked to a higher risk of complications. This is different from the milder temperature rise from normal daily activity or moderate exercise, which the body manages well — it’s specifically about sustained, significant heat exposure of the kind hot tubs and saunas are built to produce, generally well above normal bath or shower temperature and sustained for longer than a quick rinse.

Hot tubs and jacuzzis

Hot tubs are generally advised against throughout pregnancy. They combine high water temperature (often 37–40°C or higher) with prolonged, seated immersion, which raises core body temperature more quickly and more significantly than most other everyday heat exposure. This is the single most consistently cautioned-against item in this category.

Saunas and steam rooms

The same reasoning applies to saunas and steam rooms — both are specifically designed to raise body temperature over a sustained period, and both are generally advised against during pregnancy for the same reasons as hot tubs.

What’s actually fine

Warm baths and showers at a normal, comfortable temperature (not scalding hot) are fine throughout pregnancy — this is a different category from a hot tub, both in terms of temperature typically used and duration of immersion.

Normal exercise, even exercise that raises your heart rate and body temperature moderately, is fine and, in most cases, actively encouraged — see our exercise section for specific activities. The concern here is specifically about passive, prolonged exposure to externally applied high heat, not about your body’s own temperature rising moderately during activity.

Warm (not hot) swimming pools are fine — most public pools are kept at a comfortable swimming temperature well below hot tub temperature.

If you’re really craving the spa experience

Some spas offer pregnancy-safe treatments specifically designed around this guidance — massages using pregnancy-safe positioning and pressure, facials, and other treatments that don’t involve significant heat exposure. If you’re booking a spa day, it’s worth mentioning you’re pregnant when booking so staff can guide you toward suitable treatments and away from the sauna, steam room, and hot tub facilities specifically.

The bottom line

This is a genuinely simple piece of guidance with few grey areas: avoid hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms throughout pregnancy, and stick to warm (not hot) baths, showers, and swimming instead.