Check with your midwife or GP before booking a sauna at any stage of pregnancy. The concern is raising your core temperature, and it applies to infrared as much as to a traditional sauna.
Why heat is the issue
The concern in pregnancy is hyperthermia — your core temperature rising above about 39°C. UK guidance advises against saunas, hot tubs and steam rooms in pregnancy for that reason, with particular caution in the first trimester when the risk is considered highest.
Infrared is often assumed to be exempt because the air stays much cooler. It is not. Infrared warms the body directly rather than through the air, so your core temperature still rises — the lower air temperature changes how it feels, not what it does. A gentler experience is not the same as a safer one.
Infrared Sauna is one of five treatments at Floatwell Cambridge, 500 m from the station — about infrared sauna →
Pregnancy also changes how you respond to heat
- Blood pressure runs lower, so lightheadedness and fainting are more likely
- You dehydrate faster
- You may not feel overheated until later than you normally would
- Later in pregnancy, lying or sitting still in heat is simply uncomfortable
What you can have instead
Floatation is the obvious one, and it is often recommended in the second and third trimesters. It is one of very few places the weight comes off entirely, and the water is kept at skin temperature rather than hot, so none of the heat concerns apply. We do not float in the first trimester.
Massage is usually fine with adjustments and the right positioning. Advanced skincare is usually fine with some active ingredients left out. Tell us you are pregnant when you book, and how many weeks, so the session is adapted before you arrive rather than on the day.
Ask your midwife first
This is general information, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. If you are unsure about any treatment here, ask your midwife or GP — and tell us what they said, because it shapes what we can safely do.
After the birth
Sauna use can resume once you have recovered and your midwife or GP is happy, which is typically after your six-week check and longer after a caesarean. If you are breastfeeding, hydrate more than you think you need.