Bath in the first week of pregnancy. What are the benefits of baths and saunas? Other water treatments

For many women, going to the bathhouse is not just a tradition, but a tribute. healthy lifestyle life.

You can visit the bathhouse with your friends, conducting healing and rejuvenation sessions there, it’s nice to chat, relax and return home a completely different person.

For others, it's just to take a steam bath, enjoy peace and quiet, dream and think about life.

But what to do if a woman finds out that she will have a baby very soon? Is it possible for pregnant women to visit the bath, or will they have to give up this pleasure?

Doctors are wary of visiting baths by pregnant women and even more so as a couple. Of course, there are reasons for this.

In a number of other cases, the bath does not harm at all, and even benefits. During the reign of kings in the bath they not only washed and steamed, but also gave birth. After all, the bath is the cleanest and most sterile place.

It has useful healing properties childbirth is much faster and easier. In our times, of course, they don’t take birth in a bathhouse, but its benefits positive influence on the human body have long been proven.

Beneficial features

The bath facilitates the course of pregnancy. And this is not surprising, bath procedures fight very well, train the circulatory and respiratory systems, and are measures to prevent fetal hypoxia.

Bath reduces the likelihood of developing with and others vascular diseases. Many women experience this during pregnancy. unpleasant disease- varicose veins, and also appear frequent.

By regularly visiting the bath, the signs of these diseases fade away. And this is not just so, because at high temperature and humidity, the characteristics of the blood change.

And if you also pour yourself after the bath, then this will train the vessels and make them stronger and more resistant to adverse conditions. That is why bath lovers notice that headache ceased to torment them, and varicose veins are not so noticeable and the legs do not hurt, they get less tired.

When visiting the bath skin condition improves. Humid air has a beneficial effect on general state skin. This effect is possible because in the bath we not only take a steam bath, but also make skin peeling with a mitten. natural remedies, for example, such as, with sea salt.

By adding also contrast pouring you will have a lot of fun. And what can even better affect our skin? Most importantly, in the bath, the pores open so deeply that the skin is completely cleansed not only of dirt, but also of toxins that leave the skin along with salt.

Often, urticaria and others completely disappear after visiting the steam room. And they also noticed that the bath is an excellent prevention.

The bath improves digestion and reduces. It helps to normalize muscle tone. And there is still a positive effect on the vegetative nervous system.

Muscle tension is relieved, because of this, internal spasms disappear, and biochemistry changes. All this in general has a positive effect on the digestive and excretory system.

The bath is relaxing. After bath procedures, stress and anxiety go away, muscles relax, and relaxation sets in. After the bath, any person is in a debilitated state, sleep after that is strong and sweetest.

And of course, the appetite improves.

Helps fight colds and SARS. Everything unnecessary and superfluous is removed from the body, and this applies not only to toxins, but also to viruses.

If after hypothermia it takes a steam bath, warm up well - the most best measure prevent or alleviate the course of the disease.

Facilitates . It has already been noted that steam lovers give birth much faster and easier, and painkillers are required less often than other women in labor.

Helps improve and even restore lactation. Often women have problems with milk, it is recommended to become under warm shower, and it is best to go to the bath. Then arrange a tea party and all problems will pass.

How to visit the bath?

Going to the bath bring rubber slippers, this will help you not to pick up any infection in the bath, as well as not to slip and fall. If you have your own bath - it all depends on your preferences.

I go to the steam room cover your head with a special hat.

It is recommended to drink a lot in the bath, preferably clean water without gases, the more water, the more toxins are excreted from the body.

Listen to yourself, to his condition, how the baby reacts. Feeling discomfort, it is recommended to leave the bathhouse and steam room. It is better to go to the steam room several times than to sit out in it.

Should be treated with caution. Only allowed essential oils, decoctions and infusions of herbs. But some herbs should be excluded, it is best to consult a doctor about this.

Cool down after steam bath, but not by extreme methods like diving into an ice hole or a river. For this, a pool with room temperature or regular douche. Do not forget that you also need to cool your head.

The bath is recommended to visit constantly, this will be more useful. Once a week is enough. Free this day completely so as not to rush anywhere and not to run. You need to completely relax and enjoy.

Therefore, you certainly will not get pleasure from such a bath, but only get upset. Find out about different baths, some have special days to visit pregnant women, and in some baths they even conduct auto-training.

Why can't pregnant women take a bath? Don't listen to anyone if it makes you happy and doctors didn't diagnose, in which visiting the bath is prohibited, then why not?

After all, the baby feels all the mood of the mother and rejoices with her. If before pregnancy you did not visit the bath, it is better to start with not very hot and go with accompanying loved ones. Take care of your health!

Going to the bath for a pregnant woman is not only not harmful, but can be very useful. But before him, learn the intricacies of bathing art.

Is it possible or impossible for a pregnant woman to take a bath?

Many obstetrician-gynecologists forbid pregnant women to visit a bath or sauna. In fact, a trip to the bath is necessary for a woman. Not without reason earlier and childbirth took place there.

Why do people go to baths?
  • Relax, gain strength and positive emotions, cleanse the soul and body - in a word, enjoy.
  • Coming to the bath, we rinse, as if washing away everything alien, superficial and superfluous.
  • In the hot atmosphere of the steam room, all secondary information fades into the background.
  • Wiping ourselves with a broom, we revive the body, disperse it energy flows, revealing "stagnant zones".
  • Rubbed with salt, cleanse the pores and skin. Honey applied to the body nourishes and regenerates the skin. But be careful not to cause allergies!
  • A cool shower or pool after the bath continues the process of activating the body.
  • Hot tea with honey and lemon also helps to remove all excess. Going to the bath perfectly trains the respiratory and circulatory systems, improves the blood supply to the placenta, prevents it premature aging. All this serves as a prevention of intrauterine fetal hypoxia and preeclampsia in pregnant women, relieves increased tone uterus. The circulatory system and the slag removal system respond most actively to the bath. The skin reacts well (a bath is also a prevention of stretch marks!), muscles, internal organs, bones and tendons. Under the influence of steam skin diseases(urticaria, dermatotoxicosis, itching) during pregnancy can regress and even disappear.
  • Strengthens in the bath the immune system, colds, flu, SARS recede. Pregnant women who regularly visited the bath during childbirth had much less pain, requiring the use of antispasmodics and analgesics. This is due to an increase in the elasticity of the ligamentous apparatus, a decrease in excessive muscle tension, and a positive effect of the bath on the autonomic nervous system and psyche.

The bath helps with varicose veins, increasing the tone of the walls of blood vessels. After giving birth, lovers of the steam room are much less likely to experience bleeding, and blood loss during childbirth is noticeably lower. In women who visited the steam room, thrombosis and their complications are less common, which indicates the influence of the bath, including on the mechanisms of blood coagulation.

Rules for visiting the bath

It is better to go to the Russian steam room: low temperature (80-85 degrees) and high humidity (unlike dry steam in the sauna) contribute to the rapid sweating with good health. The effect of the Russian steam room can also be achieved in the sauna. Just lower the temperature and apply water to the stones. How long to stay in the steam room, how many times to go there, how to relax or cool off? Approach each of these questions individually. Try to feel how comfortable you are - stand under a cool shower, plunge into the pool or just sit on a bench. Pregnant women are sensitive and perfectly capture the desires of their body. If you bathe correctly, it brings a feeling of joy, lightness, purity!

Those who are afraid of contracting infections can use special balms and sprays before visiting the bath. intimate hygiene("Intisan", "Epigen"). These drugs can be used during pregnancy. Apply them to the skin and mucous membranes of the genital organs. Thus, you will increase local immunity, protect against the penetration of bacteria and fungi. It is not forbidden to take a steam bath until the very birth, and you can resume visiting the sauna as early as 1.5 months after them.

Bath during and after pregnancy

The bath is absolutely contraindicated in acute inflammatory diseases with fever, epilepsy, oncological diseases, coronary heart disease, stage II and III hypertension. You can't go to the bath bronchial asthma, after recent surgical interventions, with complicated pregnancy (threat of interruption, placenta previa, high blood pressure).

Before visiting the bath, be sure to consult a gynecologist!

Do not forget about the bath and after childbirth. Babies, as a rule, are completely delighted with communicating with each other, with an abundance of impressions and pleasant sensations. Alternating a steam room with swimming in the pool - perfect combination for mothers and babies. The situation is more complicated with women who decide to start going to the bathhouse only after giving birth. It is more difficult to introduce such mothers into the bathing process, relieve stress, and children have a smaller range of adaptation.

Enjoy a trip to the bath: it will keep you and your children healthy!

What to remember when visiting a steam room

  • The head must always be closed. Special felt hats are well suited.
  • Be sure to drink in between the steam room. Best of all, rosehip broth, herbal teas or plain water. The more you drink, the more actively sweat is separated, and excess salts and toxins are removed with it.
  • Be sure to cool the body after the steam room. It is ideal, of course, to plunge into the pool, and preferably with your head - you will immediately feel how the heaviness recedes, and then your head will not hurt.
  • Don't stay in the steam room. It is better to visit several times than once for a long time.
  • It is good to visit the bath once a week, devoting a lot of time to this.
  • Be sure to wear rubber slippers in the bath and lay a towel or bedding on the shelf.
  • It is better for pregnant women to visit a bath in special groups for pregnant women under the guidance of an instructor.

In anticipation of a child, many women have to deny themselves certain pleasures. This is a refusal of alcohol, coffee, an exception certain products, hot baths, and in some cases even baths. You can wash in the bath, but steaming and taking any procedures associated with high temperatures is undesirable and even dangerous.

Facts: is it possible for pregnant women to take a bath

The body of a woman during pregnancy already experiences quite strong loads on almost all systems and organs, and therefore any external influence can be not only unpleasant for both the expectant mother and the unborn child.

Data:

  1. It is especially not recommended to visit the bath in the early stages of pregnancy, when all future organs are being formed.
  2. An increase in external temperature can adversely affect the unborn child and even lead to irreversible consequences.
  3. Bathhouse visit later dates pregnancy (third trimester) is also undesirable, since high temperature puts an additional burden on the heart and blood vessels, which are already loaded and with an increase in temperature, malfunctions of the body are possible, up to fainting.

If a woman went to a bathhouse or sauna before pregnancy and is used to high temperatures and humid air and wants to continue her hikes, she should definitely consult a doctor. If the doctor, after studying all the data and studies of the body, decides that it is still possible to go to the bath or sauna, then the pregnant woman should not go alone.

A visit to the bath is allowed if the temperature in the sauna or steam room does not exceed 70 ° C and stay in the steam room for no more than 10 minutes.

At the same time, you can’t bathe, you can just sit or lie quietly. The head must be protected with a hat. Be sure to drink plenty of water or any herbal teas that are safe for the unborn child.

Bath during pregnancy: restrictions

In every major city there are many different types similar establishments, ranging from ordinary saunas and ending even with Roman baths, and each type of bath has its own microclimate, its own temperature and humidity. But, despite this, it is not recommended to visit these institutions, especially in the early stages, since high temperatures are stressful for the body. This can subsequently lead to health problems in the unborn child.

Pregnant hamams, baths, saunas and other establishments should not be visited, as high temperatures can provoke premature birth. If, nevertheless, a pregnant woman wants to visit such an institution, she should definitely consult a doctor. If earlier a woman went to steam rooms, then she can visit a bathhouse or sauna, but with some restrictions.

Restrictions:

  1. When you first visit the steam room, you should carefully listen to your feelings, with the slightest sign discomfort, you should immediately leave the hot room.
  2. After the steam room, you should drink enough water and you can take a cool shower, but in no case, not a cold one.
  3. Care should be taken with aromatherapy and the use of various herbal infusions, as this may have Negative influence for the future child.

The time spent in the steam room or in the sauna, especially during the first visits, should be limited to 10 minutes. It is also recommended to visit such an institution once a week, while it is not recommended to visit public baths.

A visit to the bath allows you to gain strength and positive emotions, the bath allows you to renew the body, cleanse the skin, remove all unnecessary from the body, as well as train the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. It also allows you to strengthen the immune system, etc. So from visiting such an institution is a complete benefit. You can visit a bath or sauna provided that the person is healthy and there are no contraindications, in particular diseases or pregnancy in a woman. If a woman is pregnant, and she wants to go to the bath or sauna, then she should first tell the doctor about her intention.

Rules for pregnant women:

  1. In the first trimester in pregnancy up to 15 - 17 weeks, it is strictly forbidden to bask in a bath or sauna. The consequences of visiting a bath or steam room can be very different, ranging from increased pressure to miscarriage.
  2. In the second trimester, you can visit the bath, but at the same time, the pregnant woman should not be alone in the steam room or in the sauna, the time spent in the steam room should be limited to 10 minutes. After the steam room, you should cool off with cool, but by no means cold water.
  3. In the third trimester, it is also forbidden to visit such an institution, as this is fraught with the onset of premature birth.

It is strictly forbidden to visit the bath or sauna for those pregnant women who previously had problems while carrying a child. It is also forbidden to visit the bath for pregnant women who have suspicions of a deviation in the development of the fetus. It is also highly recommended not to use brooms in the steam room, to do massage and other wellness procedures.

Hamam during pregnancy: conditions for visiting

The difference between a hammam and other similar establishments is that they have more gentle conditions in terms of temperature and humidity. Usually the temperature in the hammam does not exceed 50 - 60 ° C, so they are considered quite safe for pregnant women, unlike saunas or traditional Russian baths and steam rooms. Perhaps this is the only type of steam room that can be combined with a variety of caring procedures. For example, after warming up after 5 minutes, you can clean the skin with a hard mitten, but you can’t clean the abdomen, sides, lower back, inner thighs, and, of course, the chest.

Conditions for visiting pregnant women:

  1. You can visit the hammam provided that the pregnancy is proceeding normally and the hammam allows you to get rid of excess weight, swelling, headaches.
  2. Low temperature has a positive effect on the circulatory system, and also has a positive effect on the nervous system.
  3. When visiting the hamam, despite low temperature, you should not overdo it, especially the first time, and you should reduce the visit to the hamam for a few minutes first, and then you can gradually increase the amount of time spent, but not more than 10 minutes.

You should not visit the hammam if the woman has not done this before, despite the low temperature. Since an unusual organism to high temperatures can fail, which is fraught with problems with the unborn child. The most optimal would be to visit the hammam as part of special groups for pregnant women. In the group, a pregnant woman will be under the supervision of other expectant mothers, and an experienced trainer or instructor.

Features: is it possible for pregnant women to bathe in the sauna

If a woman does not have enough warmth and visits to a sauna or bath, then you can extreme cases try to use the bath, only the water in the bath should not be hot (not higher than 40 ° C), and you can not bathe in it for more than 10 minutes. You can also take a bath, only in the second trimester, in the first and third is highly undesirable. But, despite this, many experienced gynecologists and doctors who received a good education and encyclopedic knowledge in due time, against visiting such establishments by pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy.

Doctors' opinions:

  1. Most experts are inclined to believe that in moderation and with short stay in a hot room can have a beneficial effect on the health of the unborn child and on the health future mother.
  2. Visiting the sauna is allowed only in the second trimester, and then you should not visit such an institution alone, and also visit the sauna at too high a temperature (above 60 ° C), do not use any oils, brooms and douse yourself with cold water.
  3. A pregnant woman should carefully monitor her well-being and at the slightest sign of malaise or poor health, she should immediately leave the sauna.

In order not to stimulate childbirth, you can not visit the sauna in the third trimester, as well as have sex in the bath or sauna.

Many pregnant women ask why it is still impossible to visit such establishments, despite good health. Since hot and humid air can adversely affect the health of the unborn child. Monthly baths are not visited, with a tattoo you can next week.

Many women find it difficult to change their habits during the period of bearing a baby. Often these include thermal procedures, which are considered very useful for any person. But when you expect your baby, serious hormonal changes take place in the body. Therefore, the question of whether pregnant women can go to the bathhouse remains open. Let's see what the experts think about this.

Is it worth pampering yourself bath procedures during pregnancy?

If you take your visits to the steam room without fanaticism, most doctors, under certain conditions, consider this quite acceptable. You will immediately stop doubting whether it is possible to bathe in a bath during pregnancy when you learn about the following advantages of this procedure:

  1. The bath significantly improves the work of the respiratory and of cardio-vascular system, which are subjected to severe overload during childbirth. So, a periodic visit to this institution will contribute to the training of the corresponding muscles.
  2. Very often expectant mothers suffer from varicose veins veins, swelling, headaches or toxicosis. If you at least occasionally devote time to thermal procedures, all these symptoms will disappear almost without a trace.
  3. Another reason why pregnant women can go to the bathhouse is the prevention of acute respiratory infections and influenza. This is especially true in the autumn-spring period, when it is not difficult to get infected with the virus. And even if you get sick, do not stop going to the bath: you will recover much faster. However, make sure that the temperature in the steam room does not exceed 69-70 degrees, otherwise you risk harming yourself and your baby.
  4. The bath perfectly strengthens the immune system, therefore, the immune system of the crumbs after birth will be much better prepared to meet the outside world.
  5. When doctors ask if pregnant women can take a bath, they often recommend this procedure to stimulate lactation. After all breast-feeding very important for the baby.
  6. Also, if you regularly go to the bath or sauna, childbirth is likely to be faster and easier, because in this case, the elasticity of muscles and connective tissues increases.
Rules for visiting the bath during pregnancy

If before replenishment in your family you almost never could be found in the steam room, now you should not start doing this. Such a temperature drop will become a strong stress for the body, which is already weakened during this period. well and true lovers baths you should not deny yourself this pleasure, subject to certain rules:

In the third trimester of pregnancy, staying in a room with a high temperature is not recommended, since this increases the elasticity of the corresponding muscles and this can provoke premature birth.

Contraindications

In some cases, visiting the steam room is dangerous for the health of the expectant mother. Considering why pregnant women should not go to the bath, we highlight the most important reasons: high blood pressure, uterine hypertonicity, severe toxicosis, the threat of miscarriage and a history of pregnancy failures.

As in Everyday life during pregnancy, a woman is required to observe the rules of personal hygiene. Regular washing allows you to maintain the normal microflora of the skin and mucous membranes, which prevents them from being colonized by pathogenic microbes. But is it possible to go to the bath during pregnancy? This question always worries expectant mothers living in private homes - all of a sudden, a high temperature will negatively affect the further course of pregnancy.

The same situation applies to women for whom visiting a bath or sauna has become an integral part of their lives. For them, the need to bathe has become not only an element hygiene procedures, but also peculiar good habit. Without hot steam and a broom, washing for them becomes inferior, not giving the desired feeling of cleanliness. Therefore, they want to bathe even after conception, not counting the action high temperature dangerous for the child.

Despite the opposite of both situations, the approach to them during pregnancy is almost the same - thermal procedures are undesirable for the expectant mother. At the same time, visiting the sauna or bath is not completely prohibited - you can learn more about this from the obstetrician in the antenatal clinic. At normal flow pregnancy, washing in the bath is not prohibited if the normal thermal regime is observed. But with the sauna, the situation is different - it is not recommended for the expectant mother to bask in it.

Bath

The main factor in it is moist steam, which significantly softens the effect of high temperature on the body. In pregnant women, significant changes occur in the body that adapt the circulatory system to bear a child. Therefore, excessive warming in them can cause certain changes that negatively affect the health of the baby. The following incorrect actions contribute to this:

  1. Too long washing (even if you do not bathe) contributes to the gradual overheating of the body. Direct access of hot air to bare and damp skin directly transfers heat, providing an increase in body temperature. This effect is similar to inflammation, changing the properties of the mother's blood, and disrupting the nutrition of the fetus.
  2. The opinion that a quick visit to the steam room will not harm the child - after all, in a short period of time the body will not have time to warm up. The negative effect is a sharp change in temperature, to which the vessels do not have time to adapt. Their sharp expansions and contractions occur, leading to jumps blood pressure.
  3. If you bathe with a broom without touching the abdomen, you can avoid negative effects on the fetus. Such actions are fundamentally wrong, since such a procedure has a reflex effect. Touching the skin with a hot broom leads to a response of the vessels, causing their expansion. This contributes to the redistribution of blood, which negatively affects the condition of the child.

A bath during pregnancy is only a means of emergency when it is not possible to wash in conditions warm bath or soul.

By deadline

Dependence on the trimester of pregnancy also exists, since in each period future mother lie in wait for various complications from improper washing. As in other cases, the most dangerous visit to the bath in the early stages - at this time, all the main organ systems in the fetus are laid. Therefore, any negative impact can lead to serious malformations in the child in the future.

At various times, visiting the bath is fraught with certain complications - most often there are violations of the circulatory system. Therefore, in each trimester there is a risk of developing the following conditions:

  • In the early stages, the most dangerous miscarriage - spontaneous excretion embryo from the uterine cavity. Under the influence of irritating factors, a sudden narrowing of the vessels that feed the fetus occurs, which is accompanied by the development of bleeding from the vagina. Then there are sharp contractions of the uterus, manifested by pain in the abdomen, after which the embryo is expelled from its cavity.
  • In the later stages, washing should also be abandoned - the risk of developing placental abruption and malnutrition of the fetus is too great. Even slight increase blood pressure in the third trimester is dangerous for mother and baby. Therefore, it is recommended to wash in the most gentle conditions that do not violate temperature regime.
  • Most safe period for mother and fetus - the second trimester of pregnancy. At this time, in contrast to early dates, there is a complete adaptation of the mother's body to bearing a child. Therefore, during this period, you can safely visit the bath, following all the recommendations.

If the pregnancy proceeds with any comorbidities, then warming procedures at any time are absolutely contraindicated.

When visiting a bath, pregnant women are advised to follow some rules that will protect it from the development of complications. All these activities imply a gentle washing regimen that protects the body from pressure surges and overheating. They include the following provisions that are advisory in nature:

  • The future mother is required to be attentive to her well-being - even if the recommendations are followed, any ailment should become an obstacle to visiting the bath. A similar rule exists for the procedure itself - even a slight dizziness or weakness serves as a reason to go home.
  • The total washing time should not exceed 30 minutes - during this period the body will not have time to receive an excessive dose of heat. Despite the seeming comfortable temperature in the sink, its sensation is reduced due to high humidity air.
  • A visit to the steam room, as well as the use of a broom, is strictly prohibited - such actions contribute to a sharp warming of the skin, causing reflex vasodilation.
  • When washing, only warm water- if it is too hot or cold, then you should dilute it to a comfortable level.
  • Often, difficulties arise in your own bath, when the sink and steam room are combined. In this case, a woman is recommended to periodically air it, or go to wash last when the stove is completely heated and cooled down a bit.
  • The number of visits is also limited - it is not recommended to go to the bathhouse every day. But to maintain the hygiene of the genital organs should be daily - washed with warm boiled water and soap.

Before the first visit to women's consultation it is not recommended to wash in the bath - only after the examination, the doctor should ask permission, and also clarify the restrictions.

Sauna

This washing option, despite the external similarity with the bath, is not recommended for visiting at any stage of pregnancy. The whole point lies in a different effect of temperature - in the sauna, the steam room warms up well, so the steam has a dry character. Its effect on the skin is irritating, leading to a sharp response to the expansion of its vessels.

But the traditional sauna outwardly differs slightly from the Russian bath - its modern understanding has changed significantly. This concept means a dry steam room, combined with a place to relax and a small pool. Such washing is not entirely suitable for the expectant mother, characterized by the following negative points:

  1. Exposure to hot steam is contraindicated for pregnant women, as well as any warming procedures. Therefore, one of the elements of the sauna is immediately swept aside - in any period, violation of the rule is fraught with the development of complications. Most often, if it is not observed, the pregnancy is interrupted, which is associated with impaired blood supply to the fetus.
  2. Swimming in the pool is also not recommended - the water in it often does not meet sanitary and hygienic conditions. Insufficient cleaning makes it a breeding ground for infections (including sexually transmitted infections), which can be dangerous to the health of the expectant mother and child.
  3. Sauna visits usually take place big companies, so rest in such conditions is also undesirable for women "in position".

If a woman nevertheless decides on such a “wash”, then one should remember about possible consequences that are dangerous for the current pregnancy.

If it is impossible to refuse a trip to the sauna, then you need to remember some rules. Their observance will protect the health of a woman and a child from negative consequences:

  • Even under persuasion, you should not visit the steam room - abrupt change temperature creates serious tests for the circulatory system.
  • Collective swimming in the pool is prohibited, and you should also be careful around it - the slippery floor can cause falls and injury.
  • Some saunas have a shower - this option is great for pregnant women. Under warm water, you can perfectly wash yourself without disturbing the temperature regime of the body.
  • You need to use only your own hygiene products - it is forbidden to use someone else's soap or towel. It is also not recommended to sit directly on the benches - they are pre-covered with a clean cloth.

In case of any deterioration in the condition, you must immediately leave the institution in order to prevent the development of complications. Depending on how you feel, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible, or call ambulance home.