running while pregnant?

[djoygirl]

To everyone who is pregnant, or has been:

did any of you run throughout your pregnancy? Before I was pregnant I ran 3-4 times a week. Since I found out, I cut down to twice a week, and started some light Tae-bo, and stationary cycling. During everything I keep my heartrate much lower--150 or below.
I had my first dr's appt yesterday, and she pretty much implied that I should quit running and ease up on everything. Of course DH freaked out, so I promised to start walking instead, but I'm still kind of ticked off.

Any success stories out there? I'd love to hear from you.

[SusanT]

I haven't had kids yet, but I do know several women who remained very active until late pregnancy. One friend even swam the swim leg of a triathlon while 7 months pregnant and she continued swimming almost until delivery. Another woman I know ran until she was 7 months pregnant as well and only had to quit because her hip joints were starting to loosen up.

Unless there's some other reason your doctor wants you to give up activity, I don't see why you should have to. I thought the prevailing wisdom is that moderate exercise is beneficial.

You say she "implied "so perhaps you should clarify with her what her advice to you really is - maybe there's a misunderstanding.

[Julia1Pin]

My friend was in the middle of her 5 mile daily walk when she went into labor. Apparently exercise is great for you.

[emilycat]

Oooh, bad doctor -- shame on her ignorance.

I haven't read a single thing about running being bad during pregnancy -- in fact, I've read countless articles in Runner's World promoting it. Their general consensus is that while yes, you should tone down the intensity, there is absolutely nothing wrong with continuing to run while you're pregnant; it keeps you healthy, makes getting in shape (and losing weight) much easier after delivery, and there have even been some theories tossed around that women who run during pregnancy have smarter babies (that one hasn't been confirmed, but what the heck? :) )
Here's a link to one of their articles:
http://www.womens-running.com/concerns/passenger_board.html

[mb]

i read once that if you are already a runner/exerciser, that you should just tone it down slightly while pregnant, but pregnancy isn't the time to START a major running/exercise routine if you weren't active before. as time goes by, though, you may find yourself getting more tired (and large!), so you might naturally tone down your exercise program.

[Kerri]

Just a little story...

I ran a 5K last year and after the race I was talking to the lady who was 7 months pregnant. My time was like 27:55, her time was 25:00ish and she got a trophy!

She wore a heart monitor on her wrist and ran quite often from what I understood.

I'm with Emily - bad doctor!

[shoyski]

When we found out I was pregnant, my doctor said to continue all excerise if I wanted, which included rollerblading, step aerobics and weight training at the time. My husband kind of freaked (read "overprotective) so I switched to swimming instead of rollerblading.

I asked the doctor two weeks ago if I could continue exercising right up until delivery and he said yes, just don't get my heart rate up too high. My doctor also said he had a marathon runner who ran into her eighth month.

About a month and a half ago (6 1/2 months pregnant) I switched to low impact aerobics, purely for comfort. It wasn't comfortable for me to bounce as much. And I'm finding in the past two weeks that I'm much more short of breath but I'm not surprised. My SIL who runs about 8-10 miles a day said she ran up until 41/2-5 months pregnant.

I"m with SusanT; ask your doctor to be very specific. Good luck...I know I feel better when I exercise, even while pregnant.

[KValley]

Emily-

my printer is whirring away. Thank you for providing the link- this article is excellent.

Not yet pregnant, but hoping to be so in the next year. Can anyone else recommend books/references for exercising while pregnant?

There was one book referenced in the article: Joan M. Butler, Fit & Pregnant: The Pregnant Woman's Guide to Exercise (Acorn Publishing, 1996). I'll look for this...

Cheers, all

Julie

[LGBurns]

Okay, this is OT a bit and I apologize but couldn't help putting it in. I don't plan on trying to get pregnant for a few more years yet but I've been thinking lately that I should be in "training" for it now. I'm 34 and imagine that I'll probably start trying when I'm 36 or so. Since there is a little more risk when you get older, I've been thinking I should be doing more exercise now to get my body prepared so that it will be easier when the time comes. It might just be my new attempt to psych myself into getting into the gym more. Anyone think I'm nutty (for this latest input--I'm sure y'all have already determined I'm nutty for other reasons ;) )?

[KValley]

Not nutty at all, my dear! And thank you for validating my own attempts at pregnancy-preparedness. For the last 18 months or so, I've been slowing creating a library of pregnancy references, changing my eating habits, quitting caffeine, taking folic acid, going off the pill, expanding the ways I work out, all with pregnancy in mind- but knowing full well I had a couple of years yet before entering the official "trying to conceive" status. This spring I conquered the caffeine issue- my next hurdles are giving up wine and cutting back on sugar.

Oh, and buying a house. Yes, can't forget that. And then there is that job thing. Goodness, house plants are sooo much easier :D

There is also this part of me that is terrified that I won't be able to get pregnant. Nothing like worrying in advance for no reason at all. I try to cover all the bases, you know.

[Grace]

I don't know. There must be a reason why your doctor told you this. Are you older?

The only reason I say what I say, is that I am 38 yrs old. Two years ago I got pregnant (on the first try, I might add!) and I kept on running (I was running a lot at that time, so I didn't think it would do any harm - although I don't do it too much now). I had a miscarriage at 8 weeks. I don't necessarily think that I miscarried because I ran, but I came to find out later (I didn't know it at the time because as I said, we got pregnant on the first try!) is that I'm rather high risk (for miscarriage), and actually haven't been able to get pregnant again ever since then. I never imagined at the time that that might be my only opportunity to ever have a child. I assumed I'd just try again. Knowing now how precarious my preganacy was, I would never have run. What if I overheated myself and that contributed?

Maybe if you're older, the doctor wants to try and make sure you don't in any way chance a miscarriage? If I had to do it over again, I would never have run (in the first three months at least - the critical time for miscarriages). I do believe that after that critical period has passed (at least critical for people who have had multiple miscarriages or trouble conceiving), excercise is wonderful, and absolutely beneficial. I just don't think it's worth chancing if you've spent so much (time, energy, emotion) trying to conceive, or if you've miscarried before. Will your body or pregnancy be harmed if you don't run for those first three months? Maybe these circumstances don't apply to you though, in which case I don't know why your doctor would have given you that impression. Maybe you should ask him/her exactly what they meant.

[djoygirl]

Thanks to all who responded. Emilycat, that was a great article. I had always had the same ideas, and felt that it was ok to continue what I had been doing pre-pregnancy, with some minor changes.
I'm not very old (28), I'm very fit, in great health, and did not have trouble conceiving (we weren't trying). I'm a personal trainer, so I've been very active all along. I don't see that I'm in the high risk category at all.
In the end, though, I've decided to just power walk for now, since it upsets DH so much.

Also, LG, I don't think you're crazy. I think it's a really great idea what you're doing. Even if you weren't going to get pregnant, it certainly can't hurt to have a healthy lifestyle.

[LGBurns]

Julie, somehow house plants aren't so easy for me (my dying poinsetta gasping for water will attest to that). Thank you for validating my pregnancy-preparedness. I have been upping my folic acid intake, and cutting down on my caffeine (DH and I make a pot that's 25% caffeine, 75% decaf, and now I find I can go without and not get headaches).

BTW, my grandmother used to insist that her labor was easy with both her kids because she worked in the garden during her entire pregnancy. She said the squatting kept her muscles strong and limber--makes sense to me!

[clairea]

I've come back to this thread several times, trying to decide whether to post "against the grain." I agree with the other posters that generally exercise (including running) is fine when you are pregnant, and I know several people who have done so. However, before you go against your doctor's advice, I would try to find out whether she just gives the same advice to all pregnant women (and so may, in fact, just be behind the times), or whether there is something particular about you, your body, or your pregnancy that causes her to think that running may be harmful. Every woman and every pregnancy is different, and while running may be fine for most women, you need to find out whether it is ok for you.

Good luck.

[BeckyM]

Just another person who is hoping to conceive sometime in the future -- for me it's hopefully soon! I was encouraged to read the posts from KValley & LGBurns sharing their preparations for conception. I too have been trying to really focus on exercise and good eating habits, and my husband and I are now officially "trying" for a child. What an exciting, yet nerve-wracking time! I am trying to do everything "right" -- taking a pre-natal vitamin, not consuming alcohol, minimizing caffeine intake, exercising regularly, etc. I've also started taking yoga (about 3-4 months ago), and we do a lot of work on hip-openers and things that are supposed to help for pregnancy.

But I'm also nervous that maybe I won't be able to conceive or that we'll have some other kind of complications. I'm trying not to make this feel like a "project" for my husband, because that REALLY turns him off, but I worry that maybe we're not doing "the baby dance" (as someone else on this board so delicately put it) often enough or at the right time. But I'm also trying not to get too uptight about it, because I've heard that can negatively impact conception.

So, thanks for the opportunity to share. It's reassuring to know there are others out there who are in my position. And Julie, I've felt like you and I have a lot in common anyway -- yoga, hiking, and now this. And I think you also mentioned you once lived in Southwest Ohio, and I live in Cincinnati right now. So anyway, thanks for being a kindred spirit, and thanks to everyone else on the board for being so supportive! Good luck to all of the mommy wannabes!

Becky :)

[KristaMB]

Just wanted to let you know that in the August/ September issue of Fit Pregnancy magazine there is an article about running while pg. I saw it in my dr's office today, but didn't get a chance to read it.