5Ks at 21 and 27 weeks pregnant

TTBMILLER

hi jesindc. i appreciate your posts and agree totally. i'm about to jog/walk a halfmarathon i started training for before getting pregnant (now 16 weeks), and i've had some negative feedback. but, my midwife has ok'd it, and i plan on taking breaks and hydrating throughout, and if i have to stop i will. for the op, i hope you do well in your races should you decided to do them. btw, i'm not wearing any special gear related to pregnancy, but i've heard maternity belts help relieve some of the pressure on your back and abdomen.

__Di__

It isn't running whilst pregnant that is the problem, the problem lies in that your balance is totally different when pregnant, be really, really careful and see your doctor first to ask about this, because this isn't just you now as you know.

Why do you specifically want to run when you will be heavily pregnant anyway, why can't it wait until after you have had the baby?

I don't want to pick on you specifically here, but this kind of struck a nerve with me. There is no reason why she can't run if she wants to. The last thing pregnant women need is MORE people on the internet telling them to think about the baby; when you are pregnant and ask a question on the internet, random people guilt-tripping you about every choice you make can be LITERALLY ALL YOU GET. It can make you absolutely bat**** crazy and can feel seriously dehumanizing when nearly everything you do as a "normal" person is suddenly called into question as "Why would you take the chance?" (Re: balance - I don't know about OP, but I have fallen down while running exactly once (in 7 years of running); I have fallen down while walking around my house approximately 87123132 times, because I am a klutz. Should pregnant women also not walk around the house? I am sure you mean well, but this is the sort of answer I'm talking about that can make you crazy when you're pregnant.)

Also, I think I can answer about the running - for one thing, she'll have an easier labor/delivery if she stays active, and for me at least, running provides endorphins that no other exercise does. I had to stop running at 4 months or so due to bleeding complications (that were NOT caused by running, but which me continuing to run would have exacerbated), and even though I walked and did prenatal yoga and spent a good number of hours on the elliptical, I had kind of a miserable, stressful pregnancy, in part because I wasn't getting any running endorphins to counter the (for me) crazy-making pregnancy hormones. My son is fine, luckily, but there are studies that show a stressed-out mother makes for a less-healthy child; both he and I would have been a lot better off if I'd been able to run longer.

OP, please ignore if this is not what you're thinking at all, but I know this would have made me crazy(er) if I'd asked the question when I was knocked up.

Why did my posting strike a nerve, i didn't bloody say anything controversial LOL!!!

I merely said for her to get the advice of her doctor and to watch out because her balance will be affected when running whilst pregnant, that's all, I did not say DON'T RUN lol.

Sheesh!!!

I think it struck a nerve because of this sentence: "why can't it wait until after you have had the baby?"
People (sometime unintentionally) put a lot of guilt on pregnant women for not doing what is best for the baby (and what is "best" is often conflicting depending on who you are talking to).

Think of it this way... you are about a thousand time more likely to harm your unborn baby in a car accident than you are going for a run that you're already conditioned for. And yet nobody shames a mother-to-be every time she steps into a car. Nobody tells the mom-to-be, "maybe you should wait to drive until after the baby is born." Even though there is statistical evidence that maintaining your level of exercise is good for both you and your unborn baby, many people hang onto notions about pregnancy from 60-70 years ago.

Back to the OP: This group on baby center has some good advice (a few different perspectives) on maternity running clothes http://community.babycenter.com/post/a10478755/maternity_running_clothes

Oh I see. Well when I asked about why it couldn't wait until after the baby, it was not to put guilt on the mother to be, it was pure curiosity on my part, that was all.

I mainly asked because the OP had already said she had not run before, so I was just wondering why she wanted to suddenly start whilst pregnant, that was all that question was about.

For everybody else's sake, just ot let you all know, I am not totally naive regarding pregnancy nor running, I have had two babies myself and been involved in running for 39 years. People are picking up on the slightest little comment I have said here.

Also, I originally did say: "It isn't running whilst pregnant that is the problem, the problem lies in that your balance is totally different when pregnant, be really, really careful and see your doctor first to ask about this"

Now then, does that sound like I was trying to put a guilt trip on another person?

No matter.

Runs4Wine

I did a half marathon at 25 weeks pregnant (I crossed the finish line walking backwards because I wanted to cross it before my baby did).

OK that's funny! Totally something I would do.