Heart Rates in Pregnancy questions

Never rely on net information or others when it comes to pregnancy... always consult your doctor.

Be safe.

As an aside - I will say that working out like a fiend during my pregnancy did not (to my distress) make it easier to get back in shape afterward. Once you take that 5-6 week rest with the newborn, which is really unavoidable, you are still irrevocably out of shape.

Hope you prove me wrong, but my attempts to get back into it in the early weeks only led to unpleasant side affects and heavy bleeding. Be cautious.

I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, and please understand that I'm just thinking about the health and safety of both you and your baby.

There are a few things you said that really, really worried me. I am not a doctor, let alone an OB/GYN, so please feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt, but by all means, PLEASE talk to your doctor! I can only tell you what my experiences were from having a baby 7 months ago.

For your information, the US group for OB/GYNs is the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology (hence why you see FACOG after your doctor's name - s/he is a Fellow of the ACOG). Their website is http://www.acog.org/ (I haven't checked it out, personally), but my guess is that they don't have a ton of information on there so that women actually consult their doctors rather than self-diagnose via the internet. (I'm assuming you're in the US. If not, I'm sure your country has a similar group.)

Three things:

1. I know a lot of doctors know little to nothing about nutrition and fitness. That's not to say all doctors know little to nothing, but you're right in that most are focused in their own field and only know what they happen to know otherwise. However, your overall health and the health of your unborn baby, not your specific fitness, are the focus during pregnancy. Your doctor is not concerned with whether or not you are still fit enough to run a 5K; he or she is concerned that everything is going ok with your pregnancy and that you and your baby are healthy. I know it's hard to not think about how it affects your post-baby body, but during your pregnancy you need to focus on pregnancy. Once your baby is born, you can focus on yourself (while keeping an eye on certain things, along with what you need to keep up breastfeeding, should you choose to breastfeed).

2. Six weeks is the typical post-partum "rest period" for a typical vaginal birth, assuming no major trauma "down there." I had a super smooth vaginal birth with no tearing and was cleared for normal activity (exercise, sex, etc.) at five weeks post-partum, since my doctor's office accidently scheduled me at five weeks rather than six. Eight weeks, I believe, is the typical post-partum "rest period" for c-sections, assuming no infections/complications. I may be wrong about that, as I am only speaking from what friends and family members who've had c-sections have told me. If you have ever seen a brand new mom try to get up out of a chair a few days post-partum, then you understand why.

3. Taking even gentle walks a couple of days or even a week after birth is pretty ambitious. After you have your baby, you will be bleeding. A lot. Even if you have a c-section. Think of it as the heaviest period you've ever had, but it lasts for a few weeks. (It does taper off, but overall I bled for 4 weeks total - the first couple of weeks or so are VERY heavy.) I'm about to get TMI - but you will also have clumps coming out, and you will need to keep an eye both on how much you are bleeding and also how big these clumps are. Too much blood and/or clumps that are too big can be very serious, and if you do not get medical attention, you can die from loss of blood. (I'm absolutely not kidding about this.) It can also mean the entire placenta did not come out, and you therefore need medical intervention. I had some clumps that were questionably big and got really scared, so I got my husband to come home from work ASAP in case I needed to go to the hospital and immediately got on the phone with my doctor's office. They told me I was probably fine but to keep an eye on them. However, the first question out of my doctor's mouth was, "Are you exercising?" I said no, and she asked, "Does your house have two stories?" I said yes, then she asked, "Are you going up and down the stairs a lot?" I answered that yes, naturally, I had to go up and down the stairs several times every day. I honestly wasn't moving around that much, but her advice was to SLOW DOWN. There really is quite a bit of aftercare needed post-partum, on top of everything your baby needs. I mean, if your body can manage short walks, then great, but I probably took my first walk with my baby about two weeks after he was born. Honestly you are so exhausted in those first two weeks taking care of yourself and your baby and getting little to no sleep that walking will probably be the last thing on your mind.

I know it's discouraging to hear that you should be "giving up" your fitness for your baby (and trust me, I understand in that I am getting my butt back in shape and then will probably go ahead and do it all over again). Certainly there are some exercises you can safely do, and your doctor will probably say you can continue certain fitness activities if you have been doing them for a certain amount of time prior to pregnancy, but I am BEGGING you to please talk to your doctor and honestly take his or her advice to heart as to what is best for you and your baby. This is probably something that can be done over the phone with your doctor or OB nurse.

So again, please understand that I'm not trying to put you down or call you selfish or uninformed or anything like that. I am absolutely not judging you. A lot of information you are given as you are going through it, which is unfortunate, since many of us have certain expectations as to what is going to happen, and then we are given new information. I just wanted to give you some information that might make you think and hopefully consult your doctor. I am more than aware of the effects pregnancy has on your body and your fitness, and I definitely had the mindset that once I gave birth I could just jump on the treadmill and "get my body back." It just doesn't work that way, and I had to realize that my health was more important and that it wouldn't be that long before I could focus on me again.

I wish you the best in your pregnancy and hope everything goes smoothly!

I feel much better now that you have given more details! Thank you for doing so and for not being defensive Again, I didn't mean to sound preachy - but the way I read what you wrote made me worry!!!

If this is your third, then you definitely know what your body can handle. (And lucky you to have only bled for a few days!!!)

It sounds like stuff does work a little differently here in the US than in Australia. People here do use midwives, but it sounds like it's less common than in some other countries. It's becoming increasingly popular to do so in the US, as well as going to "birthing centers" rather than hospitals, and sometimes even having home births. A lot of women have had the typical OB/GYN-hospital birth scenario, had something unfavorable happen, and went another route the next time around. For me, my doctor is awesome (she's super laid-back, and a surfer at that!), and the hospital we went to is great. I never felt violated in any way, shape, or form when I was there, and so for me it's what works. I also have several doctors in my immediate family (my dad, my brother, and my husband's brother), so if I'd gone to anyone but an OB/GYN, I'd probably have gotten an earful!

Anyway, as you said, listen to your body, and obviously ask your care providers if you have any questions. Here in the US, if you went to a nutritionist/dietitian and said you wanted information about eating and exercise during pregnancy, they'd probably back away slowly until you were out of sight. Americans can be overly litigious, so I wouldn't blame them for not wanting to walk that tightrope. Perhaps in Australia they are better informed and less afraid of being sued.

Best wishes to you!!!

always consult your dr or midwife before doing anything in pregnancy, but the general rule is, if you did it pre-pregnancy, you should be able to continue (with some modifications) during pregnancy. basically, not the time to start something brand new. i am not sure about target heart-rate in pregnancy. would probably depend on age, how far along you are, pre-pregnancy condition (fitness-wise), etc. and i will say, while dr's and midwives might not know everything about fitness, etc., they do know about pregnancy, which is ENTIRELY different than regular working-out.

***edited to add- remember your blood volume increases drastically when pregnant, so your blood pressure & heart rate will be very different while exercising AND resting than pre-pregnancy!!!