Exercise & Pregnancy

As written during my 9-month pregnancy journey…

NOTE: I’m not a health or fitness coach, nor am I a certified expert; therefore, it’s always important to check with your doctor before starting anything new or continuing your routine exercise. As mentioned below, each woman’s body is unique and we all carry our own set of risks based upon any underlying conditions we may have or develop over time.

Just 2 days away from due date...squeezed in a 3-mile run.

Do you or someone you know have a hard time letting go of something or cutting back on something? Maybe it’s something you love or something you crave. Maybe it’s something that keeps you mentally distracted or focused. When it comes to trying to conceive or even being pregnant, we don’t have to “give up” our love for things. For me, it was hard to shift gears. I’m referring to shifting gears from hard core training, racing, or simply doing what we have loved for years to suddenly cutting back. We have to find alternatives to some things such as high-risk activities or even food (I missed sushi, but replaced it with a safe alternative of crab and shrimp). It was hard for me to see professional athletes continue on their very-disciplined training and exercise while they were pregnant, yet hear my doctors tell me to cut back. What I have learned throughout this new journey, is that I can’t compare my body, my baby, my experience, or my doctors to others. Every woman’s body is different and unique. Every baby is different and unique. And every doctor has different insights. 

The second thing I have learned is that I can still find joy through alternatives that provide the same endorphin release as I kept my mental and physical health in check throughout the journey of carrying God’s child. Every person’s mental health is crucial whether you’re a career-driven person, a college student under pressure, an athlete cutting back to conceive, a new mom-to-be carrying a child, a new mom or a mom of many, stay-at-home moms…you get the point. With a history of teenage and young adulthood anxiety, I have learned to manage my conditions through many strategies…one being exercise. 

While managing changes in our life, we don’t have to “let go” of everything we love and, in my case, my love for triathlons, competition, and exercise. We just need to let go of any expectations, and for me, that meant, let go of pre-pregnancy pace, intensity, and distance. I sought out alternatives to satisfy the mind, body, and soul. In fact, being pregnant has taught me to relax, take one day at a time, and completely let go of every expectation. I know a lot of my adventures of traveling, running, hiking, walking do not sound relaxing to most; however, these are alternatives that have calmed my mind and made God’s presence even more known. I didn’t know what to expect throughout our infertility journey and literally took one day, one doctor’s visit, and one procedure/test at a time. This carried over throughout my pregnancy journey as well. Along this journey, I had NO clue what bodily changes to expect, what my baby would look like at each ultrasound visit, how the organs would develop, how I should expect to feel at each week, what labor and delivery would feel like (holy moly, I’m super freaked about labor because I simply don’t know what to expect!!), whether my boobs were going to work, and the list goes on. When you think about someone else that has been through something similar, take their experience with a grain of salt. Think about people who face cancer. A group may be in a chemo room for the same type of cancer, but one person’s hair may be falling out while another person may be vomiting and the person across the room may feel great and make everyone in the circle wonder what the heck is draining through their veins! This analogy (that was once described by my nurse sister-n-law) applies to almost every situation and every person. God made each of us unique and therefore, we respond to changes in life differently. We seek out joy that surpasses our fear of the unknown. 

Our alternative...family runs, walks, or hikes.

As a first- time, mom-to-be carrying a child, I simply thanked God each day for my life, my child’s life, my husband, my health and giving me alternatives to take care of myself. I took one day at a time because I did not know the future. I lived in the moment for there were days I felt great and days I wondered how my stomach could possibly give my child more room to grow. There were days I could eat and days my stomach was weak. However, the one thing I strived for was a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby and that meant exercising as long as I could, yet knowing that complications could arise at any point. It was cheap medicine. Sometimes, it was simply being outdoors for a breath of fresh air and sometimes, it was a long walk or a 5-mile run (the limit my OB doctor advised). As I carried this child, month by month, my mileage went down and that was A-Okay! But, at 32 weeks or 8 months pregnant, I had my best run and accomplished 4+ miles at a steady and great pace! It was the best day of my entire pregnancy and I didn’t feel any nausea or uncomfortableness! I was running up to 5 miles before hitting my 30-week mark and ran up to 3-4 miles until the day before I was to be induced. But after a family trip to Wyoming and hiking and trail running, I came home with exhaustion and could barely run 3 miles. Just the day before I turned 32 weeks, I could barely jog a mile. 

As the 8^th month progressed, my husband and I had one more trip on the agenda (more business related) to Portland, Oregon. We spent an extended, long weekend out in the middle of the vineyards of Newberg, OR in a hotel spa. We don’t usually stay indoors much when traveling. We usually choose places where we can explore the outdoors. Oregon is a beautiful state to explore, but this trip was partially business with events scheduled daily. The hotel was super nice (with a pool!) and we took advantage of laying low and kept our workouts indoors and completely relaxing after our long days. I swam daily after a workout and that felt SO good on a pregnant body – low impact and the buoyancy took all the stress off the body. Our last day we utilized the spa and enjoyed our anniversary tradition of dressing up in our wedding evening attire and eating dinner where we sat down to review our past and set new goals for our future. It was this trip where we felt like we should take advantage of spending every moment together, relaxing and soaking in the peace before the big life changes soon-to-come. We both agreed to spend our last month of October with lots of date nights and projects. 

About to POP! Induction day...
exercised squats & lunges to get baby moving!

In summary, here are a few tips and benefits that I have learned about pregnancy and exercise. My top priorities: seek out alternative adventures as your body changes (per doctor’s approval) and enjoy as much quality time with your significant other. 

Exercise benefits (based upon various research findings and health literature):

1)    Reduces pregnancy symptoms. For me, it alleviated nausea, headaches, and feeling blue. 

2)    Improves overall health by increasing energy, reducing blood pressure, and improving mood.

3)    Movement reduces swelling and can minimize the risk of varicose veins, keeps the blood flowing or improves circulation.

4)    Swimming is low impact and can alleviate back discomfort/pain.

5)    Reduces labor/delivery recovery time even if you have a C-section.

6)    Improves strength and endurance for labor.

7)    Pre-natal yoga: strongly encouraged by many and there are really no restrictions or limitations because all yoga poses are instructed by a certified pre-natal yoga instructor and modified based on your symptoms (such as sciatic nerve issues, hip/pelvic or back pain, joint issues, swelling, and even acid reflux). It also preps your body for labor and how to breathe. Many strategies are shared to improve sleeping positions based upon your symptoms. Pre-natal yoga classes are great for learning from other mommy-to-be’s and how they’re coping. It’s a sense of community and feeling you’re not alone. You will still want a doctor’s approval and some places may ask for a doctor’s note such as hospitals that offer pre-natal yoga classes.

8)    Belly band: alleviates back pain/discomfort, supports the stomach (or baby per se) while running, and alleviates any nerve symptoms due to compression. Try them on prior to purchasing to see if they will fit snug enough to support the belly. I bought mine 2^nd trimester before I started showing and started to wear it towards the end of 2^ndtrimester during all my runs and exercises.

9)    Alternatives: choose activities that you can tolerate and be flexible for we may not always feel our best every day. Know your body and as doctors would say, stop if you feel pelvic pressure, cramping, or experience bleeding. All doctors have various orders or suggestions, some prefer to stay under a certain heart rate while others may prefer you to cut back on time. Prior to my IVF doctor, most of my fertility doctors told me to cut back on the duration of exercise (no more than 45 minutes) whereas, I didn’t have many restrictions when undergoing IVF except precautions for post-procedures. My OB advised no more than 5 miles and I would pay attention to my heart rate because all studies say to keep your intensity at a conversation pace. Otherwise, I’d push myself too hard if I didn’t use my heart rate zones (established while under a coach and with run/bike tests). Heat is also a factor to be aware of and will require you to slow down because you a) don’t want to dehydrate and b) don’t want to overheat your body. 

10) When traveling: I wore compression leggings especially while flying and wore compression socks while riding in the car for long periods, move your legs, roll your ankles, and get out or up to walk often (I would get up every 1-2 hours and move my legs often). Again, always talk to your doctor about traveling. I talked to my doctor about every trip and was cleared as long as I was healthy and the risks were low. IVF babies are at high risk for heart defects so I was checked more frequently than most average pregnancies without IVF.