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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wish more pregnant women were like this?

163 replies

LisaExpress · 06/06/2013 18:44

Good example

Running a marathon at 7 months pregnant. Good on her.

OP posts:
Bibs123 · 07/06/2013 06:11

I think if you want to and can run and the doctor says its a good idea then go ahead. Why do you wish there was more pregnant women like this though OP? It makes it sound like you think pregnant women dont do enough somehow... just out of interest have you been pregnant and did you keep up a high paced exercise programme? I am currently 10wks but the thought of running and stopping to puke is enough to put me off. I do walk alot and swim though.

Bibs123 · 07/06/2013 06:15

I think if you want to and can run and the doctor says its a good idea then go ahead. Why do you wish there was more pregnant women like this though OP? It makes it sound like you think pregnant women dont do enough somehow... just out of interest have you been pregnant and did you keep up a high paced exercise programme? I am currently 10wks but the thought of running and stopping to puke is enough to put me off. I do walk alot and swim though.

5madthings · 07/06/2013 07:32

ilovemyself a partner can express annopinion but until they can carry the baby themselves then it is 'my pregnancy, my body' and i can do what i like.

'the second you fall pregnant it is not just your body, it is also your unborn babies' .... Err no my body is my body, i choose to become pregnant, then to continue with the pregnancy and i can what i like. Women have thw right to bodily autonomy; the baby has no rights and no does the father of the baby until after its born, that is how it should be and it would lead down a very slippery slope to suggest otherwise.

Sorry i couldnt let ilovemyself comment pass by.

ITCouldBeWorse · 07/06/2013 07:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AnyFucker · 07/06/2013 07:39

I narrowed my eyes at ILM's comment too

That is steering very worryingly into very dodgy areas...I wonder if he realises that. ILM...do you agree with some of the horrendous stories in the press recently about women forced to carry babies that are not going to live with massive risks to their own health ?

5madthings · 07/06/2013 07:42

Glad it wasn't just me anyfucker!

TheSecondComing · 07/06/2013 07:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ithaka · 07/06/2013 07:49

Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable putting my body under that amount of strain whilst another humans survival is depending on my health.

But being unfit and overweight is putting your body under more strain than continuing to exercise. I am not saying you are unfit or overweight, but that I don't think we should see exercise as suddenly too much of a 'strain' because someone is pregnant.

I admire that lady in the article far more than my sister, who put her feet up and didn't really move for her entire first pregnancy. Of course, she piled on loads of weight, which was tough to shift. In fairness, she learned from her mistake for subsequent pregnancies - and so did I! I always kept exercising through pregnancy. It is good to keep active, whether you are pregnant or not.

BeanoNoir · 07/06/2013 07:52

I love keeping fit and walk loads everywhere. I'm 7 months (and a bit) pregnant and even walking just a couple of miles really tires me and makes me quite breathless. It's frustrating but not me being lazy or anything. Am I a bad example of a pregnant woman? Sad

I'm having to balance wanting to keep exercising vs tiring myself out too much to look after toddler dd properly. Obviously current dd is the bigger priority.

BeanoNoir · 07/06/2013 07:57

Bloody hell, is she 7 months pregnant in that picture? Envy

I look like I'm smuggling a space hopper up my dress (minus the ears/handles). If I looked that great and svelte when pregnant I might have a go at running 10k...as it is I'd waddle for a bit then give up.

badguider · 07/06/2013 08:03

Just to be clear. Exercise in pregnancy is not dangerous if you are healthy and fit (and not in Death Valley or somewhere with 110f degree temperatures).
If you are already fit and your pregnancy is heathy (BP normal, no placenta previa or other bleeding and a healthy cervix) then doctors advise keeping your usual level if exercise

Many women find this impossible as they're too tired and they shouldnt be made to feel bad BUT also the lucky ones who find it fine should not be accused of "doing something risky" because they are not.

OTheHugeManatee · 07/06/2013 08:08

I was glad to read the article. I had been under the impression that running during pregnancy was dangerous, which in turn felt like a real downside to ttc (which DH and I are talking about) as I'd lose my hard-won base fitness. But it sounds like all other things being equal, it's totally possible.

What others do during pregnancy is their business, though.

ButchCassidy · 07/06/2013 08:12

YABUBiscuit

Bit odd to wish anything apart from a healthy pregnancy for a pregnant woman.

alienbanana · 07/06/2013 08:12

What an annoying OP. My knees and knees would disintegrate if I tried to run anywhere at the moment! Aren't you supposed to just keep to your normal level of exercise during pregnancy? If you started running or doing any other activity that you're not used to, it could do some damage.

MrsMangoBiscuit · 07/06/2013 08:13

sorry, I don't have time to read the whole thread yet. I just wanted to add that I'm pregnant and I wish I was more like that!Grin had spd last time round, getting it again now, but I'm trying hard to keep up some kind of fitness level. not a brilliantly worded OP but it didn't rile me.

VinegarDrinker · 07/06/2013 08:18

It was me who said "my body, my pregnancy" and I absolutely stand by that. My partner might have opinions but he has no right to impose them on me (thankfully I married someone who agrees with bodily autonomy). In any case, I don't think any of you are the partner of the woman in the OP, are you?

(For those without pregnancy relayed problems who want to keep exercising and have been frustrated in their attempts to keep active, two bits of advice: don't assume it's a downward spiral and that if you can't do something in first trimester you won't be able to later on. Also, if you usual exercise is a struggle, try something else. I get really out of breath and uncomfortable walking, but cycling and swimming are both fine, oddly).

HazleNutt · 07/06/2013 08:22

exactly badguider. I've been lucky, had an easy pregnancy and was still doing all my normal fitness classes at 37 weeks, including some quite high intensity ones. Do I think I'm now better than those pregnant women who don't do it? Of course not. But I bet I've heard significantly more comments like "Should you be doing that?" "You should think about the baby (you selfish woman!)" than those women that do decide to put the feet up.

VinegarDrinker · 07/06/2013 08:25

Exactly, badguider and Hazle

Noone felt the need to "tell me off" for lying around stuffing my face last pg, but (as I have ranted about elsewhere) being on a bike in late pregnancy (especially with a toddler on board) apparently makes me fair game for everyone to weigh in with their opinions.

SpecialAgentTattooedQueen · 07/06/2013 08:31

Snort

Are you for real OP? (Only read your post and one or two others as I assume they all fall into the same line)

I've always been somewhere between slim (healthy) and skinny (not healthy.) I ate properly, when I needed extra carbs I didn't turn to junk.

When I was pregnant with DTs, I continued my regular exercise regime at the gym except some aspects modified for pregnancy. When I could no longer go to the gym I did pregnancy yoga until I was just too sore and huge to do anything except have DH rub my feet. Grin [Wistful memories of DSS squealing with excitement with his head on my tummy while we watched my tv shows^ and got foot and leg rubs.]

When DTs were born I didn't bother even attempting to exercise until they they were old enough to go for nice long walks in the buggy. Resumed a much less intense gym course when they were 5m old and built my way up.

Running a marathon at 7m pregnant?! Good for her but doesn't mean all pregnant women should be like her. I physically couldn't. One baby playing squeeze the bladder every five minutes and the other elbowing me in the ribs? No. Just... No.

Mollydoggerson · 07/06/2013 08:32

OP YABCOMPLETELY R.

Why can't all these pergnant women be good girls, have a truckload of kids, run marathons every day, smile, be everything society wants them to be and shut the flip up????

I dunno what the world is coming to.

lisianthus · 07/06/2013 08:41

YABU

As if pregnant women don't have enough stress and a high enough level of expectations on them already.

This in the same week as "stay away from plastic"? FFS. I'd say it's enough to drive them to drink, but wait, they aren't allowed to do that either.

QuintessentialOldDear · 07/06/2013 08:47

Yanbu - because it is only natural to carry on with the lifestyle you have before pregnancy while pregnant.

There is no way an obese woman would, or should do the same. You dont start exercising like that when pregnant.

And double YANBU because it highlights a severe problem today, with so few of us active, and missing out on the healthy benefits an active healthy life brings, we are costing the society and this country a lot in terms of obesity related health issues.

Yabu to think the Mumsnet massive would agree with you! Wink

I cant even see my navel these days....

samandi · 07/06/2013 08:47

YANBU.

I think it's great to see. Very inspiring. There's not that much information around about exercising in pregnancy, and personally I'm dreading pregnancy and not being able to do some of the things I currently do [presuming I do get pregnant at some point], so every time I see stories like this I'm more encouraged.

There's no reason for pregnant women to feel bad if they are unable to participate in this level of exercise though Confused I don't think the OP is actually suggesting all pregnant women go out and run marathons.

HoleyGhost · 07/06/2013 08:51

It is extra important that pregnant women eat only the right food, as part of a properly balanced diet, exercise well, keep on top of housework, maintain their performance at work, give extra attention to their children, fulfil other caring responsibilities and avoid stress.

We must manage the above without the help of hayfever remedies, sleeping pills, decent painkillers, or even a glass of wine to unwind. Often we must do it while exhausted and nauseous.

And we should manage everything without breaking a sweat.

QuintessentialOldDear · 07/06/2013 08:52

I was totally in awe at one of the instructors at my old gym. She was running some of the more hard core step classes, boxing fit, and stuff like that. She went on admin duty in her 9th month.

Staff at the gym were all full time, so she could run 3 classes back to back, ranging from spinning to kickboxing. Then go on to personal training and generally keeping an eye on people using the machines.

If this is your lifestyle, you carry on! But as a fitness professional, she was educated enough, and knew her body well enough to know what she should avoid and at what stage of her pregnancy. Such as sit ups and press-ups, and doing the plank, etc,