Exercising while pregnant

[cocodash]

Last year I got married and quickly fell pregnant and I am now 22 weeks with our first baby. In the two years before my wedding I lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise and found a real enjoyment in exercise. I have been lucky with my pregnancy so far and have been well enough to continue my exercise regime pretty much so far as normal (with some slight adjustments along the way) I have no real bump yet and haven’t put on much weight yet (about 6lbs so far)… I am in no means skinny and am usually a curvy size 12/14.

A new colleague (a female about 15 years older than me) started in my team who I previously worked at in another job role and was horrified because I haven’t put on much weight, that I’m not showing, and that because I’m still exercising 4/5 times a week. She says I’m inconsiderate for continuing this way as I’m putting myself and my body under stress and I’m obviously more concerned about keeping up my exercise than the health of my unborn baby. She stated that I need to slow down and stop my exercise and just go light walks or a gentle swim. And she also insinuated that I was deliberately not eating and still dieting. She expressed her concern to everyone in my team that I was putting myself and my unborn child at risk. And no matter how much I tried to explain and defend myself she wouldn’t listen and was very vocal about this which was extremely embarrassing (and upsetting) for me in my place of work which has people now questioning me, what I eat and any time I head to (or mention) the gym.

I am not naive enough to expect to keep exercising at this level for ever but I don’t see why I should stop before my body tells me it’s ready to stop. AIBU to think this way?

Have any of you lovely mums out there continued with an active lifestyle / exercise regime? Just looking to hear from others who have been in my positon as the work situation has been making me question everything.

For context not to drip feed I take part in a boot camp style fitness class twice a week which is a mix of cardio and weights, I do a weights programme in the gym which was designed by a PT when I was 15weeks pregnant, and I also do classes such as body attack and spin.

I thought the advice was not to start doing something vigorous if you don't normally do it but otherwise it's OK.
Didn't Paula Radcliffe run a competitive marathon while preggers?
What about women who live in poor countries and toil in the fields all day pregnant or carrying a baby on their back?
Tell her to wind her neck in.
If she has made you feel worried maybe chat to your midwife?

Yeah. I kept jogging regularly until 39 weeks & rode a bike when I felt like it.
Is MW satisfied that fetus is good, was ur 20 wk scan ok?
Your colleague is being a bossy boots.

Can't believe she tried to pressure you publicly. How did other colleagues respond?

OP if you’re doing your normal routine you should be fine. Have you spoken to your midwife/GP about it. The usual advice is not to start something new and vigorous.

If you’re a fan of YouTube etc, there’s a trainer called Carly Rowena who just had her first and she spent the 9 months doing a lot of content about exercise whilst pregnant and also how she dealt with negative comments etc.

She's talking complete bollocks - it's really important to stay active during pregnancy, and as long as it's at a level of intensity that you've been doing for a while (so don't suddenly start doing HIIT if you're not used to it!) it's fine.

A consultant obstetrician told me I was fine to do a triathlon at 28 weeks, and that I could continue exercising as long as I felt comfortable doing so.

I wouldn't start anything new - I had my first holiday after a long period of weight loss, and was surprised by the lack of 'strain' my body felt that I had become used to.

Crack on with exercising for maintainance though - she's just envious!

I continued to exercise in my usual way right through to about 34 weeks when the snotty comments from other gym users just got too much for me.

But absolutely no harm came to my baby as a result.

@beedybeedy 20 week scan was all good. baby happy and wriggling away and im feeling movement getting stronger every day even though ive not popped as such.
My MW didnt really offer much in the way of advice with exercise to be honest. she just said youl know when you need to stop.

i work in a very male orintated office so dont think any of them ever thought twice about anything until loud mouth piped up and the odd comment now gets thrown in here and there. Just makes me feel a bit uncomfortable

@Ubbesponytail yeah been normal routine, made some variations as theres some exercises i cant do and ive taken my weights down but nothing new. I will have a look at her on you tube, thanks

You're fine to keep exercising as long as youre enjoying it and listening to your body. It'll help you to retain strength afterwards as well if you struggle to find the time to exercise when the baby comes.

I really missed exercise when I got past about 32 weeks. I was desperate to use my body again.

Carry on as you would normally! As long as you're not taking up something new and intensive then I'm sure if you're happy and your midwife is happy then you can safely tell your colleague to fuck off carry on as you are.

I continued cycling (indoors on a turbo trainer) until about 7 months. It really depends on how you feel.

People also "complained" that my bump was small. Like I had any control over how my baby was sitting

I intended to keep exercising through pregnancy and failed miserably because I got cold after cold after about 8 weeks (plague vector older child). Kept on horse riding to 16 weeks when I could feel my core wasn't doing its thing properly. Then ended up anaemic and big and at that point breach baby was sat with his head in my diaphragm further reducing exercise tolerance.

Basically listen to your body and don't kill yourself!

So long as you exercised before pregnancy it is absolutely fine to continue whilst pregnant with adjustments such as no excessive weight lifting. I ran marathons before DC and continued to run/exercise until 7 months. If you are fit prior to pregnancy you don't tend to show as early as others.

I continued doing what I was doing (weights, running, cycling, swimming) as long as I felt comfortable doing it.

Personally, I started to feel more tired and heavy and just naturally either slowed down (cycling, swimming), took it easier (weights) or stopped (running! Didn’t agree with the pregnant me at all) when I felt like it.

Listen to your body, if it doesn’t feel right don’t do it.

Like you I had all sorts of silly comments about resting and stopping exercise. I judged checked with my midwife and from then on had a response of ‘my midwife said it’s fine’ to end the conversation!

Criticizing your decisions and 'expressing her concern' to your entire office is not ok. I'd be tempted to report her to HR.

Absolutely listen to your body, and be careful which I'm sure you are anyway. She's talking absolute tosh! If you weren't very active and suddenly embarked on a vigorous routine while pregnant, then you'd be advised that's not ideal. But there is no reason why with adjustments, you can't continue as normal. And you don't need to consume more food than you want either! It's only in the 3rd trimester you need around 300 extra calories a day, which still wouldn't look like much extra.

Taking care of yourself, physically and mentally is brilliant. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, and tell the busy bodies to do one, its YOUR body and not their business!

thanks everyone, i feel a lot better.

@Meoldchina, i totally get what you mean about missing exercise, i feel like it gets to a routine and if u stop going your body starts to crave it

@secondarymincepie i wouldnt want to open that can of worms if u get me. she has stated "shes only looking out for me and its my health that comes first and she means well" and blah blah GTF

@almostalwyn my immediate gut reaction was indeed to tell her to fuck off but the more she harped on the more she got me doubting myself coz obviously she has had 4 kids so knows everything when it comes to kids as she practically wrote the book LOL

We advise people to continue with what they’re used to, at a level you are used to, but not increase this. You will probably find that naturally this will reduce a bit as your body becomes less tolerant of some of the exercises.

There is some small, and not hugely recent, evidence that may indicate that high levels of exercise/physical activity increases the risk of having a small baby. But by high levels, we’re talking about people who essentially train all day, every day (some PTs might fall into this category), and then the practice would just be to scan regularly and observe growth.

Hit post before I intended to.

The benefits of exercise far outweigh any likely risk your colleague might think you are taking.
Just take sensible precautions, listen to your body, and avoid contact sports- where there is a risk of injury to you/baby due to impact.

@cocodash: the advice is: if you were doing it before regularly, you can do it during pregnancy. I was running 5x a week and continued (albeit reduced intensity and frequency) until I have birth. It helped with muscular aches and helped me mentally.

I adapted my workouts and did more power walking/ cycling whilst it was comfortable. I tried swimming but it made me ache a lot more than if I ran!

My doctor's were really helpful about advice for heart rates, running or doing exercise on feel and they said my athletic ability helped me with a rather difficult labour and recovery. So this is all going to help you, just listen to your body :)

Good luck! It's great to see active mum's enjoying their workouts.

Out of interest, have you got any advice for workout clothes? I just wore oversized stuff last time but this time I want some more support.

As PP have said continue with what you are used to and make amendments where necessary.

I am older (42) & overweight and do weight training / cardio 3 times a week (with personal trainer) , swim at least 3 times a week and walk my two dogs.

I am also 36 weeks pregnant and perfectly healthy - so much so that my care has been changed from consultant led to midwife. Whereas at one point they were talking c-section at the moment they think because of my fitness level I should be fine. My bump is quite small but baby is a healthy 5 and a half pounds.

Keep doing what you have been doing but listen to your body. If you don’t feel up to something don’t do it and adjust as you need to.

Your colleague has no idea what she is talking about!

Good luck with your pregnancy

Such an old fashioned attitude but not uncommon. If you’re fit and healthy then maintain it.

I practised ashtanga three times a week until week 40 with a great teacher, and was at gym/swimming up to the day before I gave birth. I was careful, watched my heart rate and didn’t overdo it.

I had a super fast labour and recovered from birth quickly - and I have no evidence to support this but I’m sure being fit at least helped. It definitely helped me with the gruelling months that followed 😂

It’s not going back too quickly to strenuous exercise afterwards that I think is more relevant.

@jokie they are a bit pricey but Lululemon align pants are amazing - my OH bought me them as a present. He got me my normal size and they fit me the whole way through, always stayed up and never lost their elasticity - I have them on still now! The women in the shop call them ‘the pregnancy pants’

The physio I saw during my pregnancy was delighted that I was still cycling when I saw her. I kept cycling until I was admitted at 37 weeks - I was doing 50 miles a week, though my average speed slowly dropped! I did notice my lung capacity reduce (it's not great to start with), and you may do the same as your pregnancy progresses, and that may naturally limit you, but otherwise keep at it!

Your colleague is being ridiculous and very interfering! In her (very slight) defence though, I was told 11 years ago when I was expecting my youngest, by a midwife no less, that I should knock the running and weights on the head and start swimming instead. She even invited me along to her aqua aerobics sessions as this was ‘better for baby’ (not my thing at all). I went away and did my own research, discovered that maintaining an established workout programme was perfectly safe, and continued exercising as usual right up until my bladder stopped me!

She is being very unreasonable, but may well be repeating the (blatantly incorrect) advice that she was given when expecting her dc. Either way she is being overly forceful with her opinion and should pack it in.

Why on earth are you listening to a new colleague who's only comment in relation to your pregnancy should be "congratulations!"??

Send her an email telling her that if she talks about your pregnancy to anyone else, you will make a complaint to HR.
Or if you're vocal like me, approach her desk and tell her very loudly that under no circumstances is she ever to discuss you, your pregnancy or your exercise regime again or you will make a formal complaint. She should have no opinion about you whatsoever.

Fucks sake, who do these people think they are?? You continue with your pregnancy and your exercise as you see fit OP.

Your colleague is a complete moron. She has no idea what she's talking about. I would tell her very clearly to keep her advise and "concern" to herself.