Swimming? And which stroke?

[OrangeGloss]

I'll be 15 weeks tomorrow, and wanted to start swimming. I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't do breast stroke but don't know why.

I had heavy implantation bleeding up to 8 weeks, so will ask the MW if it's ok to, but she isn't very good at details so would like to be prepared in case I need specific questions to ask her!

Any ideas?

I think, might be wrong, that breast stroke is only if you have problems with your hips/SPD.

I've continued doing it anyway

from here:
Breast stroke is commonly thought of as the best stroke for pregnancy by a lot of people, as it is the gentlest of the swimming strokes. It also encourages good alignment in the torso as it works the chest while encouraging you to pull back your shoulders. However, if you do breaststroke properly, you will notice that as you lift your head to come out of the water and breathe, you create an overly extended arch in your lower back.

Now considering the lower back is already under a LOT of pressure from your pregnancy posture, the last thing you want to do is add to this and wind up with pregnancy back pain.

Breaststroke legs are not suitable for pregnancy. During your pregnancy you pelvic ligaments become very soft, and the joints can be easily overstreched by the breaststroke kick. The pubic joint at the front may begin to separate in preparation for birth and injury can lead to Pubis Symphysis Disorder and Round Ligament Pain.

I have always swam and kept swimming up to 35 weeks always breast stroke with no problems.Think just need to start gently if you haven t swum before.Theres also aqua aerobics?

Thanks both of you that's really helpful

I used to swim a lot and in my first pg i carried on no problems (well I got slower lol!).

with ds2 i got SPD and stopped breaststroke legs as that made it worse.

This pg i've stuck with mostly floating as i find if i try and do front crawl legs with breaststroke arms it doesn't work very well. And i'm too unfit to do proper front crawl now

lying in the baby pool works :)

Stupid, stupid question but would back crawl be OK? Or would you face the possibility of drowning later in pregnancy?

Have never tried backstroke when pg, interesting idea!
Think balance might be off though.

I had the same problems as JustKeep Swimming with not being able to do proper front crawl arms, so my midwife suggested I use a float to hold on to and just do crawl legs - works really well and means I've got something to hold on to when I frequently stop!

I found breaststroke legs quite painful on my hips, so had to stop doing it. I found the most comfortable way of swimming was to do front crawl legs with a sort of doggy-paddle arm movement, as a lot of competitive swimming when I was younger has left me with a complete inability to swim front crawl slowly- I can't help bombing up and down the pool at full speed, which is quite exhausting at 30 weeks!
Back crawl was fine for me too, although the bump starts to feel quite heavy after a while, so keep changing from your front to your back.

Has anyone else with SPD/PGP found that front crawl kicking actually hurts more than breast stroke? I'm not sure if I'm actually doing worse damage with breast stroke, but it doesn't hurt at the time!

I found breaststroke legs quite painful on my hips, so had to stop doing it. I found the most comfortable way of swimming was to do front crawl legs with a sort of doggy-paddle arm movement, as a lot of competitive swimming when I was younger has left me with a complete inability to swim front crawl slowly- I can't help bombing up and down the pool at full speed, which is quite exhausting at 30 weeks!
Back crawl was fine for me too, although the bump starts to feel quite heavy after a while, so keep changing from your front to your back.

My consultant told me no breaststroke as it promotes an SPD. I still continue to do breaststroke (I am 32 weeks), but I also swim other styles as well, and am advanced swimmer. I think the doctors are very conservative in this country. In the USA and many other other countries, the advice is one can swim any style... As with any form of excercise, you must listen to your body. Also, I think it is highly unlikely that you can develop an SPD till 3rd trimester unless you are a ballerina... good luck!

Pinkgirly - i'm the same with front crawl swimming, my mind goes into 'race' mode and i'm just not fit enough to manage it, look like a right idiot when i reach the other end totally puffed out!!

I found with DS2 that i could swim breaststroke in the pool and it would be ok but when i got out it would ache more so i stopped myself doing it.

A float would be a good idea.

A bit off topic, but could I ask about swimwear etiquette? Do you think wearing a bikini at the swimming pool while pregnant is inappropriate or would I be best with a maternity cossie. I don't have much of a bump yet (at 23 weeks).

Orange, I've been doing back stroke and front crawl. Back stroke is good ime as you can breathe whenever you nned to and it also stretches out your chest/tummy a bit. I find breaststroke doesn't feel right. That's probably the best advice, to try it and see what feels best. Swimming is great as you can forget how heavy and climsy you are!

Yaya I swim in a bikini. My boobs are bursting out, but hey ho. When I'm on my back my bump sticks out of the water, which I think is quite cool!

My advice would be if you swim properly ( correct technique) front crawl, as it's easier. I'd do drills where you legthen your stroke to prevent race mode, ie make your hands touch when you change them etc

yaya70 I would just wear whatever you feel comfortable in. The women in my aqua natal class all seem to wear maternity swimsuits, but if you're still fitting a bikini why not.

lilly13 I wish SPD didn't develop until the third trimester!! I'm on crutches at 25 weeks.

Brills is a goo idea not to go in to race mode, I just get so frustrated when I go swimming that I cant do it properly!

I have a float and focus on good cront crawl kicks as with my SPD I cant cope with breastroke.

At 31 weeks I go with DH and enjoy some gentle floating about and treading water when he is in the lanes.

Sorry ment to say drills!

I might try the drills trick too next time - as we go with the 2 DS, i get to float about in the kiddie pool without looking too weird