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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Following on from ice skating: skiing at 8 weeks?

44 replies

NancyinCali · 02/12/2013 00:21

I was going to sit out skiing this season but I'll only be 8 weeks for our first trip in 2 weeks time and the ice skating thread has got me thinking it'll be okay. I'm a pretty confident intermediate skier. It's early season so it won't be busy.
Would you do it at 8 weeks? The next trip will be when I'm more like 13 weeks so I definitely wouldn't do it then.

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icklekid · 02/12/2013 04:41

I would as an experienced skiier but just take it steady/careful. So jealous as would love to be skiing this year!

madwomanintheatt1c · 02/12/2013 04:56

My doc told me that I would have to do myself some serious injury in the first trimester for it to affect the baby. He said the baby was well enough protected by the pelvis at that point. (I live in a Canadian ski resort, btw).

That said, I took a massive fall (think medium speed in bad light and hitting an unexpected wall of powder) at 14 weeks and did a full superman-stylee pop out of my skis and sailed head first about ten feet landing flat on my stomach.

I'm the most steady and careful skier I know. But sometimes you get caught out by conditions or other people who aren't as competent.

I'd ski at 8 weeks. I wouldn't at 13 weeks, now.

Rockchick1984 · 02/12/2013 07:53

I think you would be unlikely to do any damage to the baby, but for me personally if I miscarried I would be entirely blaming myself and anything I'd done so if you would be the same then don't do it!

greentshirt · 02/12/2013 08:00

I wouldn't from a danger perspective, but that's a personal risk assessment I think. What I would say is don't underestimate how tired you will be, 8 weeks was the peak of my tiredness, getting out of bed and making it through the day was a struggle, let alone with a full day of cardio on top !

badguider · 02/12/2013 08:05

I went at 12 weeks early this year. I had to nap every day and sit out the wine and soft cheese as well as the more fun pistes but on the whole I'd say it was better than staying at home.
I wasn't worried about the baby - miscarriage from physical trauma in the first trimester is so rare it is almost unheard of.

CrispyFB · 02/12/2013 10:42

I would in terms of the baby being safe. I read that you'd probably have to have an injury that fractured your pelvis before baby was at risk.

However, in terms of exhaustion especially at altitude, looser ligaments so more prone to injury, feeling sick etc.. that's a different kettle of fish!

Also, how high is the resort? There are some small risks associated with being over 5000 feet - nothing huge, but something to factor in.

As I said on the other thread, I skied until 11 weeks in our local snowdome. Ski trousers didn't do up after that point either!!

ChicaMomma · 02/12/2013 11:29

No way!!
We're not going this yr for the first time in 10 yrs. GOing to paris for a long weekend instead. I'm gutted, but it's just not worth it.
I'm an experienced skiier, but wherever you go yo uwill have inexperienced and wreckless snowboarders. i've lost count of the amount of times i've been taken out by them on the slopes.
It's just not worth it IMO.

Also, i probably sound like an alco, but the thoughts of going and not being able to enjoy the apres ski were enough for me to cancel!!

We've said we'll go when the baby is 3 and get him or her acquainted with the snow early :)

MummyLuce · 02/12/2013 12:57

Go!!!!! I skied at 16 weeks and am skiing at 32 weeks in feb. I actually had a big fall at 16 weeks (top of the Olympic slalom in Lillehammer) and when I got back (black and blue all over) and told the midwife her response was "skiing, how lovely!". Literally that's it. My dad is a doctor and he also encouraged me to go. As for tiredness, don't ski towards the end of the day if you're exhausted, as you increase risk of a fall. Otherwise, enjoy! There's not an awful lot of fun stuff durin pregnancy, don't miss out on this as well!'

Chocolatemolehill · 02/12/2013 13:01

I'm an experienced skier but I wouldn't do it at all while pregnant (we're not going this year). Even if you are confident with your abilities you may get somebody hitting/skiing into you. And I've read somewhere that a fall or taking a hit can cause placenta to detach (although I haven't properly researched this).
I have also read that high altitudes are not good in pregnancy but that would of course depend where/how high you were going.

I guess, as everything else, it's a personal risk assessment. Mine is an IVF pregnancy and I'm generally being rather careful and not taking any risks.
Good luck with your pregnancy!

MummyLuce · 02/12/2013 13:10

Oh and it's actually harder to ski when U have the baby, we went last year when she was 7 months and she went to nursery in the morning but I felt too guilty to enjoy it, so ended up me, my DP and my dad taking turns playing in the snow with her at the cafe area at top of gondola! This year she's going to be 19 months and she has her first pair of skis!

AuntieStella · 02/12/2013 13:14

I skied at about 5-6 weeks pg (had the BFP days before we left).

In the early days of the first trimester, the pg is still buried well within the pelvis, and so it would take a bone breaking fall or landing hard on an object to threaten it traumatically. But those can happen, and it is up to you to decide on your capabilities and attitude to risk.

Also, even if you had a lesser accident, being pg might affect treatment options (bone setting under general), so you need to ensure companions/instructors know you are pg (in case you are knocked out).

The other issues - change of centre of gravity and softening of ligaments - probably won't kick in until a bit later in pg, so can perhaps be ignored in your case. But do be aware of them (especially the latter) as you might tire differently and be at greater risk of a fall (or just being so damned uncomfy that you don't enjoy it much).

AuntieStella · 02/12/2013 13:20

Oh, and how high is the resort and the ski-ing area. The pg body can react differently to altitude - the only time I've ever been affected was during pg, but that was on a non-skiing day trip up the Jungfraujoch (c.3500m).

tumbletumble · 02/12/2013 13:23

I've been skiing when 3 months pregnant. No harm done.

Wuxiapian · 02/12/2013 13:25

I wouldn't take the risk.

Abzs · 02/12/2013 13:38

I skied between 10 (when the snow came) and 16 weeks. I didn't feel safe after the bump started to show. My main fear was being taken out by some other idiot. My midwife's only comment was that she is a boarder.

I went hill walking after that so got to play out in a fantastic winter season, but found I couldn't manage big days out due to tiredness.

marzipanned · 02/12/2013 14:23

Oh, it's really hard. There will always be people who say that they skiied at x weeks and it was fine, and it is true that, at that stage, miscarriage due to physical injury is VERY unlikely.

But I subscribe to rockchick's pov - if you did have a fall and if you did miscarry, even if the two things weren't at all related, would you be able to live with it? I mean - I wouldn't - that's why I've avoided all non walking/swimming type sports throughout the pregnancy.

I was puking up about 20 times a day at 8 weeks so it would've been a moot point, you are very lucky if you feel physically up to skiing at that stage

HazleNutt · 02/12/2013 14:48

I would. As said, baby is so well protected at that stage.

Bejeena · 02/12/2013 17:30

I personally would not and not for my worry about my abilities (I spend 30 days on slopes a year normally at least), but just because you can't judge the conditions or what someone else is going to do.

It is one season to sit out and in the great scheme of things this is not much.

Also this is off the topic a bit but someone who generalises about 'wreckless snowboarders' obviously isn't that good a skier anyway. Any expert can dodge a beginner be it a boarder or a skier. Snowboarders are not wreckless, it is just a different way of learning. Yes a skier moans about a snowboarder sitting in the snow, but you know what the good boarders moan about the skiers (who think they are intermediate but really no control anything out of the confront of a blue or red piste) just standing around waving their poles in the air and unable to turn tightly.

Perhaps if you have skied all your life and really are an intermediate and could handle anything on the slopes then maybe ok, if you are one of those who shudders at a black run or wouldn't dream of going off piste then I would not risk it.

Another thing to consider is that by 8 weeks you really might be feeling so rotten that you won't enjoy anyway and not feel like skiing, I could not have skied or boarded at 8 weeks

ChicaMomma · 02/12/2013 17:43

Well Bejeena, my very accomplished skiing husband was nearly parallised by a 'wreckless snowboarder', hence my apprehension. On average he has spent even more than 30 days a yr on slopes yet was still steamrolled by one- as he innocently stood in line for a button lift in St Anton about 10 yrs ago. So it can happen. He was on traction for about 10 weeks after- if he had flipped in the opposite direction his spinal cord would have been severed... so pardon my paranoia about said 'wreckless snowboarders'. I too (also v experienced) have had a few issues myself. I have NO issue with them 'sitting in the snow' by the way, that's when i like them most infact :)

There is no way i would ski during pregnancy, too many things could happen. She could easily fall in the village and suffer trauma to the stomach- but maybe i'm far too cautious for my own good!

marzipanned · 02/12/2013 17:53

There are reckless skiiers and reckless snowboarders. As I said on t'other thread, worst fall I ever had on piste was caused by an out of control skiier crashing into me from behind. There's nothing you can do to avoid that, however accomplished you are! (I am probably intermediate/advanced. Happy on black runs and spend a lot of time off piste. But don't have eyes in the back of my helmet :) )

ChicaMomma · 02/12/2013 17:56

Yes that's exactly it- you cant legislate for other people on the slopes, be they children, skiiers OR snowboarders. But i'm just such a nervous nora, i was petrified of bringing on a miscarriage with the littlest of things.

AuntieStella · 02/12/2013 17:57

The paranoia about the recklessness of snowboarders is nothing whatsoever to do with whether on is inherently more dangerous (it's not) nor whether considerate and competent people will pose a risk (they don't).

But it is a great deal to do with the demographics of boarders - a greater proportion of younger, more reckless people. They'd probably be dangerous on either skis or boards, but right now boards are more fashionable.

CrispyFB · 02/12/2013 18:58

I agree with AuntieStella - it's the attitude that comes with the culture of boarding. Of course there are plenty of safe and well-mannered boarders, I know plenty, it's just those who tend to be reckless and rude in all walks of life tend to be drawn to the whole boarding culture and less to skiing. And who notices the polite and sensible ones whether boarder or skier? Am a skier myself for the record.

Before the placenta takes over properly, the type of injury you'd need to harm a pregnancy at 8 weeks is probably less likely to happen skiing than having an accident that bad on the way to the resort in the car. Even after that point it would take a lot.

But like all things, if something did happen whether it was conclusively tied to an incident whilst skiing or not, it's living with the guilt over your decision. So be confident in whatever you eventually decide to do and don't second guess yourself!

BikeRunSki · 02/12/2013 19:05

I skied at 7 weeks. Flight home made me sick as dog and I was hospitalised with hyperemisis a week later. The skiing was ok, but I stuck to boring gentler reds and blues, and gazed longingly at the gnarly fun stuff.

Original poster

NancyinCali · 02/12/2013 22:27

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply! I'm totally exhausted at the moment so I may not even feel up to it. Maybe I'll put my gear in the car and decide when we're there based on conditions.

MummyLuce my DD is 19 months too. Hadn't thought about her skiing yet but it would be fun to get her on skis already if we could!

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