Am I bonkers??

[MrsMar]

Hello all, I'm new to these boards, I thought I'd introduce myself with a question. I'm 8weeks pg with my first on friday (9/2) and I'm due to go skiing on 24th March, when I'll be 14 weeks. I asked my gp and he said I should go, "pregnancy's not an illness you know!" he said. My sister thinks I'm bonkers to go. I've already changed where we're going (there's a group of 8 of us) from Canada to Europe, as I thought an 8 hour flight might be wrong, but what about the whole idea of skiing at that stage? I'm a pretty good skiier, and of course I would be careful, and not hurl myself down black runs, but what do you think? One thing that does worry me is that I've been far too tired and sick to do much training in the gym since I got pg, so I'm not at my fittest. I could just go and ski only a couple of days....

Hi MrsMar and welcome. I personally wouldn't go skiing but that's only because in my last pregnancy I was throwing up all day and night and was hospitalised twice so no way would I have been able to go even if I had wanted to.

I think you should still go and like you said, you only have to ski a couple of times or none at all if you don't fancy it, you can still have a good time. Good luck

I agree with the doctor - go skiing!!! - just take it easy for the first few days and see how you feel -

I was always told to do what I normally do until I got so big it became uncomfortable. In my case, it was irrelevant as I never got too big to sit on the settee watching Coronation Street, but if I had've been a skier......

Thanks for all your replies. I would really love to go, and so I think I will. We were supposed to go next week, and I would have had to make up all sorts of excuses for being unable to drink, stay up late etc, but at least going at 14 weeks means I can 'fess up and then get everyone to carry my skis etc hehehe! I did read somewhere that altitude can affect the amount of oxygen that gets to the baby, but surely if you're getting enough then the baby would be, and I'd know if I wasn't getting enough oxygen.

Hi FF, I've been rather lucky with the m/s. Been pretty nauseous, but not thrown up, but then that is a speciality of mine; I'm absolutely never sick, even when feeling really nauseous! I have been feeling sick but nothing I can't handle, and I'm sure all that lovely swiss chocolate will help!

This is driving me mad, my sister is constantly on at me that I shouldn't do this, I've even suggested that I just go and don't ski (which'll be a real shame) the holiday is paid for and it's cost a fortune. Both my mum and sister are on at me, they say if I have a fall I will miscarry. Surely I'd have to fall pretty hard to miscarry? I've had falls when skiing before and they were never particularly high speed, just bumps and bruises and that's because I was in my 20s and crazy! I used to throw myself down mountains! I'm much more careful now, pregnant or not. I would love to canvass more opinions, because the guilt is killing me....

Hi MrsMar. I've never been skiing and I'm not active at all but I guess it must be safe if the doctor says it's ok. Have you tried contacting your midwife to get a second opinion?

If all is well with your pregnancy and if you are used to an activity then you are safe to carry on doing it until you no longer feel able to. I played netball up til I was 12 weeks but the regs are that you must stop at 12 weeks anyway.

I would personally say 14 weeks was about borderline for stopping from a safety pov. You say you are experienced so GO!

If it were me, I would go but perhaps stick to the easier slopes. Tell your family that you have thought long and hard about it and know the risks involved and please don't fret on your behalf. Have fun!

I would go. When I asked my doctor if there was anything I could do to avoid a m/c, she said avoid lifting heavy things. She never said anything about exercise.

I am presently pg (about 7 weeks?) with no. 2 and am skiing on the w/e of 10 March. How much skiing I will get done, I don't know - suspect I will sleep for the whole weekend as ds will be at home with dh!! - but provided I feel physically up to it, I will certainly be doing it. Haven't fallen over for many years now, but will be sticking to easier slopes and x-country...

I think it just all depends on you, how you're feeling, how fit you are, whether you've skied before and all that sort of thing. Every woman is different! If you'd never skied before (like me) it would probably be a complete nightmare, and likewise if you were suffering from v bad M/S every day. But given you are fine and you've done it all before - it's all fine I think.

Don't feel too bad about relatives being all weird about it - it's just in their nature. They are hyper sensitive about everything because they are so close to you and the baby. I'm due to go to Mallorca at 5 months and my Mum is already having a big stress about it and saying I shouldn't go, despite the fact that it is perfectly fine to fly in the second trimester, it's only an hour's flight and I will not be doing much exercise! It's just over-caution from your loved ones...

Good luck :-)

thanks for the advice everyone.

QueenEagle - it's funny because my mum is convinced that it would be better for me to go at 16 weeks, because the pregnancy would be more established, but that at 14 weeks I still have a risk of miscarriage.

Holly - I'm not massively fit, I used to run and go to the gym three times a week (up until Christmas really) but since my bfp I've felt quite sick and tired, so I've not really gone. I'm a good skier, but I am worried about my fitness hence if I ski at all, it'll be really gentle. Nothing higher than easy reds, perhaps only just blue and green runs. I've got the m/s under control with some ginger capsules, so I'm trying to psyche myself up to going back to the gym to do some leg strengthening.

I'm still concerned about how hard I'd have to fall to miscarry. I've already fallen down the stairs once this pregnancy (on my bottom, slid all the way down! ouch!)

It's such a tough one... I can understand your dilemma. Maybe you could still go and do some cross-country instead??!

I don't know how hard you have to fall really - I've fallen quite hard in the street (mainly because I was wearing wholly inappropriate shoes ) and everything was fine, but I guess it depends if you hit your stomach or not and maybe there would be a risk if you did?

Good luck whatever you decide and take care. x

Hmm lots to think about. Thanks for all the support, maybe I'll just go and eat lovely cream cakes and have lots of alpine hot chocolate for a week! All that mountain air must be good for me!

I went at 19 weeks with ds1.
Decided to just set myself some strict limits and stick to them... .which for me were:

• blue runs only
• half days only

I had a great time escorting some less experienced people, really enjoyed not having the pressure of more experienced friends pushing me out of my comfort zone - and went home after lunch every day for a sleep, leaving me much more ready to enjoy the evening than I usually would be after a full day's skiing!

Of course you have wait and see how you're feeling. But you can always take a walk/shop/swim some days instead.
And being past the first trimester is a good thing - risk of m/c is much reduced. To trigger a m/c (that wouldn't otherwise have happened) you'd probably have to fall very hard on your stomach or go into shock from a serious injury.

Hope you feel able to go... and have a good time!

If it helps i went snowboarding last week at 7 weeks preg. I just took it easy...didnt rush up in the morning, didnt stay out til lifts shut and had some nice long lunches (and the odd nap) in the sun. I also had one day off and took DS swimming.

I decided to go as i though in reality even if i fell you dont tend to fall onto your stomach and as im a reasonable boarder then i dont tend to fall much anyway. I did find i was more cautious anyway and had no problems.

With my DS i ran regularly until 15 weeks and did taekwondo until 20 weeks (no sparring though!). I researched the advice at the time and the main thing is not to get exhausted or very hot through exertion.

If you are a good skier then i would say go, just dont push yourself to be exhausted. Catillas advice to just stick to blues seems pretty sensible.

If your mum and sis are going on at you, you could always tell them you are not going to ski...how will they know what you actually do when you're there!

Catilla, thank you so much. I can't tell you how much that has reassured me. I've set myself similar limitations, stick to blues and greens, ski mornings only, take a day or two off if I'm tired. We're staying in Verbier, so it's not like there isn't anywhere to pamper and spoil myself when I'm not skiing.

Like you, I think I'm really going to enjoy having no pressure. this is my first group skiing holiday since my 20s and it'll be so nice not to have the pressure. We used to go in massive groups, where most of the skiers were pretty expert, and it was 8 hours of non stop skiing, with half an hour off for lunch, blacks and difficult reds most of the time and then hard drinking and dancing all night. I loved it at the time, but now I can't think of anything worse. I've had a few accidents in the past, but considering what I was putting myself through, it's not surprising. As I'll be 14 weeks gone I'll able to tell everyone why I'm taking it easy and there'll be no pressure.

Talking of accidents, now I cast my mind back, my worst accident where I tore my cruciate and medial ligaments wasn't even that much of a high speed crash, more of a slow bump with my knee turning the wrong way. I don't think I've ever had a high speed crash, and I was pretty reckless in the past!

Hi Thehairybabysmum,

Thanks for your post. It's wierd, people seem to be split in two camps. I've heard going skiing/boarding in early pregnancy is worse due to exertion and complications such as m/s and tiredness, also someone suggested thinner air at altitude could be damaging in early pregnancy, but my mum seems to think that the later the better, as the pregnancy is more established. Either way, you're right, I'll tell them I'm going to spend a week breathing mountain air, I just won't tell them that I'll be on skis when I'm doing the breathing! hehe!

If Mary King can compete for GB in eventing at 5 months pregnant then you can go skiing, take it easy and enjoy

MrsMar - tbh I would be more worried you would damage your knee again rather than cause any problem with the baby. Do you have to wear a knee brace. I ask because I tore my cruciate playing netball and was warned by my consultant to only ever play if I am wearing my super-duper knee brace.

This sounds a bit blase but I don't mean it to: if your pregnancy is going to miscarry, there is nothing that you can do to stop it. The baby is well cushioned from bumps in there! Being 14 wks or 16 won't make a blind bit of difference imo. Except maybe for having a bit of a belly by then perhaps? But if you are as fit as you sound then you probably aren't showing much? I really do think you will be fine if you are used to ski-ing.

Hi QueenEagle,

My knees are pretty good now, I don't wear a brace for anything, I was told not to by physios at the time as I was told it was better to have the muscles support the knee rather then a brace. I worked pretty hard at getting fit my operations, and I'm no Paula Radcliffe, but I can hold my own. I am over weight, but I don't look pregnant yet at all, other than my usual extra weight I haven't been able to shift since an ill advised year on the pill (!)

I know what you mean about the miscarrying thing too, I've always thought that what will be will be. I've had a tough time convincing dh that telling a few people I'm pg won't cause a miscarriage. He's always been paranoid, and I've had to reassure him that if it's going to miscarry then it will whether we tell people or not. I'm sure you're right about the skiing too. Just look at that poor woman who was stabbed in the neck when she was ten weeks pregnant. She suffered horrendous injuries but her baby survived!