Running at 12 weeks

[Owl1011]

I'm currently 12+3 and on holiday in a fairly warm climate. I've stayed quite fit and active during my pregnancy so far and do lots of mountain walking and visit the gym 4-5 times per week after checking with my midwife. I've just been for a gentle jog of about 2 miles, it's still fairly hot (about 26 degrees) but I took it easy and stopped when I felt I needed to. My husband doesn't think I should have gone and now I'm really panicking I've done something or raised my heart rate too high - I feel fine, had a cool shower and laying in an air conditioned room but now I'm panicking that I've overdone it!

I know opinions will differ on this but any advice would help!

You will most likely be fine but running is not recommended during pregnancy

Unless you've had medical advice to the contrary, it's just fine to continue doing most moderate exercise during pregnancy .Some women run marathons when pg, you will be fine after 2 miles.

Stop stressing and enjoy your pregnancy and your running

It says running is ok on the NHS website as long as you listen to your body. I'm panicking now and frantically googling!

Thank you @Kr1stina, I'm a born worrier!

Reliable NHS advice here

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/pregnancy-exercise.aspx

"The more active and fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain. It will also help you to cope with labour and get back into shape after the birth.
Keep up your normal daily physical activity or exercise (sport, running, yoga, dancing, or even walking to the shops and back) for as long as you feel comfortable.
Exercise is not dangerous for your baby – there is some evidence that active women are less likely to experience problems in later pregnancy and labour"

Please don't panic, there's no reason to at all.

By keeping up your normal exercise programme you are looking after yourself and your baby. Fitter mothers have fewer complications. Many pregnancy women find exercise also helps them deal with stress and worry.

I did gym classes throughout all my pregnancies and weights until 3rd trimester. I did walking, swimming and slightly adapted yoga and Pilates until 42 weeks.

All with the approval of my doctor.

All babies healthy and a good weight.

Thank you so much for the reply, it really helps! It felt really good to get out and get some exercise in and I do feel better for it to be honest. Stepping away from google now!

What viviene says is incorrect, please ignore people that want to tell pregnant women to lie down doing nothing and eating about 5 foods their entire pregnancy! Drives me mad. Take things easy as you have been, don't aim to push yourself load so in pregnancy but it's great that you feel well enough to exercise. Carry on!

Research on running in pregnancy

runnersconnect.net/running-during-pregnancy/

Absolute nonsense that running is not recommended during pregnancy. You can continue doing the exercise you are used to pre pregnancy, and it is healthy to do so. I ran up to 30 weeks, it's great to maintain your fitness during pregnancy, just listen to your body.

I am a runner and when I asked my GP if I could carry on whilst pregnant, he said yes until I started feeling uncomfortable. For me , that happened when 5 months pregnant but before that, I pretty much run as often as I used prior to being pregnant, albeit shorter distances.

With regards to mountain walking, I believe you need to be careful with altitude (unless your body is accustomed to living at high altitude normally) but I can't remember what altitude you need to avoid. We are talking Alps though, not the Lake District.

In any case, you will find having a good set of lungs and stamina very useful later on in your pregnancy.

I was running 5k a couple of times a week until I was about 20 weeks and then slowed down to doing intervals for a couple of weeks before choosing other cardio when I got bigger.

Advice from my doctor was to listen to my body and carry on as I was pre pregnancy - just don't start anything new. I'm just finishing up now apart from swimming at 36 weeks.

I did the same in my first pregnancy too.

You won't have harmed yourself or baby at all... As long as you are listening to your body and not pushing yourself to make times etc then you'll be fine.

Good luck with everything.

Keep running! I ran when pregnant on holiday in Lake Garda, just a few miles and tried to stick to early morning as it was cooler (still high 20's). Keep hydrated, run as much or as little as you feel comfortable with...relax and enjoy! I ran in both pregnancies til about 25 weeks, but then carried on walking and swimming.

"running is not recommended during pregnancy"

This is utter bollocks.

You'll be absolutely fine. Assuming you'll listen to your body and take breaks or stop completely if necessary, there is absolutely no reason why you can't run during pregnant if you feel able to.

Another preggo runner here! 16 weeks. I'm only doing 3-4K at the moment at a slower pace (mostly due to my asthma being a bit more unsettled with a change in meds). I've been to the EPU and MFAU during the pregnancy with spotting and each time doc has confirmed I'm still good to continue with exercise as normal! Hoping to keep it up for a few more weeks especially as I signed up for a series of 5ks before getting pregnant and need to run 2 more of them to get value for money! Not going for PBs, just plodding along, enjoying the route and collecting a medal for little one to play with in a few years! Happy running!

I ran until 39 weeks in 2 pregnancies. Absolutely fine. I had late pg scans for something unrelated & was congratulated by hospital consultants for keeping fit. I'm a natural plodder, tbf. Respect how you feel, stay cool & hydrated, stretch well.

Contact or high risk sports like Judo, rock-climbing, boxing -- those aren't recommended in pregnancy.

I was running 5km still two weeks before I gave birth at 38 weeks. It was fine, I often saw my midwife out running and she always gave me a thumbs up as we passed.

Thank you all for the reassurance and I'm so glad to to hear you've all had healthy pregnancies whilst staying active!

I kept up with running until about 26 weeks. Same as a lot of other posters on here i took it steady and didn't push myself at all. It was the baby bouncing on my bladder at aroud 25 weeks that stopped me running as the urge to wee was making the runs not enjoyable at all in the end. Listen to your body and keep talking to your midwife about it...and good luck!

Just to join in! I'm 22 weeks and still running, not very much as I'm not great with the heat, but half hour or so at a time. Midwife was happy with me doing so. I run mainly to help my anxiety, it really calms me so it's much more beneficial to my overall wellbeing than 'resting'. Will keep going so long as I'm comfortable.

I ran into about 25 weeks last time (weather rather than pregnancy put me off!) I remember freaking out around 17 weeks as I couldn't feel as much movement after a run, but he woke up about an hour later - he continued to do that so I guess he just dozed off with all the bouncing!

Take it easy, watch your joints and enjoy!

The only change to my (fairly intense - crossfit and running) exercise regime has been to not do any ab exercises, and make sure that everything I do is at a pace where I could still talk. I'm 14 weeks and don't expect that to change any time soon.

Thanks so much for the replies!

@allthecheese I'm glad to hear that someone else is still doing CrossFit whilst pregnant! I've massively scaled but it feels great to still be able to keep fit and the coaches have been excellent! Good luck with your pregnancy!

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/20/serena-williams-pregnant-tennis-women

Serena Williams won the oz open at 8 weeks pregnant

My old manager ran Bristol 10k 7 months pregnant. She was a bit of a bloody idiot though as she was fitness mad and use to run until she collapsed. Her baby was fine though