Hiking holiday first trimester - is it safe?

[bojangleslaura]

First time posting -

I have a holiday booked to go to Spain to walk the Camino De Compostella. This is a 500 mile trek through various terrains from France through to northern Spain. I would be staying in Hostels each night and would be walking around 27-35km per day. I could possibly take 1 rest day every 10 days. I haven't done too much training for the walk, maybe 15k max at a time over the past few months.

A few weeks ago I found out I am pregnant with first baby, now approx 7 weeks (complete shock and unplanned - I have a pituitary tumour so thought it would be years of trying!) I have exhaustion, nausea, the occasional day where I vomit all day and bad bowels at the moment. Do you think it's too risky flying at 10 weeks pregnant and walking for 6 weeks? Or do you think with the the right precautions it's OK.

I am worried about miscarriage and being far away from home. Also awkward nights disturbing everyone in the hostel whilst I go to the loo for the millionth time (!)

I really want to do this holiday as it will be the second time this year I would have had to cancel it, but if anything happened to my baby through my own fault I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

I have my first appointments with two doctors this week where I will also ask for their advice, but would love to hear if anyone has done something similar in their first trimester and how you coped etc.

Thank you!

If you're fit enough for it, I can't see why it would be a problem.

The only thing I would be concerned about is missing the window for the NT scan ('12 week scan') and blood test at 11-13 weeks.

There is no risk with flying. As long as you're fit enough to do the walk and keep hydrated I can't see why it would be a problem.

Thank you so much!

That's really helpful - I will chat to docs about the scan and bloods - fingers crossed. x

As long as you feel up to it and listen to your body, it can only do you good. Can you pace yourself if necessary? Exercise actually reduced my first trimester nausea and tiredness, although it was hard to get started!

Medical care in Spain is fine and, bluntly, if the worst happens and you miscarry, there's nothing any hospital anywhere can do to stop it.

I flew last week and I'm 21 weeks. No problem. If you're sick and nauseous, I would probably cancel it as it'll be a real struggle to keep hydrated and you'll be absolutely exhausted. You're also going to find it difficult to rest (going to toilet) so exhaustion will build up. There is no way I could have done it in first trimester, but I did have hyperemesis. On the other hand, Serena Williams won the Australian open when she was pregnant. Be realistic, only you know your body. There's nothing unsafe about it, it's just what you're physically capable of doing.

My doctor advised against a walking holiday which I had planned. Due to the weight of my rucksack and the long strenuous days. My partner ended up doing the walking and I took the car which worked out better because we could take more gear.
I would be extremely wary about this. As devastating as it was... I couldn't get our money back which is why we didn't cancel. I am glad I didn't do it because I came down with a cold and felt absolutely awful. The early starts and lack of sleep all added up and that's without the walking.

I would honestly see how you feel but if it's possible you could get your money back and find a last minute holiday deal and change it to something a little more relaxing.
I realised that there will be other trails and paths in the future which we could involve the child with and many walks which can wait. I don't regret putting my health first but I still got a holiday out of it so I didn't feel that awful.

I think it may be too much. If you go ahead make sure you have a plan in place in case something goes wrong or if you don't feel up to it and also take your maternity notes everywhere with you.

I can't see why it would be risky (your MW is the best person for advice I guess) and would be an amazing experience if you are up to it but I don't think I could have done it because I was so tired (and sick) in the first trimester. We had planned a walking weekend around 12 weeks and went anyway but ended up doing much easier walks than usual and I still needed to skip dinner to get to bed as I was exhausted.

I guess it depends on how fit you are, but I would never have been able to do this. Everything was so much more exhausting all of a sudden that even a walk to the supermarket felt like a major hike - let alone actually hiking every day for so long! And I also wouldn't have been able to lift or carry a big rucksack.

If I overdid it I'd then have to rest for a day in a calm, quiet, dark environment - it would have felt awful being in a hostel, far away from home.

If you noticed during the hike that you felt too unwell and tired, what would your options be? Will you be quite far away from towns/cities? I guess everyone's pregnancies are really different, so you might feel much better than I did, but it could also be even worse.

I would be cautious about doing this. Flying and just going on holiday abroad would be absolutely fine, but the walking sounds incredibly strenuous over a long period of time. I went abroad for ten days at 11 weeks and had a great time, however I needed a nap in the hotel most afternoons. The level of tiredness did ease up once I got into the second trimester but the first trimester was exhausting. I was really pretty fit pre pregnancy and at 15 weeks I attempted what should have been an easy walk up Ben Lomond in Scotland. I got 25 mins in and it felt very fool hardy. Not from a fitness point of view, but from a trips and falls perspective. It just didn't feel worth the risk and we had safer walk in the relative flat round the loch instead

Hi Bojangles
I've done the camino and I would say 27-35km a day is a bit ambitious, and a bit unnecessary! Really, (and I know this sounds a bit woo) the point of the camino is the journey, not the destination. There's no need to rush! Could you start further along the route and do fewer km per day? The first time I went I walked from Burgos to Finisterra. It was perfect. I did roughly 20km a day (but often less!) and had a couple of rest days. Another good short option is Ponferrada to finisttera.

As long as you're not feeling sick, I think you'll be okay. The hostels are noisy anyway, so you won't disturb anyone. I would recommend taking a few extra pounds to stay in a pensione a few times. Gives you a bit more privacy and a good nights rest.

Also, be very careful about your packing. Take the bare minimum. You should be aiming for 10% of your body weight.

So basically, I would say you could probably still do it, but would need to do a sort of camino-lite.

Sorry! That got very rambley and I I keep thinking of more!

I often walked until about 1/2pm, then stopped had lunch and a siesta at the hostel. I think that would be good for you too as you will probably need the rest.

Flying isn't an issue and exercise isn't, but that does sound like an excessive amount of walking especially if you're carrying a heavy rucksack.

One major concern would be overheating which you are supposed to avoid in early pregnancy.

I would also be concerned you'll just feel like crap because the baby will take everything it needs first, which is reassuring, but leaves you with not much energy for dealing with such long days of exercise.

Congrats! If it's within your normal capabilities and not out of the ordinary for your level or fitness you should be fine. I went to New Zealand when 7-8 weekday pregnant and did lots of hiking/trekking. It's normally contact sports or extreme bending/lifting that midwives advise you to steer clear of. Enjoy your holiday!

I wouldn't do it to be honest. It's one thing to keep up the same level of exercise as you were doing pre-pregnancy but to take up a new exercise (or new level of exercise in this case) is a different thing. I'm generally pretty fit and I went on holiday in July at 16 weeks which involved a moderate amount of walking/cycling etc (way less than your holiday and only for a week) - I was really slow, had to stop a lot and still felt exhausted by the end of each day. The flying isn't a problem though - could you maybe swap it for a different holiday so you don't feel like you're missing out too much in cancelling again?

I went on a walking holiday at 6 weeks - 9 weeks pregnant. Not quite as strenuous as yours, but still expecting to do every day walking the alps and Julian Alps. We had to come home after just over a week. At the start of week 6 I was feeling nauseous, by end of week 6 I was vomiting all day every day, spent all the time in my hotel room and came back to be diagnosed with hyperemesis, which kept me in bed/hospital for the following 10+ weeks. I say this because you've mentioned already having a day where you've vomiting all day...

Main issues were: Finding receptacles to vomit in (hotel bins unfortunately permeable). Finding food I could (sometimes) tolerate (dry crackers and laughing cow cheese, bizarrely). Difficulty of catering when I couldn't go into a restaurant without vomiting due to the cooking smells. Travel made it worse.

I also had a threatened miscarriage the whole time (bleeding), although fortunately it turned out ok. Still, wasn't much fun panicking in a foreign country, and we were a little off the beaten track.

On the other hand a friend of mine did part of the tour de france mountain route whilst pregnant... but she had an easy pregnancy.

I thought the general advice was that there is no need to give up exercise you are already doing and your body is used to. The holiday you've described sounds like a major increase in exercise to what you are used to - plus its not just a 1 or 2 week holiday - its 6 from what you've said.
I would say its not a great idea to do the holiday the way you have outlined but there's no need to give up your dream holiday - maybe just make some adjustments - a lower daily target, less days and just a small section? Certainly more rest days, plus are you carrying your own gear or are there options to pay for it to be sent on to the next nights stopover? Are you doing this alone or in a group - can you travel sections in the car with the organisers? (Sorry not sure of the setup for doing this walk...)
My sickness hit at 8 weeks and didn't disappear till after the second scan at 20 weeks :-(
Definitely if you want the nuchal test then that is a small window of time but your midwife can explain those options and scans are not compulsory...

I went skiing at 11-12 weeks and was knackered. Had to go back to the chalet to sleep at 3pm each day.
Personally I'd be happy to go to Spain and walk but not as far as you're planning. I'd just do a small section at a very leisurely pace.

You don't sound fit enough. It would be challenging but doable if not pregnant to more than double your max distance while adding in a pack to carry. Pregnant, it's too much. You don't know how the pregnancy will hit you.

Re the tests, you can have the Panorama test from 9 weeks privately which could be an option.

A friend did some of the Camino and had her luggage transported to the various hotels/hostels that she'd booked. Would that be an option?

the Spanish postal service offer options

I think that some parts of the Camino are not a easy option even when very fit. I would have thought it very risky whilst pregnant. Would you even be able to get anyone to insure you?