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Pregnancy

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

Hiking holiday first trimester - is it safe?

45 replies

bojangleslaura · 04/09/2017 08:48

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!

OP posts:
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Sara107 · 04/09/2017 22:55

Generally it's fine to continue excercise that you normally do. But you don't normally walk 35k every day with a pack on your back, you say that the most you have done is a few 15k walks over the last few months. So you are planning on doing way more than you are fit for. I would seriously think about postponing the trip, at least take medical advice.

OldGreyBadger · 04/09/2017 23:58

I have no experience of pregnancy, but I do have experience of the Camino de Santiago. My advice is - DON'T!
Parts of it are bloody hard work, even exhausting, depending on the weather, and even for experienced walkers. The accommodation is basic, especially in the albergues (communal dormitories) the food not what you're used to and the chances of a stomach upset high.The Camino will always be there - this chance of a baby might not be.

oldlaundbooth · 05/09/2017 02:07

I wouldn't have fancied that at all, I was so sick and dizzy I could barely get out of bed in the first trimester!

It sounds too much TBH.

oldlaundbooth · 05/09/2017 02:09

Also, bear in mind the exhaustion of the first trimester can be very debilitating.

I only went shopping for half an hour and had to sit down for a rest for an hour, it exhausted me so much! And I'm pretty fit usually.

LisaSimpsonsbff · 05/09/2017 07:35

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.

This is true. However, a natural miscarriage at, say, 11 weeks is not something most people would want to do in a hostel toilet, and any other kind needs a hospital. Of course the odds are very much in favour of this not happening, but I don't think it's unreasonable of OP to worry about it.

I couldn't work out from the posts (sorry if I missed this information) whether this is something you're doing alone, with your partner or with a group. I think with your partner (or one friend) is by far the best of those options: if you're going alone then you have to think about worst case scenarios/back-up plans much more deeply, and if you're going with a group then it will potentially cause a lot of difficulty if it turns out you just can't keep pace.

SeaCabbage · 05/09/2017 07:45

How pregnant would you be?

Personally I think it sounds madness. You haven't even done one day of 25km whilst non pregnant. And you are thinking of doing this day after day whilst feeling really ill? Sounds awful.

Extremely sad to cancel but you have an unexpected pregnancy so plans must change.

Unless you can do what that previous poster said and tailor the whole thing to a much reduced version. But were you going to go with a group?

AtlanticWaves · 05/09/2017 08:20

I was incredibly fit before getting pregnant (5 hours martial arts a week plus cardio training)

I was a washout throughout my pregnanct (both!). We lived on the 6th floor of a block of flats without a lift. Without fail, for the 9 months, everytime I climbed the stairs I was sick at the top. Whereas previously I could go up those stairs 5 times a day without a care in the world.

Any physical effort made me sick.

I went for a weekend away when I was about 8/10 weeks pregnant (can't remember!). It was awful. I was away from home, sick all the time and couldn't eat in the lovely restaurants.

Personnally I would postpone the holiday. But I am incredibly biased from my awful pregnancies!

SeatOfMyPants · 05/09/2017 08:29

I did challenging walking at 18 weeks, but it was a weeks holiday (not 6) and I had kept training a lot through the first trimester (-apart from a couple of weeks when I couldn't move off the sofa). I think it's too much: your body won't enjoy it, you won't enjoy it.

But i would definitely second the suggestion that you shorten the route and the time - why not? - or maybe switch the holiday to one where you can get transport along certain sections. If you've got 6 weeks to play with, you could stay longer in certain places and then get a bus to a next walking point. I'd definitely get the scan done before you go. Then yo can be more relaxed about the pregnancy, once you know all ok.

And be prepared for constant pants down loo visits! He he...

INeedNewShoes · 05/09/2017 08:30

I went on holiday at 8 weeks with my parents to a flat island with lovely cycle paths. Usually when I cycle with my parents I have to cycle at half speed for them to keep up but at 8 weeks they were leaving me trailing especially as the day wore on. After a few hours of cycling each turn of the pedal seemed to require mammoth effort.

chantilly70 · 05/09/2017 09:41

I love walking but this holiday sounds far too strenuous to do whilst pregnant, in terms of the number of miles per day, the fact you will probably be carrying a load and the fact you are planning to stay in basic accommodation. However I am speaking as someone who developed SPD in their first pregnancy which came back in the second pregnancy at only 19 weeks, meaning that for the remainder of the pregnancy I could only walk a few steps at a time.

chantilly70 · 05/09/2017 09:43

By the way I'm sure flying would be fine. However if you didn't want to fly you could easily get to Spain by train. It is the rest of the holiday that doesn't sound ideal to me.

TiramisuQueenoftheFaeries · 05/09/2017 09:50

This is true. However, a natural miscarriage at, say, 11 weeks is not something most people would want to do in a hostel toilet, and any other kind needs a hospital

Fair point, although I'm not speaking from 0 experience; I started a miscarriage in rural Thailand and had to be driven back to Bangkok to a hospital. I can't say I enjoyed the drive much, but the outcome was certainly the same as it would be anywhere. And it was earlier than 11 weeks.

I think it's safe to say that the walk itself doesn't pose any miscarriage risk to the OP, but at the same time whether she feels up to it and will enjoy any of it is a big big question mark. I've had very fit pregnancies on the whole, but the first trimester did wipe me out bigtime and I think being able to pace yourself and take days off (i.e. not having pre-booked accomodation 25km away) is crucial.

NanooCov · 05/09/2017 10:54

Flying is not a problem at all - I flew on Sunday and I'm 30 weeks.

Hiking - go with how you feel but try to pace yourself. I did some hiking in my last pregnancy in Sardinia when I was about 18 weeks pregnant and was fine but knackered. Hydration is absolutely key. I couldn't have done it this time round as my nausea and exhaustion is worse this pregnancy than last (probably as I have a 2.5 year old!)

I'd build in more rest time if you can.

WorldofTofuness · 05/09/2017 12:45

Hmmm, I was going to say “Go for it!”, but some of what you say makes me think twice.

From the perspective of health of the baby—You won’t cause any harm, after all humans colonised the world while some of them were pregnant. If our ancestors had stopped walking every time one of them got preggo, we’d never have got beyond the Rift Valley. As walks go, the Camino is pretty gentle—you aren’t mountaineering or putting yourself through temperature extremes; and you will never be far from other people or facilities. If you’re staying in any kind of serviced accommodation (ie not camping), you don’t need to carry much. And exercise is good for the baby (via the mum’s circulatory system) as well as the mum.

The thing that makes me hesitate is what you say about your symptoms, both in terms of impact on you but more particularly on other people. If you are still vomming/pooing when it comes to the walk, it frankly doesn’t sound like much fun: tiring and potentially embarrassing. In particular, the staying in communal accommodation bit—never a laugh a minute when your digestive systems playing up (yup, been there, done that!)—and I’m afraid that yes, you won’t endear yourself to fellow walkers by being up and down all night* or ‘over-occupying’ the facilities.

Would a few compromises work? Eg commit only to a couple of weeks initially then see how it goes. (AIUI you are past peak season for the Camino now, so it shouldn’t be such an issue getting accommodation at short notice.) If you can afford it, perhaps do some of your stops as hotel/pension rather than hostel—from the perspective of better privacy, but also things like you can luxuriate in your own bath/shower. Use motorised transport to skip some of the less interesting bits.

My perspective: Pre-DC, I did quite a lot of multi-week trekking, in fairly ‘wild’ surroundings (high Pyrenees, Iceland etc.). Stayed everywhere from a bivi bag to 3* hotel, via mountain huts and hostels. Those days were long gone by the time I got pregnant (and pregnancy wasn’t straightforward to achieve), but I kept reasonably active: cycling all the way through, (gentle) canoeing at 15 and 28 weeks, and a 2-day walk/bivi at 34 weeks. Admittedly, I didn’t have morning sickness, though (a blessing of being on steroids!), nor excessive 1st trimester tiredness.

*Tim Moore talks about this in “Spanish Steps”, his account of doing the Camino with a donkey. Worth a read to help put you in the mood, if you decide to go—or as a consolatory laugh, if you don’t!

skittleskate · 05/09/2017 19:42

We went on a one-week hiking holiday in the French Alps in August when I was 11 weeks pregnant. Had a great time, but did far less hiking than anticipated! I'm in good shape, but was so terribly short of breath that it made the inclines really difficult - I was literally stopping to rest every dozen steps! The longest hike we did should have taken about 4hrs and we finished it in 6.5 and ran out of water towards the end (luckily found some but it was a scary half an hour!!). Not sure how much up and down there is on the Camino, but I would agree with others about not carrying too much and make SURE you have enough water, cliff bars, etc. And plan on moving much more slowly than you normally do - no reason to push yourself too hard. On the positive side, my constant nausea vanished as I was out and about and distracted by other things! Have fun Smile

helterskelter99 · 05/09/2017 20:40

How isolated is it?
My friend ended up in intensive care luckily the dr in the remote village warned them that they couldn't cope if she started haemorrhaging so they had taken themselves off to a bigger town she would have died in the remote location x

samanthadavies21 · 27/12/2017 14:18

I've met a pregnant woman of 3 months during the Camino, she was quite fit and did it with no problem. She did have the support and care of her husband and transport her backpack through a backpack transfer service. According to what she said, it'd be better if you don't do it during the summer months as she was constantly sweating and struggling with the hot weather, especially during long walks. But at the end it's best that you do what your doctor would recommend you, as every pregnancy is different.

BigBaboonBum · 27/12/2017 16:27

As long as you’re fit enough to do it if you weren’t pregnant then yeah it’s fine. I walked miles and miles every day with my first pregnancy and had no problems at all, it’s only as I’ve got older (and lazier) that the issues started when pregnant!

Is3themagicnumber · 04/01/2018 15:58

Please tell me if you did the Camino? I am hoping to try for our 3rd baby asap and have the Camino booked for the end of march this year. I am normally (luckily) able to fall pregnant very quickly. So will hopefully be a few weeks pregnant when going. I am doing 1 week of walking, the max is 25 on one of the days, but all the others are on average 18KM. How did you get on ? Would you recommend ?
Thank you.

gryffen · 04/01/2018 16:31

I do quite a lot of hill walking and we always turn away pregnant woman for safety reasons. If you fall, can't carry your kit, are ill etc - if they do come they must sign a waiver and any risk is their own.

You said you haven't done much training? How is the terrain? Rocky, flat tarmac, elevation over 3000ft (oxygen reasons?)

IMPO I would cancel as the risk is high, flying your fine but on the walk itself - not worth.

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