Running in late pregnancy?

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

I am 24+3 with twins and doing a gentle 4-5k twice a week. When I found I was pg, I scaled back from 10-12ks to 5-6k and then around 22w, dialled it down again to my current distance

On Sun I had a streak of medium brown discharge in my knickers after the run. Not dark like blood so much as American tan tights colour! Also painless tightenings in lower abdomen.

The running feels good and I don't want to stop as it is a great stress reliever, also hoping it will help ward off excess weight gain and high BP.

But are those warning signs? Would you stop? Or did you run through mild symptoms?

I would be very surprised if the brown blood was related to your running. I didn't manage personally but know a few who ran very close to their due dates. As long as you feel comfortable and aren't increasing the intensity it's unlikely to be an issue.

Please consult midwife if you're concerned though.

Just re-read your post and saw you're having twins, I'm very impressed. I only managed running to about 16 weeks both times.

I'm a pre and post natal PT and the official advice would be that the impact on your pelvic floor (i.e. A couple of kg of baby pounding repeatedly on it) means you should really be stopping around now.

However, I totally get exercise for your own sanity. I changed to cycling to work, and I still do crossfit 3x a week at 34 weeks. If you need to run for your mental health then go for it.

There isn't any harm you can cause your baby by exercising (in fact studies have shown that the baby gets the same heart benefits that you will from exercising), just harm to your pelvic floor.

Me again, the painless tightenings sound like Braxton Hicks. Not to be worried about but do mention to mw.

My pelvic floor physio advised against running in later pregnancy because of repeated stress on pelvic floor. Suggested swimming. Was definitely pro exercise though, it was just the type.

If you're getting any bleeding or spotting, yes, I would stop and get checked. I think running is fine in pregnancy as long as you are feeling well. But I would not classify any spotting or bleeding in late pregnancy as 'feeling well' and it is definitely a red flag. It may be a sign your body is trying to tell you to slow down or it could be a sign there is a more serious complication unrelated to running specifically.

Thanks all. Might swop to xtrainer at gym or walking fast with light weights? Or recumbent bike maybe.

Swimming takes too much time as I only have short slots for exercise in between ft job and toddler DD. Cycling to work would involve a mahoosive hill of 11% gradient and reluctant to start doing that in pregnancy.

Might try running one more time and see what happens. Also ask MW!

mind it isn't bleeding, it is light brown discharge. Doesn't look like the dark purply brown of old blood, more like tan or the colour of pine furniture if that makes sense.

So dunno if it is just icky discharge or a tiny bit of old blood mixed with EWCM?

Maybe a mother nature nudge to start taking it easy op..

Can barely be bothered going to the fridge for a chocolate bar and you’re running at 25 weeks with twins . I have no idea if that’s normal or not (I’d ask midwife) but wow! Good job!

Any kind of bleeding/spotting/discharge means you should check that all is well. It's certainly not my experience that the official advice is to stop running now though. With my daughter, my bootcamp was with a pre and post natal qualified trainer and she said as long as you had no problems run as long as you feel able to.

I was still running at 25 weeks .. which was Saturday and I got my first ligament pain on my right side! Had to hobble home as every step hurt. I think my running days are over ;(

I’m impressed you’ve made it so far with twins on board!

I have taken up swimming again, and indoor cycling. It’s keeping me sane but it’s not the same as a good run!

I would second switching as it will be hard on your pelvic floor, not to mention diastasis recti which is more common with twins and in runners. DR has caused no end of problems for me. 15 mo the post partum and I'm still having major issues.

I ran until nearly 7 months. It was great, and I knew it was good for the baby to get my and its heartrate up. And good for me to be fit and strong for labour (I needed a blood transfusion after a major PPH and my HCPs commented on how well my blood pressure and heart coped with it, and said I must be very fit).

Remember those dreadful elasticy stretch waist cinch-style belts people used to wear about 10 years ago? I used to put one of those under my bump for extra support I doubt it made much difference, but I swore it did at the time.

I stopped at 7 months because it started to get painful at the bottom of my bump when I ran, tight pain. I took that as a sign, and then started doing brisk power walks instead. I did swim a few times but, as you say, far too much of a faff.

Go walking with weights, or even a litre of water in each hand.

Bob really is DR more common in runners?! Didn't know. My PT gave me a core strength routine suitable for pg to try to avoid DR, so.don't want to undo all the good work.

Hmm really wanted to run till 3rd tri but then I guess at 24+ weeks with twins I am pretty much 3rd tri size so maybe I should give it a rest......

I know that running is now recommended as long as you can etc, BUT the people giving big these recommendations rarely seem to specialise in pelvic floor issues. The people (plural) I've met that do definitely recommend exercise, but low impact, purely because of the stress on the pelvic floor.

There may be women who run all through pregnancy and have no problem - and will say it. But the ones who have problems are not talking about it quite so loudly. Add in that many women belief that stress incontinence is simply what happens after birth for every woman and you just have to put up with it and not let it impact you too much (not true), and they won't tell you there's a problem, because they don't know it counts as one.

Anyway congratulations on a super healthy pregnancy!

I worked out with weights, cardio, boxing etc all the way through my previous pregnancy and am doing the same this time, but I stopped jogging at about 25-27 weeks I think, as what it was doing to my pelvic floor just didn't feel good at all. I would be warier with twins, I have to say, since you are going to be more at risk of all sorts of things, so I'd talk to someone about that slight bleeding and maybe take it easier for now. If you experience more bleeding after a run I might switch to another form of exercise.

I am 28 weeks and have had to (reluctantly) give up running - I think I gave it up about 3 weeks ago. It started feeling like I had a bowling ball bouncing on my bladder and I suddenly found I was getting really sore afterwards - a bit of sciatica type pain (and these are from just short slow jogs, when previously I would do fast long runs!). I was really hoping to keep it up for longer - for my own sanity - but sadly has to give in. I've been doing spin though, and keeping up with the weights at the gym (just lighter ones) and loads of walking. So there are other options to keep you sane if you decide you have to give up on the running.

I ran until 39 weeks twice (singletons).
My mild symptom which I ignored was round ligament pain.
No regrets about the ignoring. No harm done.
But... I didn't carry twins or see blood.

My gut feeling is that you probably just jostled some old blood loose, and you would be fine to carry on, very unlikely to cause any harm. But how bad would you feel if anything went wrong after this... most women would work hard to try to blame themselves in some way, why give yourself such an easy thing to blame yourself for? I dunno, I doubt I would have kept running if it didn't seem clear-cut fine for me. There are so many other good ways to keep fit.

Just wanted to update in case anyone's in a similar position - I spoke to my consultant and MW about this and they both agreed I could keep running if I wanted!

The cons said that if it was light brown like I said, it was nothing to worry about. She said internal tissues will be swelling and chafing can occur, and it was most likely this.

I went for a jog over the weekend and all fine.

Assuming I feel okay, I will keep running over Xmas as my gym shuts then, and then think about switching over to xtrainer after the holiday, when I will be 28w.

If cons is happy, do what feels confortable, but obv twins is higher risk so don't push it.
Ive just done my last 1km jog yesterday at 35+4. I don't want to stop either, but trying to listen to my body....

Just keep a watch on the DR. Do you have any doming? I had bad advice from MW & GP and now have ongoing issues a year after birth which is very hard given I was very fit with great abs pre DC.