Anyone else secretly exercising during pregnancy?

[carlablack]

Does anyone else keep their exercise regimen a secret from other people? Not DH but other people, like relatives and friends.

I'm asking because I do. I feel the need to keep it secret because I'm sure I will be bullied into stopping. I tell everyone I'm spending my days on the sofa resting because I really cannot deal with all the drama that they will kick up over this. So many people still believe a pregnant woman should move as little as possible; my mom keeps warning me against doing anything physical everytime we talk and that validates my decision to keep this a secret.

Funny thing is that my doctor actually encourages me to do exercise, for I'm high risk for gestational diabetes due to parents having it. Unfortunately doctors' opinions don't matter for a majority of people (learned my lesson in the past LOL)

I wonder if others do the same?

I was asked yesterday whether I should be walking up and down the stairs I my own house! Well yes I need to get upstairs to the bathroom, the bedroom and the washing machine so yes, thank you! I'm 32w pregnant not incapacitated! Some people do say all sort of stupid things and make judgements when you're pregnant.
Keep on exercising and do what you need to, I shouldn't have to keep it a secret, ignore or bat off any uninvited comments.
Exercise in pregnancy is encouraged as long as you've made adaptations or don't start up something completely new.

Who are the people who say these things? Ob/gyn, midwives or interferers with no medical training and more opinions than Gallup?

@KittyKat2020

Wow 😮 I’m 37 weeks now and I’ve had OH tell me I can’t do anything for months. As well as my mother and the MIL. Wish I’d just carried on and done my thing, feeling pretty gutted

That’s sad, @KittyKat2020

Is your OH a medic?

Not secretly no, although I am not running or weight training because I feel so grim. I am still riding my horse almost every day and intend to do so until the bump is too big I physically can't! Not many people know I am pregnant yet but those who do are actively encouraging me to keep riding - mainly my mum who rode until 6 months with me.

With both of mine I was in the gym until the day before I gave birth, no one ever said a word. In fact it was actively encouraged by HCP and my husband. I do know a lot of people who stopped any kind of exercise the second they found out they were pregnant so I think it’s still quite an ingrained idea.

One of my friends, who literally didn’t move for the entirety of her first pregnancy because she and her husband were worried about it hurting the baby, put on so much weight and got so depressed about it she was back in the gym within 2 weeks of giving birth with no regard for her recovery. Husband didn’t try and stop her then, it was all about the baby’s health, no regard for his wife’s physical and mental health.

I did ballet up to 36 weeks with my first. I was doing pointe work and ballet at 32 weeks this time. I would have carried on but lockdown happened!
I think I have made a much better recovery both times (c-sections) because I've been active throughout pregnancy.

Doesn’t it depend a bit on what the exercise is? I’d be a bit worried if you were suddenly training for an ultramarathon, or competing in a full contact sport like rugby or doing something really extreme. But as long as it’s appropriate for your level of fitness and doesn’t put baby at risk then they don’t need to know!

I wasn't aware that this was a 'thing'!

I did Pilates throughout and I cycled to the train station every commute up until 6 months when I fell off and decided I'd had a lucky escape and not to push my luck further.

I also walked a lot, and often very fast (always running late!).

The only exercise I stopped doing was badminton.

General advice these days is, I understand, keep doing what you are used to and feel up to doing. Don't start a new hardcore regime. Avoid heavy contact/risk sports.

Previously advice was to not let heartrate exceed a certain amount etc. I know people who still follow this. However many of these people took a much longer and difficult route to pregnancy than I did so I absolutely don't judge their extra caution.

I ran in the first trimester - only stopped because of plantar fascitis. I then switched back to a strength training regime twice a week plus walking (PT supervised and I previously did a lot of strength training).

For the third trimester I plan to swim (hooray for pools reopening), walk, and do some yoga and bodyweight strength exercises.

I will always fight for the woman's right to decide what she is comfortable doing! Read the science, make a decision that works for you, say what you like to others about it.

I did lots of gentle excercise throughout my pregnancy, nothing intense. My perfectly healthy baby was born at 39 weeks weighing 6lb 6oz. Several comments were made about him "being so small" and me "exerting myself". It gives me the rage. His dad was born small. We are both not particularly large, but fuck genetics, it's because I went for walks.

@GreyishDays no he isn’t the irony is I’m more medically trained than he is. But I’ve gone for a quiet life especially as his struggling with not been able to come to appointments with me. I’m still insisting on going for walks. He just won’t let me play contact sports right now or reach up for things that are high up. It’s not like I could of gone swimming or the gym anyway due to lockdown. He wouldn’t let me go running in case I fell over I suppose everyone’s different

If men carried babies this type of thread wouldn’t exist.
Well intentioned people with their opinions are formed because of our patriarchal society. It’s just another way to tell women what to do with their bodies.
Your health is important, if it makes you feel good then you should carry on doing it. Particularly if you were working out before you fell pregnant.
Good for you 💪🏻 xx

[quote KittyKat2020]@GreyishDays no he isn’t the irony is I’m more medically trained than he is. But I’ve gone for a quiet life especially as his struggling with not been able to come to appointments with me. I’m still insisting on going for walks. He just won’t let me play contact sports right now or reach up for things that are high up. It’s not like I could of gone swimming or the gym anyway due to lockdown. He wouldn’t let me go running in case I fell over I suppose everyone’s different[/quote]
@KittyKat2020

Using ‘let’ about your partner is not ideal.

There's so much madness out there. My PG friend in hong kong said she was told (by traditional older mums) not even to raise her hands above her head. ?! (And she's put on more weight than me, although I must say she looks amazing and I look like a potato!) Meanwhile I've been going for two-hour walks, still seeing my personal trainer each week, doing squats and resistance bands etc. I see an osteo for my PGP (it's only mild now) and she always praises how much I've kept going. She says that of course itll make birth easier if you're strong, but people don't think beyond the birth: when you keep picking up your baby/toddler, it's so common to get back injuries if you haven't kept up with strength exercises beforehand. I'm really proud of how i've kept it up, and I hope it keeps my baby head down as she is atm. OP, those silly friends of yours who nag you for it, they need to stop being so silly. Their advice is harmful.

No one has ever told me not to, that's a bit weird as everyone knows you should keep loving in pregnancy.

WTF? I had my second baby at 42 and was a regular (daily) gym goer. Midwife told me to carry on. Took advice from gym about adapting certain things such as Body Pump weight etc and adapting moves during Combat classes etc. The only thing I quickly found uncomfortable was spinning classes so I dropped those and replaced with treadmill/cross trainer. I carried on until the day before I gave birth, had a quick and easy birth and very quickly lost the baby weight. When I had my first at 29, I was told that I was to stop exercising. Biggest mistake ever. I put on so much weight, had an horrific birth because I was so fat and unfit and couldn't move around and it took me 2 years to lose the nearly 5 stone I put on. Wasn't going to make that mistake the second time.

Don't hide it, do what is right for you and your baby! It's good for both of you and exercise is encouraged during pregnancy. It is YOUR body, don't let anybody dictate otherwise!

...Oh and my son was 9.5 lbs...so nothing "small" about him.

I didn’t “work out” but I cycled for transport and leisure daily. Including to midwife appointments. She was fully supportive.

If you need to keep it secret from friends and family do at least ensure your mw knows what you are doing. Mine was keen to recommend me to the mlu partly because she know how active I had been till the end.

@carlablack I don't tell DP quite how much exercise I'm doing (29+3) because he's concerned I'm overdoing it and I get an unsolicited raised eyebrow. Anyone else - I don't care what they think so I'm not hiding it.

I also don't care what others think, hence I'm working out regularly already. I just don't have the energy to defend my choices right now, at this emotionally unstable state. Only my doc needs to know about this, others deserve the silence they get for overreacting :)

Even my DH was sceptical at first. But then he noticed the positive change in me and that nothing bad happens after workouts. He is now supportive of my decision.

Exercise is still seen as some form of self harm where I live. "It exhausts you so it should be bad for you" is the train of thought behind this idea. Heck, I'm not gonna attempt to change anyone's beliefs; I'll just mind my business following dic's orders :)

Doc's orders :)

Gah! I didn't exercise much during my pregnancies because I felt so ill and exhausted and just showing up at work was a huge struggle, but when my kids were older, I went to CrossFit classes with women who thrived on really tough (adapted) workouts all through their pregnancies. So I get that sometimes, if you are having, or have had a rough pregnancy, it can be really hard to be positive when you see other women doing stuff you can't, and its easy to wish they wouldn't, especially when peoplego on about the importance of exercise in pregnancy. But that's no exvyuse for making peooyle feel bad about doiing good, healthy things like exercising through pregnancy.

Havent had comments about exercise yet but have had enough of "good" advice. I just nod, say that it's good to let me know and I'll read up on it, then I just do my own thing regardless.

I'm bloody 41 years old! I don't need people telling me what to do unless it's my gyneacologist or endocrinologist.