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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

skiing - would you? have you?

38 replies

skiingone · 29/10/2008 22:16

Hello girls,

I'm interested to hear if any of you who ski have done it while pregnant with your previous kids and if you have any advice.

I'm a good skier, have 2 trips booked to the mountains in December: will be about 23 and 26 weeks in. As it is my first pregnancy I'm not sure how I wlll be coping with skiing. I'm thinking of just having a few easy runs ( maybe 1,5- 2 hours each day) below my ability with my DH, who will be looking out for me on busy slopes. I also decided to leave the decision to ski or not to ski until I'm there depending on how I feel. I know the risks. Just would like to hear from others who have skied while in the second trimester.
Thanks in advance

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

tinkisbigandinneedofzzzzzzzzz · 30/10/2008 17:59

i wouldnt take the risk either i wouldnt forgive myself if someone ran into me and something happened to me or the baby.
i am 29weeks

Romy7 · 30/10/2008 18:31

yep, it was my mountain country doc that said not after the baby is not protected by the pelvis. he said before about 15 weeks you would have to do some really serious injury to yourself to compromise the foetus, but once that bump appears, forget it. unlike the germans to take a chance, i would have thought - dd1 was born in deutschland and they are normally uber careful!

ski-school is very cool. but tell dh not to stalk them - the instructors don't like it and invariably dh will head plant in front of the group, allowing himself to be mocked by his (and everyone else's) children for the rest of the holiday

dd1 got a gold medal last year and ds1 got a bronze (but he was just 5 and in a group with a 12yo, so i let him off )
dd2 can't ski as she has cerebral palsy, but she does love to toboggan, and we can tow her around on skis at the mo as dh is very tall and she is very small. once she's got the hang of walking on snow she can have a proper go.

al we need to do really is persuade the canadian government to let people with disabilities in, and we can go back and live there. sigh.

but we are going skiing in feb, so not long to wait

drowninginlaundry · 30/10/2008 18:52

I wouldn't do it that late - even if you are a good skier. I've heard the 15 week rule too.

I went snowboarding when I was 10-11 wks pregnant with DS2 and while I was comfortable when the runs weren't crowded (been snowboarding for almost 20 years now), it was quite scary dodging people who were hurtling past me and I called it a day when it got busy. You have no control of what the other skiers are doing and unfortunately there are some real nutters on the slopes. I was in an accident in 2005 where an out-of-control skier ploughed into me, it nearly killed me, so I would def not risk it with a bump!

jlh69 · 30/10/2008 19:21

I wouldn't do it either a love skiing. I am quite good but also cautious and I nearly fell off a mountain this year after one tiny lapse of concentration . As everyone else says, there are too many lunatics on the slopes and anything coul happen. The thought of lugging skiis, standing in queues etc with a 27 week bump is also scary. Relax, get massages and drink hot chocolate! If it's your first just relish doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in nice scenery!

silvermum · 30/10/2008 21:31

i love skiing so read this thread with interest - hoping to be pregnant this ski season. but there's no way i'd go at your advanced stage of pregnancy. just too risky. not worth it. one fall could be catastrophic, and how much will you enjoy it with that anxiety hanging over you? why not plan a truly amazing skiing holiday for a years time, using the money you save by not going this year to help pay for someone to look after your little one while you are on the slopes? (qualified nannies are available in most big ski resorts, as i'm sure you know...)

bikerunski · 30/10/2008 22:29

I am as keen as all the other skiing mums out there to get my DS on skis asap (although he is only 7 weeks now!) but am wary of my sister's experience. She lives in France about an hour and half drive from the MAritime/Southern Alps, so day skiing is easy for them. She put her DS in ski school shortly after his 3rd birthday (which is in November, so very shortly after), despite being told not to until he was 4 and he hated it, he hated the cold and his legs wern't very strong. He hated to the extent that he had a really bad reaction to anyone in a red ski jacket (what the French Ski School instructors wear) for a couple of years. So she took him out of ski school and didn't fetch him back to the slopes until he was 5. Even then he was reluctant. She admits that she thinks that if she had waited until he was 4 he would have been OK. so effectively lost herself a year in her keenes to get back skiing. So what I am trying to say, more haste, less speed, with getting DCs to ski.

Reesie · 30/10/2008 22:33

I'm going for a ski holiday in January - I'll be 28 weeks pregnant and will be making snowmen with my dd!. I would never recommend skiing for any pregnant woman above 12 - 14 weeks gestation.

Your baby is slightly protected by liquor, uterus and abdominal wall but ski falls can be nasty and you will be at risk of a placental abruption if you do fall onto your bump.

It's fine that you are an accomplished skiier but it really is all the other idiots out there that you cannot account for. Also - anyone can catch an edge and tumble over. My uncle with 40 years experience of skiing went flying last year on account of this!

Also your centre of gravity will be altered - your bump will grow and your back will arch out to compensate for the shift in body weight - making you more likely to fall even though previously you may rarely have a fall.

Also - check with your insurance - I'm not sure that your insurance company will happily cover you for skiing if you are pregnant.

Sorry to put a downer on things... I'm usually active - ran during my pregnancy and continued to bike well into the third trimester. I just think skiing is just to risky.

ninja · 30/10/2008 22:36

The problem is if you stay on the easy slopes you're on the same slopes as the out of control beginners.

sunshine185 · 31/10/2008 06:55

a woman on another chat board earlier this year pregnant at 20 weeks was pushing a wheelbarrow and fell over it and baby didn't make it.... i'm not sure what would happen if you fell or someone hit you at speed whilst skiing?

up to you though if you are willing to take the risk, although missing out on all sorts of things is part and parcel of pregnancy!

take care

Romy7 · 31/10/2008 07:53

my 'normal' kids skiied from 3, but not in ski school - literally an hour sliding around with us on any quiet area we could find (using those reins for ds2 lol as he only wanted to go fast - couldn't turn, but loved to slide...) we just really let them get their balance - i think they went into 'proper' ski school last year for the first time aged 7 and 5 and loved it. most resorts do a 'mums and tots' ski session for an hour which can be a good way to start if you aren't confident yourself.
but yes, as bikerunski says, easy does it.
dd2 is 5 now, and has to wait until 8 before they will take her in disability snowsports... that wait might be a little excessive. dd2 seems to think so. she wants to board daddy says no, as he tried it once and couldn't do it... (ski instructor lol)

Anna8888 · 31/10/2008 08:06

Madness to even contemplate it

blueshoes · 31/10/2008 08:22

Agree with Reesie to check your insurance.

1stMrsF · 31/10/2008 13:12

skiingone thanks for that resort recommendation, sounds great!

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