skiing when pregnant

[sparechange]

DH and I are currently TTC.
The conversation came up at the weekend about skiing in the new year. We normally go as part of a bigger group and the others are starting to look at booking something up soon. If we want to go, we'd have to pay a deposit when we book.

Assuming we get lucky next month, I would be around 3 months pg when we go.

I've had a look online and opinion seems to divided between. Some sources are saying that for the first 3 months, everything is well-protected in the pelvis. Others say 'avoid'.
I'm a fairly good skiier, so am not worried about falling over, and would obviously stay on-piste and slow down, but obviously can't account for an out-of-control snowboarder hitting me! I'm a generally active person and I intend to keep running for as long as I can into my pg

There is always the option of waiting until nearer the time and booking something on our own, but this would be no where near as fun as going with our friends (hopefully for the last time for a few years)

Any advice/opinions welcome...

Oh and fyi, I'm not avoiding alcohol, eggs or blue cheese.

I'm with Skihorse on this one.

As long as you keep your wits about you, you will be fine. Just don't go to Andorra .

And, maternity ski wear DOES exist. I have (had!) maternity salopettes and just wore my jacket a bit looser.

I took DS skiing when he was ~6 months old and he loved it. I did (and wouldn't) use daycare for such a small child in a resort (and the resort I took him to is like a second home to me... I just kept him with me... OK, we spent more time in the play park in the village, but it was all good!!!

Not going this year, because DD is only 3 months old right now and, with DS too, it doesn't seem worth it... But, as with pretty much anything, just be sensible and weigh up the risks to your particular situation.

As Skihorse says, choose which runs you are going to do... I went to Andorra years ago and you literally had to jump over stupid idiots bad skiers who just fell over mid-piste.

HM

Sorry, that should read "DIDN'T and wouldn't" use childcare in a resort.

I can´t believe just how many people have been skiiing whilst pregnant!

OP, I really wouldn´t do it. I rode my bike to my last antenatal appointment, I´m not particularly risk averse.

The risks of accident when skiing are far higher than the risks of other physical activities. In the event of an accident you might risk miscarriage or breaking something that might require surgery and drugs that yould be harmful to baby. You could be immobilised for a period, also I suspect no easy when pregnant.

Just my two penny worth..

i know it was much eaqqrlier in the thread, but i just wanted to make a comment re lexilicious - adventure training courtesy of the army when pg is actually totally against the rules and i would have rtu'ed you. we rtu all pg personnel. they are not allowed to participate in adventure trg, and will not be signed fit to participate by the mo. lexi was extremely lucky nothing happened. how did the mo sign you off to participate knowing you were pg? it would have invalidated insurance.

sorry, but however hard you are, and whatever rep you have to maintain, taking part in (service paid for and insured) adventure trg whilst pg is fairly dumb. whatever you choose to do in your own time is of course your own business and your risk to take, and i have no particular beef with anyone skiing - as i said before, i skiied whilst pg, and now have a brain-damamged child (no known correlation), but wouldn't ski again whilst pg even so.

last year i rtu'd a pg servicewoman from a canoeing trip in the ardeche.

hope you all have a safe and fun winter season!

Change of plan - I've decided to go to Austria for a week in January. If I feel too queasy to ski then I'll just sit around drinking hot chocolate and reading books and enjoying the mountain air, but hopefully by that time I'll be through ms and I cannot wait!

We're going skiing in February when I'll be about 20 weeks. It was booked before I found out, and I'm not cancelling, but TBH I don't think am going to ski. I think it's fine if you're experienced (hello skihorse!) but I'm not that confident - have only done red runs, nervously. I can't imagine me balancing very well getting off ski lifts, for example. Plus, it's half term, will be very busy and I agree it's about the other idiots out there.
So I'll be watching the others while sipping hot chocolate, I guess! Also, the fact that you pay extra insurance for skiing suggests it's a more dangerous than usual activity. That's just my personal decision

I'm an experienced skier and have been watching this thread with interest.

I can't help but feel that it's too big a risk to down-hill ski whilst pregnant regardless of one's skill or avoidance of crowds. As one other poster mentioned we avoid things like blue cheese and soft eggs, only to strap on skis and risk the possibly of being knocked over by some crazy snowboarder?

I would definitely check with travel insurance to see if they cover pregnancy complications caused by ski injuries. I would be very surprised if they did.

I'll be sipping my hot chocolate, eating fondue and going for long walks this winter and leave the skiing to the rest of my family.

I just have to say - Skihorse, what a great name! The 2 best hobbies in the universe combined together

I skied when I was 10 weeks and was keen to give it a go but once I got up the mountain I had no real desire to blatt about. I did have a seized-up neck at the time though, which required osteopath treatment to sort out, and it could just be that I was feeling out of sorts due to that. I went to the Ice Hotel in Sweden at 16 weeks (for a wedding, so not going was not an option.) I snowmobiled and husky sledded, but again couldn't be bothered with the XC skiing bit. I should add that I am an experienced skier - once lived in the Pyrenees and still own the house there, with frequent visits. Maybe if you have had lots of skiing it isn't such a sacrifice just to miss the odd week or 2 of it.

I'm going to check on the house in Andorra next week, and then off to the Alps in Jan. I had been thinking about putting off the TTC No2 until after my hols, but have been over at the TTC section and made myself paranoid about being old. So when I get in from work OH might just find it's his lucky day . If i am successful on first shot I'll just have to head out to the Alps 4-5weeks pregnant and stay away from the nutters.

pandora In an ideal world I'd have had my pregnancy outside the ski season... however TTC doesn't always follow your desires (I'm 35)...

There never seems to be a good time though... as TTC was taking so long I was getting geared up for starting ODEs 2010... I think that's out of the window now - can you just imagine the faces/cat's bum mouth if I ask for a maternity body-protector?

I'm still riding too...

I'm 3 weeks pg and have a ski holiday booked for jan - fully intend to go but possible stick to blue runs rather than blacks and off piste!

possiblenewmum You're 5 weeks.

Skihorse, the problem with skiing all winter and riding all summer is there is never a good time to be pregnant. I rode till I was 29 weeks with the last baby, and only stopped because getting off the horse was getting a bit precarious - he's 17.3 and its a long way down at the best of times! I even took him out dressage and showing at 20 weeks, and yes, I got the cat's bum look. I'm 36, so thinking sod it, get on with it - increase my future mucking out companions . The big horse, bless him, is up for sale so I can have a few horse-free months when I need it most, and then I'll buy something a more sensible size that isn't terrified of ponies . DD1 is showing a pleasing fondness for ponies and I will need to be able to ride and lead.

Back to the skiing though.

pandora Funnily enough I had considered doing a few dressage comps until I can no longer get my leg over as it were. Like you, I'm a little bit older and have a monstrous beast (17.2hh) and I'm 5'4"... I use a mounting block as it is! Btw, thank you for your amazingly inspirational post - I've really needed to read that, I'm just home from a fast hack anyway.

PS Get your bum over to the BESH - 30s thread in "Conception" - those girls will be right up your street.

For what it is worth, I'm just back from my week away, had reasonable snow, blue skies and skied every day. Fab week and a v welcome break from work. My experience was that as a first time mum to be I needed to go a size or two up on the salopettes to allow me to squat properly on the turns and sit down comfortably on the chairlifts. 20 weeks was pushing it though as belly was starting to get in the way of the squatting so I stuck to the easy (blue and some red)slopes. I took a lesson first thing in the week to refresh my technique which was a huge confidence builder and took it from there. Skied up until about 1pm and then a leisurely lunch with friends - legs were a bit pooped by then. I also knocked off early in flat light as it's a bit nerve racking not to be able to predict what's coming so the decision to ski was definitely weather dependent.
Saw two doctors before I left and both were very comfortable with me skiing provided I was sensible. Both said that there was plenty of amnio fluid to protect a baby and only direct trauma to my stomach would give me and the baby a problem.
So all in all, it's still a v personal choice and nothing is risk free. I did have a couple of folk get too close for my comfort but in the main the resort was quiet and I'm very glad I went and gave it a go. The hardest part was not bombing down the wide open blues !