pregnancy and cycling

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I am 36 years old ('of advanced maternal age,' they tell me) and have not had any children yet. One reason for putting off starting a family is that I am still working on a dissertation that I hope to finish by the end of this calendar year. In the past year, I have really gotten into road cycling. I got a new bike in Feb. 2004, which I love (my previous one never fit me right and made my neck/shoulders hurt almost invariably). Over the summer I started doing more group rides, mainly charity-type rides. At the end of the summer I hooked up with some women who ride and have been gung-ho ever since (I could never keep up with my husband and usually rode solo prior to that). We have ridden all through the winter (off-season?? what off-season?), thanks to relatively warm SC weather. I'm currently training for the Assault on Mt. Mitchell (crazy century with 30-mile climb at the end) in May and l'Etape du Tour (a stage of the Tour de France that goes into the Pyrenees) in July. My husband and I plan to try to get pregnant after that.

So here's my question: if we are lucky enough to get pregnant, how is this going to affect my riding? How long can I ride though pregnancy? How safe/unsafe is it? How long after giving birth will it be before I even want to get on a bike? Of course I will discuss it with my doctor, but I am afraid of hearing that I shouldn't ride at all. I hate to think of losing all this fitness that I have gained.

Thanks for your thoughts/advice.

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Originally Posted by profàvélo

So here's my question: if we are lucky enough to get pregnant, how is this going to affect my riding? How long can I ride though pregnancy? How safe/unsafe is it? How long after giving birth will it be before I even want to get on a bike? Of course I will discuss it with my doctor, but I am afraid of hearing that I shouldn't ride at all. I hate to think of losing all this fitness that I have gained.

Thanks for your thoughts/advice.

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I've wondered the same thing, also just getting really into biking, also planning to start a family in a couple of years.

I've heard of women riding into their eighth month. But I've also heard that the weight distribution throws off your sense of balance by the time you're showing, and carrying such a precious load is not a good time to get unbalanced in a fast curve and hit the pavement (as if there were a good time!) Hopefully somebody with experience can comment on this.

If it's the physical activity you're worried about though -- no worries. :) If you're fit going into pregnancy, it's A-OK to continue that level of activity throughout pregnancy, maybe tapering on the intensity a little after a point. Here's a site about weight training in pregnancy, but the advice pretty much holds for other activity. http://stumptuous.com/pregnancy.html

(BTW, to decrease the "luck factor" a little, you might want to look into Fertility Awareness. Knowing your body's cycles intimately can boost your chances immensely. I really like the book "Taking Charge of your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.)

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So here's my question: if we are lucky enough to get pregnant, how is this going to affect my riding? How long can I ride though pregnancy? How safe/unsafe is it? How long after giving birth will it be before I even want to get on a bike? Of course I will discuss it with my doctor, but I am afraid of hearing that I shouldn't ride at all. I hate to think of losing all this fitness that I have gained.

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first, you talk to your doc, hopefully s/he is new school and belieives in exercise. second, your baby is well insulated against knocks so it's a matter of comfort/discomfort. Your aerobic and cardiac capacity changes, CG changes, your sense of "maybe I don't feel safe doing this" may change. You have 9 months of listening to your body.
third. You could have a high risk pregnancy and then all bets are out the window.
After the birth... too many factors to make a list. You could be exhausted for months. You could have a reconstructive epsiotomy. You could feel great.

The beauty of pregnancy is that is should really teach you to listen to your body, not go by a list of guidelines that you read somewhere. What works for other may not work for you, or vice versa. Youir knees hit your belly at some point. I rode a mtb on bike paths until I got too big.

more discussion here, good thread:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=90596


Irulan

I rode until I was 7 months pregnant, after that I couldn't pedal without hitting my belly. I kept mountain biking for the first couple of months but then hit the road after that. The only thing my doctor wanted me to watch was heart rate (under 140 :( ) and the heat. I used common sense as best as I could and a heart rate monitor. I also used the HRM for hiking.

I was 35 and in reasonable shape when I got pregnant. I ended up on bed rest on and off the last month and had an emergency c-section too (prolapsed cord) at 8 1/2 months.

When JB was 5 months old and could hold his head up he was fitted for his first helmet. He's been riding in a trailer since. At first I used lots of pillows to help his wobbly self but now I only but one in for when he naps. Now I am stuck to back streets and paved/crushed gravel trails except when my husband watches him and I get to go mountain biking.

You can see that it's affected my biking but I loved being pregant and I wouldn't trade my son for all the sweet rides in the world. I am crossing all my fingers and toes that he gets the riding bug and (until I am totally uncool, at least) becomes my riding partner.

It's a trade off, being a stay at home mom enables me to do lots of riding during the choicest parts of the day, having him means doing it towing a lot of weight (but you wouldn't believe how much this is helping my hill climbing when he's not attached) and not doing busy streets or woods. Time goes so fast, missing a few years of doing exactly the riding you want to do when you want to do it won't hurt too much most days. Wait til it does zip by and you wish your kid was a little person again, if only for a short bit.

I had my last child when I was 36 and I wasn't biking at the time. However, before I had my last child, I got pregnant and had a miscarriage very early on (about 8 weeks). Everyone's body is different and I agree with these ladies that you need to listen to your body. That said, I had no indication whatsoever that I was going to miscarry until I started bleeding. I don't know why I miscarried, but the baby did have a heartbeat before we lost him/her.

I also had preterm labor with my son. I was 32 at the time, about 25 weeks along and was also not exercising much at the time. Again, I had no indication that I was going to go into labor until I was feeling contractions. I spent a week in the hospital, another few weeks on bedrest and most of the remainder of my pregnancy on drugs to keep me from contracting.

Of course you need to be open and honest with your doctor about what you're planning to do. Given your age, I would be careful in the first trimester. Also, remember that there are other ways to keep your fitness up if you don't feel comfortable biking. You could try swimming, walking, jogging, weight training, spinning classes, aerobics, etc. The risk of falling because of balance issues would be kind of scary to me. And even if the baby were fine, I personally would not want to deal with injuries to myself whilst pregnant. Some women have no aches and pains while pregnant, and I was usually fine until the very end, but you never know. I have a friend who was miserable with aches and morning sickness the whole 9 months. BTW, I also had episiotomies with all of my babies and healed very quickly.

I hope you have a wonderful time on your rides and that you have a wonderful pregnancy when you're ready. Great book to read, if you're interested, called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility." Can't remember the author, but you can find it on Amazon. :)

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Of course you need to be open and honest with your doctor about what you're planning to do. Given your age, I would be careful in the first trimester. Also, remember that there are other ways to keep your fitness up if you don't feel comfortable biking. You could try swimming, walking, jogging, weight training, spinning classes, aerobics, etc.

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I completely agree with slinkedog. Walking had a bigger benefit than I realized it would. It kept me at a better level of fitness once I could no longer ride and helped me lose the pounds afterwards. I chose my mom for a walking partner and it was the best thing I ever did. It turned out to be the last year of her life.

Irulan sez: your baby is well insulated against knocks so it's a matter of comfort/discomfort

As my midwife pointed out to me, it takes a VERY severe trauma to damage a fetus. Think high-speed car wreck. Mama Nature has had millions of years to perfect fetal protection.That said, the hormone relaxin turns on in a pregnant woman. Its purpose is to loosen connective tissues so that the bones may move during birth. Loose joints mean greater likelihood of maternal injury from a tumble.

Irulan also sez: The beauty of pregnancy is that is should really teach you to listen to your body, not go by a list of guidelines that you read somewhere.

Exactly, 100% agree!!! YOU figure out what's right for YOU!

One unexpected benefit from pregnant mtbing, I had killer, incredible lung capacity once I got that 9lb, 2oz boy out of my (then) 104lb frame! My body adapted to having less room to breathe, so to speak, and I reaped the benefits the next season.

I had forgotten about the heart rate thing >140 but that is an impotant point.

There are so many different ways to go. I had a midwife trained OB the first time around, and a midwife the secodn time around, hospital deliveries both time. I had a friend who's doc was old school and told her she couldn't swim in a public pool :confused: :confused: :confused:

I'm one of those women other women hate: I could have had my boys behind a bush and gone back to work in the fields... but that's just the way it worked out.

Swimming is a really good exercise, you are a whale and you float, what could be better than that?

irulan

I'm sure by now you see that everybody and every experience is different. When I was pregnant both times I was a runner not a cyclist yet. I was totally unable to run. I (sensibly) figured I would try on a treadmill instead of long distance outdoor running which I was used to. Every time I got any faster than a walk, I barfed, or really really wanted to. So that's it. I walked for 9 months, twice.

On a separate note, I am doing attack on Marion. How were you able to register for attack on Mt Mitchel? My understanding was that you had to complete Marion first? I'll see you there either way. Which hotel are you staying in? Email me so we can hook up. :)

Thank you all so much for sharing. I have been encouraged by what I have read. I enjoy walking and spin classes, so I was glad to hear those mentioned as good alternatives. I also have access to an indoor pool (although the whale image is less than appealing :) ). And I'll definitely check out the book that two of you mentioned--I've heard of it before. I hope to come back here with a 'good news' posting in the fall...Thanks again!

i am 5'8'', 137 lbs 5 months pregnant and i ride clipped in 4 days a week two laps around central park nyc. from my apt and back is 15 miles takes me an hr. that sounds extremely slow but i don't see one other pregnant women on a bike. I feel great after i do it