Very sad - I was told not to ride

[Irulan]

I hate to say this, but I think your coach and his wife are full of it. There is much new thinking on pregnancy and excercise specifically cycling, and that is just a new one on me. I suggest you search this forum, Mud Hunnies and the women's lounge at MBTR and possibly road bike reveiw too for many threads on cycling. There are an awful lot of women out there who both road and mountain who kept going until either balance was an issue or the knees whacking the belly was an issue. (usually around 6 or 7 months)

Of all the pregnancy/cycle stuff I've ever read, this is news. Second opinion and more research for sure!! Now, if you have a contra-indication, it's good to pay attention to that. But there is definately some wierd advice out there given to pregnant women that doesn't have much foundation. I'd ask for documentation, please.

I just read your coach is a "he". go figure.

[Lenusik]

Irulan, my coach is a he but his wife is the one who gave me an advice. She is a pro-rider and a therapist for athlete women. That's why it is hard not to pay attention. But I am definitely getting a second opinion. Thanks!

[velogirl]

Not all coaches (or their wives) are created equal. I've been coaching women for the past five years, including many who have become pregnant, and I've never heard this specific piece of advice. There's actually a long thread on my women's coaching group right now about pregnancy and no one has mentioned this either. I would definitely get a second opinion, Lenusik.

Lorri

[reenybeeny]

Hi Len,

I haven't been on this forum for a while, so missed this thread. I'm sorry to hear that you got this recommendation. Personally (after a decent amount of research), I've never heard of anything like this. On the other hand, as a lot of people have pointed out, you do want to be somewhat cautious. The reality is that you probably would have needed to stop biking due to balance issues within a month or two..so you're talking about missing out on 4-8 weeks of biking, pretty small in the scheme of things.

Today is 19 weeks for me--we're having a girl also! My activity level has gone down..I stopped running when I got pregnant because of an exhausting first trimester, and the last time I was on my bike was about 10 weeks ago. Mainly due to having less energy than anything else. I am doing fairly strenuous weights 2x a week, swimming 1x a week, a long walk on the weekend and lots of walking around NYC city streets.

At the beginning I felt guilty about my decreased activity and energy level..a friend of mine said, think of this as if you have an injury, and you need to back off for a fixed amount of time. That helped me to make peace with the change. Exercise is essential to me, but I know that my body is working on another big event now--and I will get back to the stuff I love soon enough.

Hope that helps! Keep us posted on what you find out, and your progress.

Reenybeeny

[Duck on Wheels]

2 more c from an old mom: Yes, your joints, especially pelvic joints, do loosen up more and more through pregnancy. Also yes, you can wind up with chronic hip and/or back pain. I've never heard of biking being an issue, though I don't have the knowledge to say it isn't for sure. Most of those I've heard of or known to have chronic pain post-partum have had some serious hip and back pain issues during late pregnancy as well. Some have been pretty much unable to walk, so they for sure weren't biking either. I would definitely advise leaving off biking if you notice it's hurting. But I also have some positive advice to give:

In my second pregnancy I was experiencing some of this hip pain. This was already at 4 months, so I was worried it would get worse and maybe become chronic. My doctor, like most, pooh-poohed it as a normal complication of pregnancy, nothing to do anout it. But as luck would have it, I worked in the same building as the company's health services. Our physical therapist saw me limping one day and called me in to show me some exercizes that could help. They did. These are exercizes that strengthen the "girdle" of muscles surrounding the pelvis, but without moving the pelvic bones in the process. That way your pelvic muscles take over some of the stabilization that the bones usually provide. It also helps restabilize the bones post-partum. The exercizes are isometric. Sit with your legs outstretched, strap a belt around your ankles and, with one fist between your ankles, tighten the belt to hold that distance. This keeps your hips in a neutral position, perpendicular to the axis of the pelvis when your legs are straight. Now lie back and, with your legs straight, press outward against the belt horizontally (i.e. straight out to the right and left) and vertically (pressing one foot up while holding the other down, then change feet). I don't remember whether she also had me do a diagonal press. I do think she had me roll over and do some of these presses lying on either side and on my tummy. You should probably ask a physical therapist near you whether I'm remembering all this right. My "baby" is 23 already, so this was a long time ago.

[xeney]

Bumping this to say that I am 18 weeks along and my doctors are fully supportive of my continuing to ride until I don't feel like riding anymore. I'm taking it very easy (but then I always do, I'm a lazy slug) and I was told not to ride my mountain bike after the first tri. I am either riding my road bike on the trainer (I'm a little worried about falling so I figure better safe than sorry), or my single speed mixte around town to do errands.

I have a faster single speed that's in the shop right now being built up, and it is also a mixte -- the lower top tube is just a much more comfortable way for me to ride right now. I am really hoping that I can get some riding in this spring because I know it will be very hard to do until the baby is old enough to ride in a trailer.

I'm not having any balance issues so far, probably because I haven't gained any weight. I lost 12 pounds in the first trimester due to morning sickness, and I've gained 10 of that back, every bit of it in my belly. I'm in maternity clothes but they are a couple of sizes smaller than my regular clothes! My doctor is not worried about the weight thing, though, as long as I start showing a net gain by 20 weeks.

Nobody has mentioned the pelvic issue, and I've had only mild round ligament pain, but I am riding a wider Brooks saddle these days which is probably less problematic. I do have a Butterfly on my trainer bike, but I am only doing very short rides there, and I mostly sit pretty upright.

[BeeLady]

Last time I was pregnant was 20 years ago tomorrow. I sold my horse and quit riding, which I had been doing daily, when I was about 3 months. My mid-wife didn't tell me to, but I really didn't want to in any way create a bad situation, namely a horse accident. I would feel the same about cycling; accidents happen and you have more than your own life to consider now. Although you won't believe it when you hit 8 1/2 months, pregnancy is not a terminal condition and finding a very low risk activity until D-day might be worth considering.