Running while pregnant

[beetle]

I just read a really good book recently called "Runners World guide to Running and Pregnancy" by Chris Lundgren. It is the first book on exercise while pregnant that actually considers the women who view exercise as more than a brisk walk or aqua aerobics class. I can't remember if there is anything in it specifically regarding racing but it does talk about varying your effort and intensity depending on how your pg progresses which would be relevant to racing. Personally I think racing would be fine as long as you are training and know how to limit your effort appropriately in a race situation (ie. Paula Radcliffe). I am 7months pg and considering entering a 2km ocean swim in 2 weeks - which some people would say is stupid but I know what to expect and have been regularly swimming that far in my training.

[Wahine]

Although physiologically I agree with everything that has been said above, (keep the heart rate low, body temp low etc and the fetus will be fine) in terms of biophysics I don't agree with running or any other high impact activity after 6 months.

I have seen the effects of excessive physical stress in late pregnancy on the mother. Sometime in the 6th month the body starts releasing hormones that cause your ligaments to become more elastic and stretchy (also known as ligamentous laxity). This is necessary to allow the fetus to pass through the birth canal. What has not been addressed here, (but may have been addressed in the original article - I didn't read it), is that ligamentous laxity leads to decreased joint stability. This in turn leaves the joints more prone to injury with impact activities like running. This is not a problem for the fetus, it's a problem for mom. I commonly see biomechanical dysfunctions of the pelvis related to late pregnancy running. These are painful conditions that significantly impact function and while most are temporary, some can be long term.

So, my recommendation is go ahead and exercise, riding and swimming are great, low impact. But be very careful with running, especially if you are the kind of person that is already pretty flexible.