Pregnancy and Preterm Labor

[bboston88]

I have a three year old now. She was born six weeks early, with no warning. I had been moderately active with her but mostly just sick! We had a lot of stress during my pregnancy (death of a nephew, quit my job and moved across the country). She's very healthy now and when she was born. They never were able to determine why I delievered early, probably stress was a big contributor.

Anyway, now that I'm thinking of working on #2, my midwife moved practices and I did not feel the vibe with the OB in her practice (she seemed horrified by any cycling outdoors) so I went to a new doctor.

The new doc I went to today I loved. However, she indicated I'd be fairly restricted in my activities (walking, swimming, maybe some flat riding). I'm just devestated b/c jogging and cycling are a huge part of my life and I go kind of mental when I can't do them. On the other hand, I certainly wouldn't want to harm my child. I'm feeling selfish, conflicted and completely depressed. Anyone have experience with a prior preterm baby? Anyone have a prior preemie and then ride/jog through their second???

BTW, I'm 36 and they'd also do the weekly hormone shots that seem to help stop preterm labor problems.

thanks

[Crankin]

Well, the way you are feeling is normal for someone as active as you are. Do not beat yourself up about feeling angry or depressed. But, you are right, you have to think of your baby. Given your history, I would not go against the advice you got. If you had not had a premature delivery already, my advice would be to find another practitioner.
I say this with some (old) experience. I went into premature labor at 30 weeks. It was the result of a stupid bike mishap, where I leaned over too far, my balance was off, and the down tube shifter hit me really hard in the abdomen. It was just a leisurely ride in the neighborhood and I had been doing aerobics 4-5 times a week up until this point. A week after this accident, I went into labor and was put on "house arrest," couldn't work, or really take care of my 2.5 year old. I had to take meds every 4 hours. I was furious and so upset that I actually took a plate and hurled it to the kitchen floor in a rage. That scared me, because my toddler saw it and went hysterical. My DH called my mom, who came from another state and stayed with us for 4 weeks. My son was born at 36 weeks and was perfect.

I would take it as a challenge. Work on your swimming skills and walk quickly. It's just a few months, even though it seems awful now. It's not worth the risk.

[Chile Pepper]

I had two easy pregnancies, and in both cases my Ob/Gyn told me no cycling. I was sure it was silly machista advice from someone who just wasn't used to active patients (I'm in Chile)... but I took his advice anyway and did not cycle during either pregnancy. I needed to know that I was doing everything I could to ensure a safe, healthy pregnancy. For activity, I really enjoyed hiking with my dogs. It was not as active as I was used to, but it satisfied my need to get out and get moving.

[tctrek]

How about a spinning bike? As long as you don't stand up and mash a big gear, that should help you keep your cycling muscle memory and should be pretty safe for the baby?? +1 on the swimming.

[Tuckervill]

Every pregnancy is different. My DIL had her first at 30 weeks gestation--premature rupture of membranes at 20 weeks, and she spent those 10 weeks in the hospital--but we all believe it was stress related, as her husband was serving in Iraq and she was finishing her degree. (baby and daddy both came through unscathed, thanks.)

Her second baby was born six months ago, full-term, at home, with no intervention (except a midwife). Totally different experience.

I wouldn't advise anyone to go all-out with the physical activity, but I also wouldn't walk around in fear of what you might "do" to cause preterm labor. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. If you could "cause" labor by riding a bike, then every woman nearing the end of a long pregnancy would be getting on a bike to make it happen!!

I'd get another practitioner. That doctor is operating within the terms of his insurance policy.

Karen

[lph]

no advice on the preemie thing, but a few thoughts on being an "addict" to a daily workout. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but just partly. (I'm one too, biking every day keeps me sane and stable).

A large component of my habit, I think, is the comfort of routine, a steady dose of endorphins and stress relief. It's a healthy addiction, but an addiction nonetheless. Consider that once this habit is getting in the way of something else you want to or should do, you may be seeing the downside of an addiction. Physically you can keep in adequate shape (unless you compete) by walking and swimming for a few months.

If I were you I'd definitely get a second opinion, but also give a thought to why exactly biking and running is that important to you. Not least it could be useful if you ever get injured and have to do some alternate training for a while. I had to, last winter and it was an eye-opener.

[Mistie]

It seems odd they want to restrict your activities. Active pregnant women have a reduced preeclampsia rate (which rises as you age and is high for 1st preg). Mild to moderate exercise also helps reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. Hmmm, without a cause for your prior preterm, I would think they would be cautious at first, ride but carefully, light, not hard. As you progress, you should watch for signs that the exercise is not working for you....bleeding or spotting, loss of amniotic fluid which is easily noticed and smells like the ocean (sorry), dropping/open cervix at exams. FYI: I had preterm at 24 weeks which resulted in a stillbirth. I was told NEVER have another child since I have a common but detrimental clotting disease. Well, I fell into the 15% fail rate with a condom (I also can not take hormones because of the clotting). They started me on heparin and I delivered (by induction) a healthy baby boy at 38 weeks. Every pregnancy is different. Just go easy and try to keep HR no higher than 130 in 1st tri, 120 in 2nd tri, and 100 in 3rd tri. This was what my OB told me. I found that 3rd tri activity levels were higher when I exercised. I guess my son liked it too!

[SpinSpinSugar]

Do you have or can you buy a pregnancy friendly bike? Something with a Mixte or step-through frame and upright handlebars? Tons of women in Amsterdam ride pregnant every year and they're fine.

Not to mention the thousands/millions of years women have been working HARD all throughout their pregnancy until the day they give birth with no ill effects. I've never heard of a Native American woman getting a day off from moving camps (by horseback), butchering meat, and tending crops just because they were pregnant.

SpinSpinSugar

[tribogota]

Mistie, I just want to say I send a hug for the still birth and happy to hear that the second one was great!

[tjf9]

There was an excellent article on BikePortland on this topic a few months ago: http://bikeportland.org/2009/02/03/b...hile-pregnant/ . I think there were some great points in there.

[Grog]

There was an excellent article on BikePortland on this topic a few months ago: http://bikeportland.org/2009/02/03/b...hile-pregnant/ . I think there were some great points in there.

Interesting article, thanks.

What bothers me in it though is the underlying assumption that driving is less likely to induce trauma than cycling. Frankly, I doubt that. Of course, if one has balance issues induced by the pregnancy, that are not addressed by an upright-style bike, then possibly the risk increases.

Anyone has a stat on the number of trauma per 100,000 km or miles traveled by mode of transportation?

[msincredible]

Do you have or can you buy a pregnancy friendly bike? Something with a Mixte or step-through frame and upright handlebars? Tons of women in Amsterdam ride pregnant every year and they're fine.

I went riding with my quite pregnant friend in Utrecht a couple of years ago.

Upright step-through bike, flat route, and dedicated bike paths were great for her.

[msincredible]

Anyone has a stat on the number of trauma per 100,000 km or miles traveled by mode of transportation?

There's lots of interesting statistics here:
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/health/risks.htm

Sadly the guy who compiled them was killed a few years ago by a drunk driver.

[bboston88]

Thanks ladies for the advice and just listening. It's definitely my "drug" if you will as I battle depression and I think part of it is me fearing that if I don't have that release, I'll get depressed. And nothing is scarier to a person with a history of depression (now controlled) than the idea of being depressed again. I'm already on meds so the exercise is sort of supplement drug!

So that's part of it. Another part is just confusion about whether this doc is right for me. I really really liked her but I'm just not so sure, it didn't seem 100% like a fit and maybe that's because she's saying things that scare me (possible bedrest, it will likely go faster the second time, increasing my chance for a preemie). She also said things about "well, you may be able to go for a ride or ride the trainer but then need to rest for 2 hours, you may also need to rest for 2 hours during the day at work". Yikes. So she was essentially very leary of ANY physical activity. Even my other doc (in practice with my midwife I really like) who was horrified at cycling on pavement didn't say that. She just didn't like it for anyone, especially a pregnant woman but didn't differentiate between "high risk" pregnancy and regular pregnancy. Maybe I'll go back to my previous midwife and hope that the OB that I didn't like won't be on call when I deliver! I think for regular checkups I only see my midwife so would be fine. Ugggh. I think the upside to the midwife is they do ultrasounds in the office and not sure if the new ob does. They SAID they did but then she said she'd refer me to a perinatologist.

So I'm all sorts of confused. The one thing I'm not confused about is that I'm coming around to the idea of having #2. As I was in my race this weekend (mini tri) I came up a hill to two little ones yelling "go mommy go!" I realized I'd like 2 up there if possible so it will be okay.