Can i run marathon pregnant

If a woman answered yes to being pregnant, additional questions detailed whether she had experienced a term delivery, preterm delivery, or miscarriage. We excluded 23 women who had never had a live birth including 3 who were currently pregnant with their first child and 37 women who began their running careers after having their children. This left a sample size of Table 1. The women in our study population were on average multiparous, lean, predominantly white, and highly educated.

Their competitive levels ranged from recreational to elite; about one third had been nationally ranked at some point in their careers. Seventy percent of runners ran sometime during their pregnancy or pregnancies , and about one third ran through their third trimester Table 2. On average, women greatly curtailed their training during pregnancy—reducing their running volume and cutting their intensity to about half of their nonpregnant running effort.

Few reported sustaining a running injury while pregnant. Women who ran during pregnancy were leaner at time of survey completion body mass index [BMI], They also tended to be more competitive They were similar in all other characteristics data not shown. In the postpartum period, nearly one quarter of women waited 2 or fewer weeks to resume running; most resumed running within 2 months. Almost all women breastfed and, of these, most reported running during breastfeeding.

The majority felt that running had no effect on their ability to breastfeed. Ten percent sustained a running injury while breastfeeding. Women who ran during breastfeeding were less likely to report postpartum depression than women who did not run during breastfeeding 6. Women who ran during pregnancy tended to be less likely to report postpartum depression than those who did not run during pregnancy, although this did not reach statistical significance 6.

Among those who ran during pregnancy, the most common reasons cited for running were to stay in shape Only Among those who did not run during pregnancy, the majority Most women ran during the first trimester, and fewer continued to run during the second and third trimesters, consistent with reported physical activity behaviors in the general population 6 , 14 , 24 and in competitive athletes. Nearly half of runners resumed running within 1 month postpartum, and most resumed running at 2 months.

The most common reasons cited by women who continued to run during pregnancy include fitness, health, and maintaining a routine. Women perceive health benefits for moderate exercise during pregnancy, 3 consistent with improved health, fitness, and cardiovascular benefits for mothers who voluntarily maintain exercise during pregnancy.

In women without known medical or obstetric complications, there are numerous benefits for both maternal and fetal health in women who exercise during pregnancy. Physical changes associated with pregnancy including musculoskeletal disorders, ligamentous laxity, and weight gain can all negatively influence the comfort level and ability of pregnant women to participate in exercise. We caution readers that interpretation of the miscarriage data is limited because of study design.

Continued efforts may be required to educate women and their support networks of the potential health benefits of exercise during pregnancy, as many women receive information from non—health care providers. Nearly all women reported breastfeeding their infants, and many women chose to run while breastfeeding.

Most women who reported running did not have a perceived effect on ability to breastfeed, consistent with beliefs of postpartum women that exercise is appropriate while breastfeeding. Overuse running injuries commonly occur in nulliparous females, so the association of injuries sustained during the postpartum period and breastfeeding is unclear.

Of note, no stress fractures or long bone injuries were reported. Exercise has been shown to be beneficial in slowing bone loss associated with lactation. We observed lower rates of postpartum depression in women who ran while breastfeeding compared with those who did not run.

Similar findings were seen in women who ran during pregnancy, although differences did not reach statistical significance. Daley et al 9 performed a meta-analysis on the role of exercise in postnatal depression and stated further research is necessary. Prescribed exercise may be a valuable substitute or addition for the depressed woman, especially one who ran regularly prior to pregnancy.

The study uses an unvalidated survey design to self-report behaviors and is prone to recall and selection bias and variable timing from time of birth to survey completion. We asked questions about generalized running behaviors and attitudes during pregnancy and postpartum, so we cannot detect changes in behavior for multiparous women during each pregnancy.

Betsy recommends eating a mid-morning and late-afternoon snack. She says every meal should include healthy fats, carbs, and protein. Also, be sure to take your prenatal vitamins. And, hydration is key! Your body needs water to produce amniotic fluid, extra blood volume, new tissue, supply nutrients, help indigestion, and flush out your wastes and toxins.

Drink water all day long. Find people who will run at an easier pace. Or, if you are running with the same people, run with them on their easy days and let them know your limits. Speak up if the pace gets too fast. Related: 8 clever tips for breastfeeding while running. Your body is working overtime growing a human and chances are your sleep is interrupted by discomfort and having to pee several times a night.

Heed those heavy eyes and try to lay down whenever you have the opportunity to rest. Your body is freaking amazing. Click through my Google web story for this here and view my other stories her e.

Email me at whitney themotherrunners. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In fact, in an unofficial poll of mother runners, moms who ran while pregnant stated many benefits: More energy Pin this for later! Can you run while pregnant? It is safe to run while pregnant? Yes, you can run while pregnant and it is safe. What are the health benefits of running while pregnant? Related: Postpartum Running Plan Research reveals many benefits for babies of moms who run during pregnancy.

Can running while pregnant hurt the baby? Related: Baby benefits of running while pregnant Can running cause a miscarriage? Can you start running during pregnancy?

Dehydration can bring on Braxton Hicks. Pregnant people also need more water than the average person, as water plays an important role in the healthy development of your baby and the placenta. So bring a bottle of water with you on every run, regardless of the distance or external temperature, and eat a post-workout snack.

My personal favorites included graham crackers with peanut butter and apple slices with cheddar cheese. Trust me. Your bladder will thank you. Whether this is your first pregnancy or fourth, one thing is certain: Carrying a child is tough. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is nothing at all. Kimberly Zapata is a mother, writer, and mental health advocate.

Follow Kimberly on Facebook or Twitter. Maintaining healthy pregnancy habits has many benefits. It can help make for an easier labor, help you lose postpartum weight faster, and give you….

Just 20 minutes a day of low- to moderate-intensity activity can help improve pregnancy symptoms and strengthen your body for delivery. You can still…. A new study finds that epidurals do not affect child development in their later years. A fetal arrhythmia is an irregular heart rate — too fast, too slow, or otherwise outside the norm.

The theoretical concern is that exercise decreases blood flow and nutrients to the fetus. Given the placenta of exercising mothers enlarges and is on average capable of delivering more blood to the baby, exercise could theoretically promote growth in these babies. This is a topic women need to discuss with their doctors until research on the effects of exercise on IUGR is done.

Beth Vukin and her bump on the trail. Photo: Beth Vukin. Additionally, I have compiled a list of a few points of concern specifically for trail and long-distance runners:. The risk of a neural tube defect appears to increase with a rise in body temperature Milunsky, Higher body-core temperature could be reached during intense exercising, especially in a hot and humid environment, and should be avoided 35 to 42 days after the last menstrual period or 21 to 28 days gestation.

The pregnant body has an improved capacity for heat dissipation and a lower baseline temperature Clapp, Importantly, if in doubt during this time period, carry a thermometer. Keep in mind rectal temperature is recorded in the rectum. One Danish study Hjollund, found there may be a slight increase in miscarriage if strenuous exercise occurs on the day of embryonic implantation gestational age six to nine days; or 20 to 23 days after the last menstrual period.

It should also be noted that, if this risk is there, it is slight and this risk is not increased in exercisers through the rest of the pregnancy. From Hjollund , the plot is miscarriage risk versus days after estimated ovulation. The black line is strenuous exercisers compared with 1, the risk of controls. The dashed lines are confidence intervals. Despite worries about increasing the risk of preterm birth with exercise, the opposite has been shown consistently in high-quality studies Hegaard, ; Juhl, Three standard tests of near-maximum exercise capacity in pregnancy exist.

Harmful effects on mother or fetus have not been reported after these tests. The effect of brief or prolonged exercise at this intensity during pregnancy is not known and is currently not recommended. As noted in the Clapp study of pregnant ewes, fetal oxygenation was maintained. There were no worrisome effects on the fetus Artal, The Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Canada states there is no evidence of adverse effects with moderate exercise at altitudes of up to 2, meters 8, feet.

It is generally recommended that women acclimate for two to three days prior to resuming exercise at higher than 6, feet, due to theoretical concerns of decreased oxygen delivery to the fetus. Babies born to mothers who live at higher altitude have been found to weigh less at birth. Babies are expected to weight grams 3.

It may seem that exercise would be a risk factor for delivering smaller babies. However, this has not been found to be the case. Exercise during pregnancy has been found to promote appropriate birth weight in offspring.

Women who exercise regularly during pregnancy have a decreased risk of delivering both large-for-gestational-age and small-for-gestational-age babies Juhl, ; Weibe, From Hunt KJ, Alanis MC, Johnson ER, et al , maternal pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain and their association with birthweight with a focus on racial differences.

It does not take a research study to figure out that driving to a remote locale for a mountain run during pregnancy could become disastrous if you are far from medical care, especially if you are alone.

Your center of gravity is altered during pregnancy, which increases fall risk. However, there does not appear to be an increased rate of falls in regularly exercising versus non-exercising women Clapp, , though this is likely is dependent on mode of exercise and terrain. Pregnant women runners will certainly notice that urinary urgency and frequency quickly affect how long, how fast, and where they run. Some women have told me that it is the constant need to urinate that keeps them from running while pregnant.

But many women leak urine postpartum and probably not all who do admit it—I personally ran with a maxi pad for a couple of months postpartum for this reason. Many women cite pelvic, hip, or low-back pain as a reason they stop running during pregnancy.

Only one study has investigated pelvic and low-back pain in elite athletes, reporting a prevalence of Sabrina Redden while pregnant. Photo courtesy of Sabrina Redden. From Zavorsky et al , concerns of completing a marathon while pregnant, debunked. Figure created by Allison M. Similarly, blood flow to the uterus and umbilical oxygen delivery is not expected to be affected below this heart rate. Cardiac arrest during a marathon is highly improbable and it is not expected to be different than the incidence in the general population of 0.

Finally, women who exercise regularly while pregnant should not worry about having a small-for-gestational-age infant. Regular exercise promotes appropriate size at birth and is dependent on maternal weight and maternal weight gain.

A pregnant Jill Deering on the trail. Photo courtesy of Jill Deering. One of the most important reassuring factors for pregnant women who wish to run is having mentors who have run through a pregnancy or two and can offer advice and reassurance. I interviewed Michele Yates and Alicia Vargo about running and training during their pregnancies for this article.

They are both amazing potential mentors for women reading this who wish to continue running or training at high levels during their pregnancy. She got pregnant shortly thereafter in She continued to run about 80 miles per week during her entire pregnancy though slightly less during the first trimester due to excessive fatigue necessitating 15 to 17 hours of sleep a day, which turned out to be at least partially caused by undiagnosed hypothyroidism.

She also cross trained with the elliptical and Airdyne bike. She trained and raced based on perceived exertion rather than with a heart-rate monitor despite using one prior to her pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby girl, Maya , at 40 weeks. In terms of racing, at 9. Then she finished second female in at the Gunnison k at four months pregnant.