Push out a baby, run a marathon... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Plan9 · 11-20-2007, 09:05 PM

Quote:

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- For bleary-eyed new moms, the image of Paula Radcliffe celebrating her astonishing New York marathon victory just nine months after giving birth is more than slightly surreal.

Paula Radcliffe celebrates her victory in the New York marathon with her daughter, Isla, born in January.

There she was, one sinewy arm holding a baby, the other victoriously waving a British flag, ribs visible beneath a washboard-flat torso, not an ounce of visible fat on her sleek body.

"Running whilst preggers? Winning 9 months after? Yo!" read one blog comment. "She is phenomenal and a role model to all new Mums!" said another.

Radcliffe's triumph Sunday, running 26.2 miles in two hours, 23 minutes just 291 days after childbirth, inspires equal amounts of awe and envy. But it also highlights a medical debate about just how gung-ho women should be about exercise during pregnancy and afterward.

Some doctors believe women used to rigorous exercise can continue it at least early in pregnancy and resume soon afterward, but that this is not the time for inactive women to suddenly decide they want to try a marathon. Their advice is often that it's OK to continue what you're used to, but don't push it.

Other doctors are "pretty nervous about women exercising during pregnancy" and advise against, said Dr. Linda Szymanski, a Johns Hopkins obstetrician and exercise specialist.

The problem is, guidelines are vague and there's not much research, she said. Video Paula Radcliffe talks to CNN's Kiran Chetry about her marathon training while pregnant »

Most medical advice on the topic is based on "pretty poor evidence," and there's even less data on the effects in highly trained athletes, Szymanski said. "It's a really tough area."

Running a marathon requires several months of training and long-distance running most days. The intensity is rigorous for those hoping to win.

Radcliffe ran throughout her pregnancy and has said her husband's help made training afterward easier. The British runner also has said she resumed training too soon after a long and difficult labor. She suffered a stress fracture at the base of her spine that sidelined her in May for eight weeks.

Still, the 33-year-old women's marathon world record-holder is a seasoned pro who won six previous marathons. So for her, running during pregnancy and afterward made sense, said Dr. Alan Peaceman, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

Kristen Chase of Atlanta, Georgia, who had a baby son two days after Radcliffe's daughter was born in January, was a several-times-weekly jogger before pregnancy. She said her doctor told her she could start exercising again when her son was six weeks, "but not to do anything strenuous."

That would definitely rule out training for a marathon -- not that Chase was contemplating it.

"New moms are extremely tired, so the prospect of getting on a treadmill or even running outside at six weeks when your children _ at least my children -- aren't sleeping through the night" seems unimaginable, said Chase, who also has a 3-year-old daughter.

Except for women who have had a Caesarean section, which takes longer to heal, most women are ready to resume prior activity levels by eight weeks post-baby, Peaceman said.

"It's good to get back to the level that you were at prior to pregnancy, so for elite athletes, there's no reason they can't resume training," he said.

Pregnancy causes physical changes that both help and hinder athletic performance. Increased blood flow could be beneficial. But the girth from a swelling belly can change a woman's gait and make her feel off balance. Also, joints and ligaments become more lax, which can raise the risk for injury, Szymanski said.

Some doctors, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, discourage most women from bouncy or high-impact workouts during pregnancy and urge them to take it easy at first after giving birth because some body changes linger.

The group says some lower-impact activities are generally safe during pregnancy, even for beginners, including swimming and walking. Marathon running isn't listed.

Admirable as it is, Radcliffe's triumph isn't unprecedented. Other elite long-distance runners have won races soon after having babies, including Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen, who won the 1983 Houston marathon within five months of giving birth.

It still seems way out of reach for moms who aren't athletes.

Says Marsha Takeda Morrison, a Los Angeles blogger whose children are 9 and 11, "It's been 3,285 days since I last gave birth and I get winded just walking to the refrigerator."

My query:

For those of you fine TFP women who've laid some kidlets / husbands of women who've pushed out your crotch-legions... what the was your personal physical recovery / exercise plan like? I've seen aquatic forms of exercise as extremely popular for mothers-to-be as well as afterwards due to their safety and low impact nature.

The_Jazz · 11-21-2007, 06:03 AM

For the record, Paula Radcliff is a genetic freak. Anyone who makes a living running marathons is, without exception and even if they're taking tons of performance enhancers.

My wife was actually under her pre-pregnancy weight 2 weeks after Max was born. Breat feeding is a great way to lose weight if you can do it, and Bec started exercising right away. Full disclosure: she only gained 20 lbs, about 8 lbs of which was Max.

To be a running snob for just a second: I'm actually not all that impressed with Radcliff's feat. She ran throughout her pregnancy, took a little time off when the kid was born and returned to training. It would be something different if the timeframe was 3 months and she won, but 9 months is plenty of time to rebuild the little bit of fitness level she lost during her time off.

ngdawg · 11-24-2007, 08:08 AM

I went to a gym 3 nights a week before I got pregnant; due to my high-risk factor, I had to give that up immediately upon learning I was pregnant.
Less than 3 months after giving birth, I resumed the gym. Big mistake. I was still loose-jointed, hurt myself twice there and finally gave it up for good when I fell down my own stairs, twisting my foot and ankle.
My neighbor, also the mother of twins, went back to work within two weeks to a job that required her to be on her feet the entire shift. Less than 10 years later, she had a hysterectomy-doing what she did caused uterine prolapse because she didn't give herself time to rest and heal.
It's all in what the body is used to. My sister is a dancer and danced into her 9th month with both kids. Wanna see something really weird, imagine a full term woman sitting on a floor doing a complete split. She looked like Humpty Dumpty

Plan9 · 11-24-2007, 08:31 AM

Jazz: Oh, I aspire to be a genetic freak as well.

...

Hahaha! That's awesome, NG.

11-21-2007, 06:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	For the record, Paula Radcliff is a genetic freak. Anyone who makes a living running marathons is, without exception and even if they're taking tons of performance enhancers. My wife was actually under her pre-pregnancy weight 2 weeks after Max was born. Breat feeding is a great way to lose weight if you can do it, and Bec started exercising right away. Full disclosure: she only gained 20 lbs, about 8 lbs of which was Max. To be a running snob for just a second: I'm actually not all that impressed with Radcliff's feat. She ran throughout her pregnancy, took a little time off when the kid was born and returned to training. It would be something different if the timeframe was 3 months and she won, but 9 months is plenty of time to rebuild the little bit of fitness level she lost during her time off. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

11-24-2007, 08:31 AM	#4 (permalink)
Plan9 I Confess a Shiver	Jazz: Oh, I aspire to be a genetic freak as well. ... Hahaha! That's awesome, NG. __________________ *Whatever you can carry.* "You should not drink... and bake."

11-24-2007, 08:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	I went to a gym 3 nights a week before I got pregnant; due to my high-risk factor, I had to give that up immediately upon learning I was pregnant. Less than 3 months after giving birth, I resumed the gym. Big mistake. I was still loose-jointed, hurt myself twice there and finally gave it up for good when I fell down my own stairs, twisting my foot and ankle. My neighbor, also the mother of twins, went back to work within two weeks to a job that required her to be on her feet the entire shift. Less than 10 years later, she had a hysterectomy-doing what she did caused uterine prolapse because she didn't give herself time to rest and heal. It's all in what the body is used to. My sister is a dancer and danced into her 9th month with both kids. Wanna see something really weird, imagine a full term woman sitting on a floor doing a complete split. She looked like Humpty Dumpty