cycling while pregnant
 

i'm 15 weeks pregnant now and i've heard that i shouldn't be cycling. i asked my mom about it (mother of 9, so i though she would know something about being prego) and she told me that in her second pregnancy she rode all the way up to 8 months with her first kid strapped to a baby seat on the back. different time i guess. i'm going back to my doc week after next and i'll take her advice on the matter, but i was kinda wondering what your opinions are.

It's a good non weight bearing form of exercise..

who said you shouldn't be cycling? just don't go too hard. And obviously, it'll be harder when you get bigger. Of course, there is the risk of accident...but the same goes for cars and pregnant women drive all the time!

One of the spin teachers at my gym taught class until 4 days before she had her baby. She couldn't get her heart rate too high and her legs were bumping against her stomach, but her baby was fine.

My partner some cycled through her two pregnancies - not overly strenuous - a comfortable touring riding pace.
Look at the Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog, I think there is a link to pregnant cycling.
ps - her first OB clinician suggested two contradictory things about this - one comment was if you exercised normally before pregnancy, continue within limits during pregnancy. [my partner cycled before pregnancy]. clinician didn't seem to be hugely in favor of cycling.

My wife was in a vigorous dance class until about 8 months ...... cycling seems pretty mellow in comparison.

I knew a lady who was a really strong rider. She rode whilst pregnant. She was told by her physician to avoid running a really high heart rate.

But I think it depends. Some people have a much harder time in pregnancy. I have known ladies who were nearly bedridden for the last couple of months. I know other ladies who were able to do pretty much what they wanted to do.

It seems to be a pretty individual thing.

I'm currently reading John Medina "Brain Rules for Baby" and the chapter on pregnancy says:

- fit mothers tend to give birth to smarter babies
- strenuous exercise is counterproductive as the womb can overheat (can affect brain and eye development) and mommy's blood is diverted away from the kid (less oxygen for growing brain) and to her muscles instead
- he recommends swimming as an ideal activity as heat is easily carried away from the womb
- he writes that fit women push less and experience less pain
- mentions general guidelines: for most women, not to exceed 70% max heart rate and to slow down as as the due date approaches
- mentions the American College of Obstreticians recommends 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise per day

I am not an obstetrician. Follow your doctor's advice which will be specific to your circumstances, but the general feeling I get from reading the book is that exercise is very beneficial for both mother and child.

This came up in the case of a woman who taught a spin class I was in.

She was an extremely thin, fit woman who seemed to have more energy than everyone in the spin class put together. The class was three times a week and she was always the one teaching the class. A few weeks of this went by and then I began learning things about her from various people who ran and owned the health club. I learned that she was in the beginning stages of her pregnancy. Then I learned that she was teaching spin classes other than the ones I went to. Some time later, someone began replacing her in the spin classes I took. Finally, I found out from someone who ran the health club that she was ordered to take time off in the interest of her and her developing baby's health.

I described this as I just did to my mother who is a nurse by profession. She said that bicycling while pregnan isn't good for the mother's or the baby's health. Perhaps there are women out there who continued to bicycle and didn't have any ill effects. I hope no bad results happened to their children, either.

My wife cycled 20 km's on the very day she gave birth. On an upright bike and in an easy pace, but still. Just don't crash, and cycling is a way of exercise very easy on your body.

And yes, we do live in Copenhagen...

fredward, It just has to depend on how well your pregnancy is progressing and what your physician tells you. Both of my daughters had issues during their first pregnancy that would have kept them off a bike. Their second pregnancy is progressing wonderfully, so far. As a side note, they've been pregnant at the same time, within a month of each other for both pregnancies. :)

The issues during their first pregnancy were unexpected as both are athletic and both are in very good physical condition.

Brad