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Health & Exercise
sbaz
member
running vs the ob/gyn
sbaz
member
sooo, i'm a newbie prego. Chose my current OB bc I work with her in the OR and she's good at what she does (I don't generally work with OB patients, but I see her doing hysterectomies, D&Cs, etc) which made me feel comfortable with her skills.
However, at my first appointment (was just over 4 weeks so was more of a meet & greet, no lab work or u/s) she slapped on the 140 HR restriction and made it clear she wasn't a fan of the running.
I got home, ran a search for journal articles and studies in the OB literature and found what I suspected and what I'd always heard: the 140 HR restriction is bogus and continuing to run while pregnant is fine as long as you listen to your body and are able to converse, sing short phrases, etc. So I kept at it and have been feeling great.
With just over a week to go til my next appointment, my husband has been getting more and more nervous about my heart rate (that gets into the 160s) when I run so I agreed to cut it out and just walk until the next appointment when I could get the official 'ok' from the doctor.
But now, I'm kinda starting to wonder if instead of asking her for further explanation about the HR restriction and explaining what I've found, if I should just find a new OB. Feel like that's a bit dramatic (she came recommended by the nurses on the OB floor and she's a good surgeon so she's good at what she does, right?) but being so old school about the running makes me question what else she's not up-to-date on.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: running vs the ob/gyn
You will find that there are lots of women on here that ran all during their pregnancies. I did a 1/2 at 4 weeks, they told me the same thing about the 140 but really just ignored it and made sure I stayed hydrated and fueled, and like you said listen to my body. This would not be a good time to start running, but since you have been doing it should be ok. So personally I would just ignore that bit from your doctor, doesn?t mean you should be concerned about her other judgments.
I would ask WHY the restriction-- are you at a low enough bodyfat/weight that there are some hormonal concerns?
I wasn't allowed to exercise until after first trimester or while we were trying to get pregnant for that reason-- we had to do injections for progesterone/estrogen ect and knew from when I was on fertility treatments that the harder workouts would upset my hormone levels even though they were supplemented.
If its just a blanket suggestion she gives all patients, then I would question it but if she can give you a case-specific reason I'd consider listening to her...and I know it sucks. I cant wait until I'm able to go balls to the wall at the gym again...
You have to listen to your body, I ran my entire pregnancy and am aready back training for my next race.
The 140 HR is an old standard. I am a fitness professional and that is not even taught anymore.
It is more important to ogoby RPE and how you feel. You also have to stay hydrated.
IF you are high risk, it is a different story entirely.
But I taught fitness and ran up until the day before I delivered.
Most OB's tend to be rather alarmist during that first visit or two... I'm a competitive lifter and mine said I'd be done lifting at 12 weeks into the PG... Well, at 16/18 weeks I competed and totalled in the 930's (higher than any other female in the entire meet - including the geared girls).. At 20 weeks, I could still do 3-sets of 335 on squat/Deadlift, and bench 205 easily.
Unfortunately because of a GI issue that came on suddenly in the past week & a half, I'm now on restrictions for lifting which given how I've been feeling I wouldn't be in a gym right now anyway, but I can understand the need for it. The most important thing is, whether you're lifting, or running, your body WILL tell you to either make hay when the sun shines or to cut back. It just will. I never thought my body would be telling me "it's a good night to stay at home on the recliner with the blanket" like it has the past week and a half, but part of training in my sport is to first and foremost, listen to your body, the second you don't it's a recipe for injuries, and injuries take longer to heal up than it does for you to get weight back on the bar from taking time off.
You're the expert of your body, LISTEN to it!