Before little K was born, it was so very important to me to continue to be outdoors and active. I was dismayed at the lack of information available about outdoor recreation while pregnant. Information I did find was often conflicting. I had heard and read in books that each pregnancy and each woman is different, but now I get it. So, below you will find some information about what is possible if you have no pregnancy issues. I will also share a completely different pregnancy experience and the decisions I chose to make in those circumstances.
My goal in sharing is to give a little information about what might be possible for women who are pregnant or are considering getting pregnant. With my first pregnancy, I scoured the internet and found a couple -truly, only two- inspirational women who reported out on their activities during pregnancy. I found it helpful to know that it can be okay to ski, climb, mountain bike, and hike while pregnant. I appreciated knowing what they encountered in their bodies as they progressed. So, here you go, sort of a 'What to Expect- Outdoor Enthusiast' version.
Pregnancy #1- normal, no issues
- Ski toured until Week 30 (would've kept going but the snow melted); noticed low-level nausea and fatigue starting in Week 5; noticed difficulty breathing by Week 9; a noticeable slow-down by week 24.
- 'Competed' in a recreational downhill ski racing league...mellow racing but still going fast-ish.
- Lots of lift-skiing with precautions such as slowing down on fast groomers, skiing defensively around other people, and skiing very in control.
Week 18?
- Jogged 2-3 times a week until Week 29; slowed down if any difficulty in breathing; noticeable slow-down by Week 24 and had to stop now & then due to Braxton Hicks.
- Mountain biked until Week 27; hopped off if the terrain looked at all tricky; no significant balance issues, but decided to be done by Week 27 because I fall a lot, even without tricky terrain. ;)
Week 20?
- Rock climbed until one week before my son was born (Week 35); used a full-body harness and stopped leading at Week 9; the major challenge was figuring out how to do certain moves without bumping the bump; noticed the lack of abs by Week 29; still managed to climb 5.10c until the end (not at full potential but not that far off either).
Week 28?
Week 36
- Hiked trails of 8-10mile distance with 2,000-3,000 feet gain pretty regularly; by Week 34, noticed much slower pace on uphills; in Week 37, hiked a strenuous 8-mile hike one day (Snow Lake) and then another strenuous 8-mile hike (Rachel Lake) the next day, then went into labor that night...looking back, I wonder if I over-did it with those hikes and caused premature labor.
Week 37, the day before my son was born
- In all activity, by Week 20, I noticed that I got sorer after workouts...maybe due to dehydration or lack of potassium; also noticed light-headedness if transitioning/standing too quickly; heating/cooling system changed by Week 20...overheated much quicker/easier.
- Post-Pregnancy Notes: for the first year of his life, my son was not a good sleeper; he seemed to need movement to sleep. We have often wondered if I caused this 'need' by keeping my body moving very regularly throughout pregnancy. During the first year of his life, he often required a walk/jog/ski tour to nap. The good news: I continued to get a lot of exercise postpartum. The bad news: I didn't get any sleep because nobody has figured out a way to run and sleep at the same time. :)
Pregnancy #2- less 'normal', early contractions, pelvic pain
- Felt nauseated from Week 1-14 so didn't do much exercise; standing seemed too hard.
- By the time the nausea went away, our house had sold and we were busy packing boxes and getting ready to move; by Week 16, started noticing Braxton Hicks contractions very regularly (i.e. doing anything other than sitting and sometimes even while sitting).
- I hiked a bit, nothing consistent or difficult.
- I ski toured a bit, but not much, mostly due to NO SNOW!
Hiking at a toddler's pace was just about right.
Week 20ish?
A short hike -2 miles- the toddler could do on his own.
- Although Braxton Hicks contractions are said to be 'nothing to worry about', it turns out that doctors recommend sitting and resting whenever you get one...so, since I got them all the time, I decided to cut exercise and chose instead to hold my son and help with the major house move to some degree.
- By Week 24-ish, I got occasional stabs of pain in the sciatic/pelvic area; these were so painful that I felt the need to sit down immediately; these definitely happened more frequently if I walked any distance or stood for any length of time.
slow and easy...but nice to get outside- Week 30?
Week 33
- At Week 34, my doctors finally did a non-stress test and became highly worried about the number of contractions I was having; I tried really hard to slow it down even more (sat while preparing a meal, stopped picking up my son whenever someone else was around, opted out of activities that might require too much walking).
- Of note, caring for a toddler is actually quite physical. You are lifting a 30 lb thing around a lot more than you realize. You lift him to get up on a high bed, to go to the bathroom several times a day, to put him in his high chair, to get somewhere when he is having a fit. Also, there is a significant amount of chasing that goes on...and trying to put clothes on a kicking/squirming creature. So, when you have a toddler, just realize that you are more active than you really think. It doesn't look the same -nor have the same benefits, if you ask me- as a jog or hike, but you are probably burning significant calories and working your muscles. :)
- Emotionally, this has been a really hard experience for me. It could've been worse; I could've been put on bed-rest. For me, though, not exercising for 10 months throws off my whole balance. Exercising and outdoor recreation are how I recharge, reset, and 'get right in the head', frankly.
- Having had my son at Week 37, I am much more cautious and would not choose to hike 8 miles into the mountains this late in pregnancy, even if I was having no issues. I would also not choose to rock climb way up a long dirt road this late in pregnancy, even if I was having no issues. If I had gone into labor in the woods, it probably would've worked out okay...but why risk having to hike a long distance with significant labor pains, worrying the whole way about whether you'll get out in time to deliver your baby at a hospital?!? It makes sense to keep activities closer to home and less 'in the wild' towards the end of the pregnancy...a short-term sacrifice for a very amazing life-changing experience.
I hope someone out there in internet land finds this to be helpful or inspiring. I'm sure that you could do even more or be even more ambitious in your outdoor recreation endeavors while pregnant. Best of luck to you, reader, and enjoy your beautiful, pregnant body.


