Feb 04 '09 - 638 W - Vote Good + 13 :: Bad - 16 Biking with a bump: Should you ride while pregnant?
Published February 3, 2009 by BikePortland.org
By Marion Rice
It’s an early fall day in Portland and OB/GYN Alison Edelman is riding 6 miles through the city to get to work at OHSU. With the exception of the big (butt-busting) hill up Terwilliger at the end, her route is not especially challenging (there are bike lanes the whole way). But today, instead of biking up, she opts to take the tram.
Who can blame her? She’s 20 weeks pregnant.
Is that crazy? Normal? Is the baby at risk? I decided to delve into this a bit more, starting with Dr. Edelman.
When thinking about whether you should bike while pregnant, Dr. Edelman suggests that it’s really important is to talk to your physician to make an informed decision. “As a physician,” she said, “we normally recommend that pregnant women don’t put themselves in a position where they might be at risk for falling or abdominal (stomach) trauma, like skiing, biking, soccer, etc…”
Dr. Edelmen went on to explain that after about the 12th week of pregnancy (most people consider 40 weeks to be full term), a woman’s boney pelvic structure no longer protects the uterus. But despite the risk of injury if they were to fall, Dr. Edelman says some of her patients still opt to stay active.
So, if you’re pregnant, should you stay off the bike?
“Biking is sometimes a hard call,” she explains, “because it’s not something you associate with trauma. As your body changes, your balance is very different and depending on what type of commute you have and time of year, you may have changing road conditions that increase your chances of having trauma.”
As more and more women take to the streets of Portland on their bikes, it won’t be that unusual to see expectant moms with really big tummies navigating around. Angela Koch of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) is one such mom. She’s 20 weeks into her term and determined to use her bike as her main source of transportation, as long as it makes sense to her and her doctor to do so.
For Koch — who also has two daughters ages six and ten — her first trimester was terrible. “I was nauseous, exhausted and my husband had to get the kids to bed and to school. Since we are carfree there were added issues of transportation for my two girls.”
Luckily for Koch, her husband is a bike mechanic so they have several different bike options to choose from. During our recent spate of snowy weather, she was concerned about sliding and losing control of her bike. To make the going easier, Koch said her husband installed some knobby tires on her bike (she also opted to take a bus once or twice).
In Dr. Edelman’s case, she felt comfortable biking until 24 weeks of pregnancy. For her, 24 weeks was a turning point because pregnancies are not viable outside the uterus before then. “So if there’s an episode or trauma,” she explained, “that causes premature birth, we can’t really do anything about it.”
After 24 weeks, Edelman cites statistics showing that less than 25% of children born that early do well. “The thought of having a child for whom my decision impacted their survival and long term health wasn’t justifiable to me.”
Read the rest of the article at BikePortland.org:
http://bikeportland.org/2009/02/03/biking-with-a-bump-should-you-ride-while-pregnant/
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biking while pregnant – not a good idea!
The baby is pretty well protected in the womb, but the the scare between even a minor accident/fall and the final assurance that everything’s fine is something you really wanna avoid…
Thomas (Email) (URL) - February 04 '09 - 15:00
I’m 21 weeks pregnant and still cycle. I have an incredibly stable and sturdy touring bike that I ride, and I live in L.A. so winter weather isn’t really an issue. I ride much slower than normal, and I don’t take any risks whatsoever, but I am always aware that drivers around me may not be as careful. It’s difficult to be car-free and give up the bicycle while pregnant, but getting exercise is crucial. Also, I almost feel safer on my bicycle than I do in a car in L.A.Refuging - February 18 '09 - 09:55
I’m 26 weeks pregnant and cycle 3-6 times a week. I completed a century at 23 weeks pregnant, and will be doing another one next month. My doctor tells me to make sure I am hydrated and well nourished throughout the ride. But I’m feeling great! I find that I have much more energy on the days I ride, and the days I don’t ride I feel lazy and sluggish. I average about 100-150 miles a week, which this will probably decrease after my 8th month (I’m assuming..). I don’t push myself too hard, and I’m very careful. I avoid busy streets and riding in hot weather. Don’t hesitate to ride when you are pregnant, I feel it has increased my balance and stability. And it is empowering to know that you CAN do this even when you are pregnant. The key is to not push too hard and to stay well hydrated!!Katy - October 27 '09 - 10:14
I am 18 weeks and still biking. I bike in the country and there is virtually no traffic. Wondering how things went for you as I can see this was posted quite awhile ago. Thank you for your comment.Karin (Email) - February 07 '10 - 19:48