Posts: 834
7/16/10 11:14 A

Thanks all,
I decided to go ahead and bike, but be more careful about listening to my body, and being aware of traffic. Since the main reasons for not biking seemed to be you might fall or get hit, and my response to that was well yes, but if you put me in a bubble I'll kill myself with boredom.

I rode into work today (about 13 miles) and Little Kosh and I seem to be doing fine.

Posts: 1,246
7/15/10 7:15 P

That would be sound advice, Kitty, if she weren't getting conflicting advice from medical "professionals."

Do some research on what is good, and not good, for you to do in the way of cycling during pregnancy. I'm sure you'll come up with the right information and make the right decision for you and your little one.

Posts: 5,005
7/15/10 5:01 P

I was pregnant over 9 yrs. ago & did some biking & some tummy exercises b/c my Dr. told me that I could b/c I was doing this before hand. I stopped when I was too big to continue. Every one is different & I would listen to the Dr. not listen to others.

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Posts: 8,845
7/14/10 11:13 P

First of all, congratulations!

Now, from what you write about "What to Expect..."'s advice, I'd venture to say they are referring to actually cycling *with* traffic. If you are on a protected bike path near the roadway, I'd say go for it for as long as you are comfortable. But as STINKY mentions, your health (and that of the future child) are the most important thing, so if you are not comfortable with your commute, find alternatives. Ride on trails on weekends instead. get on the trainer on occasion. But I think most OBG's nowadays recommend continuing to workout during your pregnancy. Just use common sense.

Posts: 1,246
7/14/10 9:52 P

Having been struck by a bonehead motorist just last year, and nearly struck countless times since, I say get an indoor trainer (I like the Cycleops (pronounced the same as Cyclops)) and stay indoors for the duration. They range in price from $180-$2,000 and are well worth it.

It's only for 9 months and you won't have to worry about balancing, traffic, weather or the horrible possibilities of what could happen if a motorist isn't paying attention...which most of them aren't.

If I lost everything, and still had my little boy, I would have more than I could ever want. If I lost my little boy, and had the world, I would have nothing.

Posts: 251
7/14/10 6:01 P

I think the benefits outweigh the risks. Is it preferable to exercise away from traffic? Sure. Do plenty of pregnant women sit in commute traffic from Beijing to Mexico City to Los Angeles every day? No question. Does "What to expect" tell women "Stop walking in New York City, no matter what your daily routine, as some city bus might belch on you".

It sounds like you are maintaining your daily routine, not picking up the intensity in a nutty way. I vote you stay the course.

And for the bus ride portion, get the audiobook for "Age is Just a Number" by Dara Torres. Her doctors were frank that it's not like they run clinical trails on pregnant women. Listen to your body; does it feel good? Then fine, proceed. Are you jacking your heart rate and over heating baby who can't sweat? STOP.
but there are plenty of nutty runners who had been running for years (didn't just pick it up preggers) and ran their entire pregnancy.

By about the middle of mine I preferred kayaking and swimming!

Congrats, and while it's a long 40 weeks, you will get through it!

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Posts: 834
7/14/10 3:28 P

So I just confirmed that I'm pregnant this week.

I usually get most of my exercise biking. I can do the commute one way fairly easily since the buses have bike racks, and that's 13 miles or an hour plus of pretty good work out.

Now that I'm pregnant my Obgyn, said it was okay to bike until I start to have trouble balancing, but the nurse says that several other doctors suggest against it.

I'm particularly concerned, because what to Expect when you're expecting says to avoid exercising near too much traffic, and my commute ride takes me along (but protected from) the freeway for a good chunk.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Sarah