Q: I am very physically active; I run about 25 miles a week. Now that I’m pregnant, do I need to stop exercising so vigorously? Should I be worried about overheating or stressing my baby?
Answer from Dr. Peter H. R. Roberts, medical director of obstetrics and gynecology at Providence Portland Medical Center: As long as your level of activity during pregnancy remains within the range of what you’re used to, and you are breathing well and physically comfortable, there’s no reason to be concerned. Vigorous exercise is potentially a problem only if you’re pushing yourself to the point where your body is short of oxygen. And generally speaking, people don’t do that anyway. Their bodies tell them when they need to stop.
In terms of overheating, I’d follow the same guidelines – stay within your comfort range. Hot tubs used to be a major concern during pregnancy; the thinking was that if the body temperature got to high, it could be a danger to the pregnancy. But, again, no one is going to sit in a hot tub until their body temperature reaches 104 degrees!
So as long as you’re listening to your body’s signals about what’s comfortable for you, I wouldn’t expect any problems.
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January 2002
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