Cycling While Pregnant

eeeee

Best of good luck!

fuzzycycle

Thanks!!

ford2600

Irish Times Health Section today has a related article.

Chuchote

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Are you rhesus negative? If you are I would advise against cycling as any knock at all requires a shot or you can have difficulties with later pregnancies. I tripped in my kitchen, didn't bang the bump at all and the hospital had me in overnight and a shot even so to avoid any problems

Interesting. I'm Rh- and had a shot of gamma globulin after producing an Rh+ baby; apparently this is standard and stops your developing antibodies that might harm all future Rh+ babies.

NamelessPhil wrote: »

If you think people judge you while pregnant, wait until you're towing your offspring around in a child trailer attached to the back of the bike! That really makes people hoik up their judgey pants.

Volunteering on the Great Dublin Bike Ride, someone came back with a babby in a trailer and my co-volunteer pursed his lips and said "Disgraceful!"

Fuzz, maybe take a look at your route and see where any danger points are, and generally cycle defensively. And at some stage you'll probably find that you prefer to take to the car for a couple of months.

I would personally take all advice my GP gives me, but will often ask for elucidation. (He may see it as arguing…!)

In my day, you were advised not to use a foot-driven sewing machine while pregnant as it might harm the baby - sheer superstition!

I hope you have a happy pregnancy, and enjoy your babies.

tomasrojo

Chuchote wrote: »

Volunteering on the Great Dublin Bike Ride, someone came back with a babby in a trailer and my co-volunteer pursed his lips and said "Disgraceful!"

I've been pleasantly surprised -- so far -- how positive people have been about me getting about with the kids in a cargo bike. It's only been two months, but I haven't been getting dirty looks, and nobody has given me a lecture yet; in fact, anyone who has approached me has been pretty enthusiastic and curious. I have given some thought about what to say in the event of a lecture, as I'm terrible at being on the receiving end of dressing downs, and can never think of anything to say spontaneously. All I can think of so far is either a fact-based lecture in kind, which would just be talked over, or variants on "Mind your own business".

But so far, it's been great.

CramCycle

Chuchote wrote: »

Interesting. I'm Rh- and had a shot of gamma globulin after producing an Rh+ baby; apparently this is standard and stops your developing antibodies that might harm all future Rh+ babies.

Some maternity hospitals (or at least the one we went too) will give you another shot next time around, just in case there was a mistake.

Volunteering on the Great Dublin Bike Ride, someone came back with a babby in a trailer and my co-volunteer pursed his lips and said "Disgraceful!"

That delightful Irish quirk of passing comment or belittling something or someone, on something that they don't understand or have never tried too. I won't lie I am sometimes guilty of it myself.

I hope you have a happy pregnancy, and enjoy your babies.

The only advice that matters

fuzzycycle

I've only just seen these posts now!! How I missed them I don't know! Apologies & thanks to all that took the time to advise. So, I have been cycling up until this week. I'm 20 weeks & fat. This morning I was all geared up but stood in garden for 10 minutes staring up at the sky. Call me a whimp, but am a bit nervous in the rain. It was spitting & scheduled to lash for the day so decided against it. Normally I'd cycle all through winter & it wouldn't bother me a bit. Today, I Took the car instead. Arrived to work tired (from driving) & late...

So my main issue & problem with cycling currently is my lack of energy. Bum, leg muscles etc all fine but it's just taking more effort to take off. Also, I really enjoy standing up on my legs when taking off. But I'm not as confident as I would normally be pushing myself so feel like I'm lagging. I am missing my proper cycling routine.

All in all its ok, not great but not terrible. It's only going to get worse! Ah ****e!!!

Chuchote

Yeah, but you get a babby at the end of it!

XR3i

fuzzycycle wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm a complete newbie to posting on Boards. I've been reading this forum for ages but never posted on it and I'm hoping for some advise please.

I've been cycling a round trip of 30KM for the past 3 years and it's the only form of exercise that I actually enjoy. I cycle regardless of the weather, so all year round, and I don't think I could ever drive into work again as I just find it too depressing.

It takes me approx 40 minutes on a average day to get into work through Dublin City Centre (15KM) and on a good day 35 minutes. But if needs be I could take it easier and maybe stretch it out to 50 minutes.

I have a 4 year old son and just found out today that I'm pregnant with our second (6 weeks - YAY!!).

I really don't want to stop cycling and would be absolutely heart broken if I had to stop. i know eventually I'll get too big and I'll have to stop but I would like to cycle upto about 7 months. I absolutely hate the thought of people staring at me judging me - most motorists dislike cyclists anyway, but I think if they seen a pregnant cyclist they would think I was being irresponsible - am I being irresponsible??

Has anyone any advise that they can tell me about this. I've done a lot of reading about this and its not advisable to cycle while pregnant. Some of the articles really scared me but I thought that I would be fine since I have been doing this for so long now... but now I don't know. Can anyone please help?

Sorry, I know I never post here, but really would appreciate some advise.

Thanks a million

keep on cycling it's a free world

maybe get a "baby on board sticker"

magicbastarder

fuzzycycle wrote: »

All in all its ok, not great but not terrible. It's only going to get worse! Ah ****e!!!

Just tell your partner not to do what my friend did, which was being admitted to hospital with glandular fever mere hours before his wife went into labour. He got to meet his son six days later.

fuzzycycle

I like the baby on board sticker idea! Lol! As for glandular fever - it wouldn't surprise me! In the early stages I had visions of cycling into hospital for delivery... Me thinks reality has just hit me! Where has my energy gone!

Chuchote

fuzzycycle wrote: »

I like the baby on board sticker idea! Lol! As for glandular fever - it wouldn't surprise me! In the early stages I had visions of cycling into hospital for delivery... Me thinks reality has just hit me! Where has my energy gone!

Energy shouldn't really be that flat halfway through the pregnancy? Though every pregnancy is different. But it might be worth asking the doc about nutrition and if you need supplements or iron or anything on your next visit? (Don't dose yourself, ask the doc!)

NamelessPhil

20 weeks is when I became slightly anaemic as confirmed by a blood test. Iron tablets with vitamin C to help absorption worked quickly and I kept cycling. Spatone would not have been sufficient. Check with your doctor.

QueensGael

Been lurking on this thread for a while, but outing myself now I'm 25 weeks pregnant, still cycling (slowly) to work, and had planned to switch to the bus ( :eek: ) once the clocks changed. Thing is, I'm finding cycling a whole lot easier than walking to/from the bus (thanks to some lovely pelvic pain) but I'm also a bit nervous about people (cyclists, motorists) acting the maggot as soon as daylights savings ends, as well at the usual winter hazards like wet leaves, blocked drains etc.
Any tips on how I can prolong my cycling for another few weeks?

mr spuckler

congratulations!

tbh once you've got decent rain gear & protection against the cold i think it's mainly determination married to common sense after that

mrs spuckler cycled to 35 / 36 weeks, including right through last winter. she stopped in mid january this year, gave birth in mid february. i think her biggest challenge was accepting that she had to adapt how she cycled a little bit, ie getting used to a slower pace, not trying to lift the front wheel onto a kerb without putting her feet down, maybe holding back from gaps she would previously have squeezed through etc. re-reading that line it suggests she needed to adapt her behaviour anyway! she didn't find traffic or road conditions to be more or less challenging than previously, just that the whole thing was a bit more tiring but still far preferable to getting the bus or DART.

best of luck with it and be good to hear in time how you get on

eeeee

No advice to offer but congratulations QueensGael!

Chuchote

Congratulations added to QueensGael and the coming PrionsaGael or BeanphrionsaGael, getting an early start on learning the rhythm of the pedals and wheels.

CramCycle

QueensGael wrote: »

Been lurking on this thread for a while, but outing myself now I'm 25 weeks pregnant, still cycling (slowly) to work, and had planned to switch to the bus ( :eek: ) once the clocks changed. Thing is, I'm finding cycling a whole lot easier than walking to/from the bus (thanks to some lovely pelvic pain) but I'm also a bit nervous about people (cyclists, motorists) acting the maggot as soon as daylights savings ends, as well at the usual winter hazards like wet leaves, blocked drains etc.
Any tips on how I can prolong my cycling for another few weeks?

First of all, congratulations.

Second of all, no reason not to keep going for awhile yet if you are comfortable (girl in work made it to 8 months before she felt it was too much work). Make sure you have good lights and brakes. Don't rush and if they way you have been cycling so far has served you well, keep going with it. If you want to borrow a child seat to put on the back to see does it get you more room, I can lend you mine for awhile.

mr spuckler

CramCycle wrote: »

First of all, congratulations.

Second of all, no reason not to keep going for awhile yet if you are comfortable (girl in work made it to 8 months before she felt it was too much work). Make sure you have good lights and brakes. Don't rush and if they way you have been cycling so far has served you well, keep going with it. If you want to borrow a child seat to put on the back to see does it get you more room, I can lend you mine for awhile.

suggesting adding more weight to a pregnant woman's bicycle :eek: :pac:

doozerie

QueensGael wrote: »

.. I'm also a bit nervous about people (cyclists, motorists) acting the maggot as soon as daylights savings ends, as well at the usual winter hazards like wet leaves, blocked drains etc.
Any tips on how I can prolong my cycling for another few weeks?

Firstly, congratulations!

On the highlighted bit above, if your bike has sufficient clearance you could fit wider tyres and run them at a relatively low pressure. Or you might have scope to just lower the pressure in your current tyres. That would give more comfort and more grip, up to a point.

Choice of tyre is relevant too of course, opinions will vary hugely on that, personally I find the 700x32mm Continental Contact II Reflex tyres on my commute bike to be reasonably good. I run them at 80psi (I'm 58kg on a "fat day" so 80psi is actually a bit high).

I'm lazy about topping them up, after several weeks I find they can be down to about 60psi - at that level they still roll well, feel quite comfortable, and I find grip to be very good. It's very subjective but I reckon their grip improves as they drift towards 60psi, below that and other issues start to creep in (e.g. the rear wheel starts to feel like it's floating when turning into a bend) so bike handling is compromised for me at that stage.

In short though, varying tyre pressure can make a big difference to how a bike feels and handles in various conditions. Off-road riders tend to be more conscious of the benefits of adjusting tyre pressure to suit circumstances, but it's relevant road riding and commuting too.

doozerie

Chuchote wrote: »

Volunteering on the Great Dublin Bike Ride, someone came back with a babby in a trailer and my co-volunteer pursed his lips and said "Disgraceful!"

Some years ago, my wife and I did a family fun cycle from Marley Park, our daughter in the trailer that one of us was towing. Our daughter wasn't wearing a helmet.

As we walked through one of the ridiculously cyclist-unfriendly gates on the cycle path (largely incompatible with a bike trailer), one woman marshal commented in a hysterical and offended tone that "the baby is not wearing a helmet!". It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, certainly not at us parents, it was that typically passive aggressive reaction of the committed curtain-twitcher.

The implication was that we, the parents, placed less value on the safety of our child than she did. Such facts as helmets posing a very real danger to children when combined with a headrest, that the trailer had a very good roll cage built in, etc. etc., clearly have no place or value to such people. They know best apparently, even when starting from a position of complete ignorance.

Basically, people assume all sorts of privileges when it comes to kids, including the right to abuse you as a parent when you don't confirm to their narrow and ill-informed view of the world. It starts before the child is born, it continues pretty much forever after that.

It was a pity on this occasion that our daughter didn't hear the moronic comment, she had long since stopped being a "baby" by then and was prone to rip a person a new one for suggesting otherwise. That would have been an entertaining sight.

tomasrojo

Congratulations, QueensGael.

Doozerie, some women I happened to be sharing a traffic island with had a loud conversation ostensibly between themselves, but actually "at" me a few months ago, about how my children stood no chance of surviving in "that thing" (a bakfiets). Very passive-aggressive. I was tempted to turn around and add "... and to top it all, I'm drunk!"

Rojo

Good on ya, QueensGael!

Hungrycol

When my wife told me "we're pregnant" I kept cycling through the pregnancy no problem.

Lusk_Doyle

Rojo wrote: »

Good on ya, QueensGael!

Not to forget KingsGael too!

magicbastarder

Hungrycol wrote: »

When my wife told me "we're pregnant" I kept cycling

that was a rather drastic reaction on your part.

mr spuckler

magicbastarder wrote: »

that was a rather drastic reaction on your part.

it's good to defy convention though isn't it? plenty of time for a hug and a kiss when they got home