anyone doing / done martial arts while pregnant? Advice please!

[Aniyan]

Hello,
I'm a bit pregnant (i.e. too early to tell everyone yet!), and have been advised by one of my martial arts teachers that carrying on through pregnancy is fine as long as I cut down on vigorous movements, and that many of the elements (esp. the breathing) can be very beneficial in pregnancy and beyond.

BUT: I'm basically paranoid. The form I practise doesn't involve throwing each other around or anything, but it can be quite strenuous and I wonder if I should avoid it till the pregnancy's well established & just keep up my gym visits/practise gently at home.

Any advice most welcome - I've only been going to this martial art for a couple of years so still feel a bit of a newbie, and not sure whether to trust my teacher (who is excellent) or my instincts!

Thanks in advance

[snowymum]

I do JKD which includes boxing, kickboxing, grappling, throws and takedowns, punchbag training, focus pads and drills. And I stopped as soon as I found out which was very hard as, as you know, it's completely addictive. I guess in theory you could find a way around it, e.g. keep to stickfighting and knife defence, but I really, really think it's too much of a risk. Not everyone is as controlled as your teacher; kicks can land to the stomach which is less than ideal; grappling requires a lot of being squashed and all the relaxin hormone means you can really easily hyperextend on locks and arm bars. And if your art is internal, like t'ai chi or qi gong, that's even worse (if you're doing it right!) because of the extent of internal energy shifts.

If you're doing solely non-contact drills/ katas, and there is no sparring whatsoever, and there's enough space in the dojo that you won't get struck accidentally, and you trust yourself not to get carried away and hyperextend anything, and sit out particular drills, and quit any skipping, jolting movements, kicks (the pelvic girdle is especially vulnerable to damage from even non contact kicking actions because of the relaxin hormone), then maybe. But I wouldn't chance it - and I'm completely addicted to training.

Oh, and congrats!

[Aniyan]

Thanks for the advice snowymum - I think I may have to call off the training sessions and do passive katas and gentle moves at home with DP - bit frustrating but like you say, it's not worth the risk.

Ho-hum - no green belt for me this year! Still, hopefully I'll get something much nicer instead !

[whomovedmychocolate]

Aniyan, I used to teach aikido - we used to say, no breakfalls, no throws, katas are fine, wrist locks are okay till the second trimester (people don't realise but relaxin affects all your joints not just your pelvis so you are more prone to dislocations during pregnancy).

You could try iaido (japanese sword drawing) that's very soothing but also really good for maintaining fitness and discipline. Though getting up from your knees at seven months gone is a bit of a bugger

[Aniyan]

It's these early weeks that are so tricky - once I'm obviously pregnant and can tell everyone, I'll probably be fine doing my katas quietly at the back while everyone else is sweating away.

Maybe I should stay away till I'm happy to let everyone know - I'm not worried about my teachers giving me bad advice, just things like, as snowymum says, accidental kicks that land in the wrong place. Also, my fellow students would be horrified if anything like that happened, so maybe I'm better keeping away for their sakes too. I really can't decide! I think DP thinks I'm being a bit over cautious but but but... Better sleep on it and see what my instinct says in the morning.

Really appreciate your comments, WMMC (great name!) - as you can see, my training hasn't made me any more decisive in certain areas of life!

[whomovedmychocolate]

I would advise a sudden outbreak of broken ribs which take about six weeks to heal and which do not preclude katas but do prevent you from any contact with others.

Actually you'll probably find you don't feel up to it anyway in a few weeks. But do remember that babies are hardy little buggers, they have airbags (well waterbags) and everything and you are much more likely to be injured than they are while they are inside you!

[Aniyan]

You're a crafty one, WMMC and no mistake! Good plan though!

And I know what you mean - there's no reason (touch wood) to think that this bean isn't a sticky one. I must be more like my mum than I think - I remember her giving out stink to my sister for reaching up to take something from a (not particularly high) shelf when she was pg - seemed to think the baby would fall out if your arms went over shoulder height!

[whomovedmychocolate]

Oh yes I've been told off very loudly at a family birthday party for retrieving an escaped balloon by standing on a chair because 'if you reach up the baby will be strangled by it's umbilical cord'.

People are very silly.

Overall though, whatever you do. Some babies don't make it, the majority do, I've lost two and my philosophy is that if the baby is sick, it probably will die and I'd rather miscarry at six weeks than at term for both of our sakes. But there's bugger all you can do about it anyway. Much better that you take a sensible approach to your own health and let the baby take care of him/herself (he/she will anyway).

But the broken ribs think is great because when I actually did break my ribs I just felt really knackered and was clutching my chest a lot - which was very similar to early pregnancy sore boob symptoms and I had the excuse of running out of the room to chuck up that 'it hurt and I didn't want to swear in front of the children'.

Tis much better when you are wearing a hakima though, so much padding round your middle no-one can tell you have a bump for ages.