Pregnant women rebel: "Playing sports until the due date benefits us"

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"Until I saw myself in the photos that have been happening to me, I was not aware of the gut I have."

The Spanish athlete

(37 years old) participated on June 12 in Zaragoza in a 10-kilometre athletics event while she was eight months

!

and with temperatures that exceeded 30 degrees that day.

She is not the only example of a high-level athlete who has continued with her sports routines - even participating in competitions - during much of the gestation period until almost a few days before giving birth.

Another recent case -and very controversial due to the specialty she performs- is that of the British climber

(29 years old), Olympic and double world medalist, who has continued training at 39 weeks of gestation.

This elite athlete has had to face numerous

from fans, outraged after seeing her photos on

She has not been bashful about it: "I am a pregnant woman who makes decisions", she has defended herself in the newspaper 'The Guardian'.

Are sport, even

sport, and pregnancy mutually exclusive?

These two examples that have become viral on social networks in recent times are enough to confirm that more and more active athletes decide to become mothers and continue with their sports

throughout their pregnancy.

Experts recommend it this way and emphasize, not only for elite athletes, the many benefits it gives to the process of change it produces in women, whose body will be more toned, the

will evolve much better and even the body itself. act of pregnancy, and even subsequent lactation, are much more appropriate if it is not abandoned, always with caution and

, practicing sports: Gone are the times when pregnancy was managed between cottons.

The decision of

(37 years old) not to stop training also has supporters and detractors.

She assures Yo Dona that her decision has always been supervised by a

, by her trainer and, above all, she assures that she has listened to her

.

"I am enjoying myself, and even more so considering that I was recovering from a serious injury (the cruciate was broken)", so she does not hesitate to point out that, far from regretting it, she is very

to continue with her sports routines, and that is 'new': "It's like running with a backpack in front. My center of

so my strides are low and my pace is more of a jog pace than I was used to before, but other than that I haven't had any problems."

British climber Shauna Coxsey, 39 weeks pregnant.@Shaunacoxsey

Her low

, just 47 kilos before pregnancy, has helped her and she has barely put on weight in these 8 months, "only four or five kilos, and two of them are from the baby," she specifies.

The key, he points out, is to always have the

controlled "so that they do not rise too much and thus the baby never lacks oxygen."

For her part, the British

, also under the supervision at this stage of doctors and a

, is blunt: "Not all of us have to sit on the sofa for nine months", although she clarifies that she no longer climbs "very steep " to avoid "too much tension in my abs and my hips, which are a little looser, but still feel very strong," he confirms.

The expert's opinion

Runner-up in Spain in mountain running, this

remembers that "in March we asked the doctor if she could continue

and her answer was this: 'Don't let any specialist tell you that you can't run because it's something you've been doing all your life '".

Of course, she recommended that she control her pulse and

so as not to harm the

: "As if you want to run until the last day," she warned him.

"Now there is consensus in all the clinical guidelines on the benefit of

throughout the pregnancy," Dr.

, gynecologist and obstetrician at Gine 4 at

, assures Yo Dona .

In this sense, she abounds that the recommendations are clear: regular exercise, avoiding long duration, careful not to do

exercise , especially in the third trimester, in addition to assessing environmental conditions, such as heat or extreme humidity " .

This is ratified by Dr.

, with more than 25 years of experience in public health and in the last stage from a prestigious gynecological clinic in Mérida: "My recommendation is to continue practicing sports because it brings

to pregnancy, both from the both physically and psychologically, especially

activity ".

Thus, he confirms that "the pregnancy will go much better and, if the woman previously had sports habits, even more so, as long as there is no history of risk or

, then things would change."

Even with regard to the part, this doctor underlines that "if a woman has sports habits and does not interrupt them, although not with a very high

nor with great physical efforts, surely the delivery time will be shorter and she will carry it better".

Dr. Herrero points out that "

are a separate case, they have a great preparation and previous physical form. Even so, the intensity and duration of sports practice must be modulated and it is enough to maintain their activity and form, but that don't stress your

as in cases of impact exercise in late pregnancy."

The gynecologist distinguishes between "the sedentary woman with another who already had an important activity prior to pregnancy, so she should always act with

and assessing where we start from."

The guide of the

(Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics) recommends that "pregnant women should accumulate at least 150 minutes of

of moderate intensity each week, in order to achieve benefits for their health and at the same time reduce the possibility of complications during

.

The activity will be divided into three days a week", even, if all goes well, until the last week of the pregnancy. Both Sánchez Bartolomé and Mercedes Herrero recommend as the most beneficial sports "walking, stationary cycling,

, dancing, exercises resistance training using weights or elastic bands, stretching, hydrotherapy and swimming or aquagym'.

In the specific case of the Spanish

who competed when she was 38 weeks pregnant, Dr. Herrero believes that "a 10 km competitive race, in the third trimester, and in

conditions , is not a recommended exercise for a pregnant", although Jimena Martín clarifies that she ran at a very slow pace (5.07' km/h on average) when her usual pace without being pregnant or injured reaches 3.40': "I thought the

, and it didn't at any time and anyway I ran carefully, very slow for my rhythms, I never exceeded 130

, and always accompanied by my husband (Rubén), I

a little more than normal and I avoided the crowds and at the start I stood quite far back to avoid crowds". Of course, he stresses that during the route "everyone stared and then, seeing the belly, I was very

" .

first doubts

It was not the only test in which she participated during the pregnancy, where she has put on the

five times, the penultimate in Zamora, at 20 weeks: "My doctor sets me as an example," this

infant

boasts, although he does not exercise, although he also admits that at first he had

, "which were cleared up because I felt fine and it did not bother me at any time and I have always asked for advice because

is what fulfills me".

In this sense, in all the

, the results of the tests to which she was subjected always came out "perfect", such as the two

where she checked, for example, her adequate blood sugar level.

"In fact, I was feeling better with each passing month and it wasn't until 17-18 weeks that I started noticing the baby's movements," she says.

Her midwife,

has also been her great

and has followed "all the recommendations she made me".

Her trainer for five years,

explains that "she has always been guided by the doctor and has mixed elliptical exercise with running, but always looking for

."

The idea, at first, is that he perform physical activity until the seventh month but "he has been feeling well, without any problem, and has continued for a few more weeks, including that test in Zaragoza, which in principle he was not going to compete in, but being there he perked up."

'

', as he is known in the world of athletics, stresses that one of the

is that his pupil "naturally has a hard time gaining weight" so now "he has not put much belly during pregnancy, not even in the arms or nothing,

very well," he confirms.

Once

(the name the parents have chosen for their son) is born, the athlete already plans to go running with him, pushing the

while he trains to reach his next big goal: crossing the finish line of a

, proof that still pending dispute.

Hence, one of the first gifts for her son is athletic

: "I already have them ready...", she assures her, full of happiness.

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