The myths exposed!

Pregnancy is a very frightening period.  Around every corner there seems to be the fear that something will go wrong.  I remember in my first trimester constantly thinking I was going to miscarry. Once I got past first trimester, the pregnancy 'symptoms' went away and I began to worry why I wasn't showing as much as others, why I couldn't feel the baby moving, I would panic over any little pain and even ended up at the doctor and emergency more than once. I still find my anxiety raised that something could go wrong and the stories and 'facts' people tell you doesn't make the anxiety go away. Everyone seems to have a horrible pregnancy story along with all the fabulous stories out there. Luckily, prenatal health practitioners are very understanding and help you through every crisis.  They can also help you dispel quite a few of the myths that exist and I have been told to stop internet-diagnosing my symptoms, it just adds to more anxiety or can stop you from getting checked! But, that being said, anytime you feel anxious, talk to your health practitioner, he/she can tell you how to proceed.

Myth #1: You can shake the baby loose. In older times, many women were told to stay in bed to make sure the egg developed. For some women, bed rest is required due to personal health issues and is recommended by her health practitioner. For most women, however, continuing daily activity is even more important for the health of the baby: while your healthy, your baby is healthy. I ran a 10k race 5 weeks pregnant because I didn't know I was pregnant. Even if the egg is in the stage of attaching to the uterine wall, it won't be shaken loose. The egg may not attach or develop for a number of reasons, going for a run or walking up the stairs is the least likely cause.
Truth: Health Practitioners encourage low-impact exercise in pregnancy to protect the mother from working out too hard and decrease the chance of injury from a fall or other cause. If you are already a runner, keep running but decrease intensity as you're starting to feel more tired. As I say often: stick to maintaining your fitness level.

Myth #2: You can't put your arms over your head: If this were law, I wouldn't survive a day!
Truth: The reason this myth exists is because of your blood pressure. When you're standing blood begins to pool in your lower extremities, when you have your arms up, it can happen more if not faster. While you're pregnant, your cardiovascular system is in serious overdrive: more blood is pumping at a faster rate. To prepare your body for this, your veins and arteries actually increase in size to accommodate but until the blood catches up, you may feel dizzy or faint. This myth actually can affect anyone, not just pregnant woman but because of the blood volume, it happens faster. To prevent dizzy spells and fainting: eat, hydrate, and rest. During a class, I stop between tracks to talk to participants and I get lower to the ground while changing weights and walk around the stage a bit more to keep blood from pooling. If you monitor your blood pressure throughout your pregnancy, you will have no problem putting up your arms. 

I had an incident in that I fainted on New Year's Eve and ended up in emergency. I was standing admiring my beautiful friend saying her wedding vows when suddenly everything went blurry.  I closed my eyes for just a second and opened them to find my husband over me looking very worried. I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and was told several times how common it is for women to faint particularly at the beginning of their 2nd trimester, I wish I had known that before! My ego was bruised but baby was fine! If ever you're feeling dizzy, rest and hydrate.

Myth #3: No lifting: I'm amazed this myth even exists, talk about overly generalized! Canada wouldn't exist if this were true.
Truth: You can pick up a chair, weights, etc., but don't strain yourself.  Helping your friend move a piano or lifting moving boxes is not recommended because it can lead to tearing the placenta from the uterine wall. I asked my doctor about this and he said it's actually very difficult to tear your placenta but it is still is a risk. Try to stick to functional exercises that will build strength for delivery and post-partum care. As always stated, lift with your legs and you may need to lower your strength training weights. You will find you still get the same workout because your body is working at a very different efficiency rate anyways. Post-partum, especially if you have a C-Section, your health practitioner may advise no lifting as you heal from delivery.

Myth #4: Bending over or lying on your stomach can crush your baby:
Truth:   Your baby is extremely well protected in the amniotic sac so it is very difficult to harm your baby by bending forward. What you may find, however, is that it's practically impossible to bend forward or lay flat on your stomach! Even at 6 months I have a hard time bending over to tie my sneakers and I find it's hard to breathe in that position. So while you're not actually harming the baby, it's very uncomfortable for you. This is a great time to enlist your partner's help or stop untying your sneakers between workouts. You may also need to alter your stretching as the belly gets larger.

Myth #5: You can't let your heart rate go over 140 bpm

Truth:  The reason this myth exists is to prevent women from overexerting themselves so it's used as a guideline for monitoring intensity but somehow became law. The number exists because your baby's heart rate is generally about twice your heart rate, as yours increases, so does baby's. Giving women a guideline was to prevent the fetus' heart rate from going too high which can be dangerous. The problem with this myth is that everyone's heart rate varies and can increase to a varying limit. When not pregnant, you measure your target heart rate zone for your ideal workout by using the formula [220-your age] as the high limit and [200-your age] as the low. For pregnant women, rather than trying to measure in numbers, use the test of perceived exertion: about 12-14 out of 20 on the Borg scale or somewhat hard (a 6 is considered no exertion while 20 is maximal exertion). Try to maintain a conversation. You are allowed to sweat and your heart is allowed to beat hard. Remember that your resting heart rate will be higher and your heart rate will increase faster than pre-pregnancy.

Myth #6: No core exercises allowed

Truth:   Your core muscles are used in all daily activities especially to help maintain balance and posture. It's actually important to develop your core muscles to help support the baby in the womb, to help with back pain, and to help with delivery. You'll find your stomach returns to "normal" more quickly and easily after birth if you continue to strengthen your core. Standard core exercises are fine in the first trimester but as your belly begins to protrude, you will need to modify your exercises: no more lying flat on your back and you may find standard crunches difficult. Try planks, using an exercise ball, standing core exercises or side-lying exercises instead. Interestingly, I was speaking with a fellow instructor who had her baby last year. She was telling me how impressed the doctors were with her strength and that pushing was easier and faster thanks to it!

Myth #7: You can cook your baby. If you're sweating, you're overheating!
Truth:  Sweat is the natural way your body cools itself. It is true that you should avoid hot tubs, saunas, and tanning beds so as not to raise your body temperature too high but sweating because you're exerting energy will not cause your body temperature to rise to a dangerous limit. That being said, exercising in a hot environment such as running outside mid-summer or Hot Yoga can can be dangerous so avoid those types of activities. You'll find that your body will sweat more because your temperature will rise faster but your body will also force you to stop sooner which will prevent you from hitting a dangerous high. Don't forget to hydrate often!

Myth #8: Only swimming and Yoga for 40 weeks!

Truth: This follows along the same principles of shaking your baby loose. Fitness experts suggest swimming and yoga as a great way to make exercise a part of your life because it is very low-impact and easy on the joints and these are great forms of exercise. Walking, though, happens to still be the best form of exercise because it is a functional exercise which means it will be part of your everyday life. Yoga and swimming are great to increase stretching and are especially good for those with joint pain but adding in other forms of cardio such as low-impact aerobics and indoor cycling will also strengthen your cardiovascular system (and baby's too!) and is a fabulous option for those accustomed to more intense workouts.

Myth #9: You're eating for two so eat whatever you want!
Truth: I would be overjoyed to let this myth balloon out of control and for many women, it does! Remember that if you're in a healthy body weight category pre-pregnancy, you should aim to gain 25-35 lbs, that's 7-8 lbs the first trimester and 1-2 lbs per week after that (or eating about an additional 300 calories a day). It's funny how many people will actually encourage you to eat more and fill your plate right up! First you may find you can't eat as much at one sitting because baby is taking up the room where stomach used to be but, second, you're hungry more times in the day. Stick to small meals a few times a day to keep your energy up and avoid indigestion. There are many online calculators (an even an app) that can help you track your pregnancy weight gain.

Sure you're going to lose weight after you have the baby because the weight from the amniotic fluid and the actual baby will be gone then breastfeeding burns calories like crazy but you're also going to be in a new rhythm of life with an erratic schedule. Taking the additional 60lbs off might be tough and you're watchful eating may turn into stuffing anything possible between feedings and diaper changes. Although we all have those friends who lost it "no problem", they're likely the ones who seem to generally eat whatever they want all the time. Does this mean you can't indulge from time to time? I'm going to admit that there's a DQ blizzard in the freezer right now (I haven't had any actual cravings but I keep obsessing over cookie dough so I thought a blizzard would be a good compromise; and plus, they're on sale right now!) and I do plan on eating my St Patty's Day fish and chips. However, I will be going on a long walk with the dog tomorrow morning and will be teaching a BODYPUMP class in the afternoon. I also don't eat like this everyday, normally the extent of my sweet indulgence is fruit and maybe a hot chocolate. It had been so long since I had a blizzard that I couldn't even pronounce the one my husband likes and the cost of extra toppings has tripled! I also have a feeling that it's going to taste incredibly delicious at the moment I eat it, then I'll be paying for it later with indigestion. So enjoy an indulgence from time to time but be sure to balance it with exercise and watchful eating. But, just because you exercise while pregnant doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want, so don't try that excuse either.

Myth #10: Exercise will cause pre-term labour

Truth: There was actually a study published in the America Journal of Epidemiology (2008;167(7):859-856) that looked at the amount of exercise in relation to labor and found there was in fact a reduced risk of preterm labor in 40% of the women who did some kind of exercise during pregnancy compared to those who did no exercise therefore these findings follow other studies that are not any adverse effects of exercise on labour. This study was done in response to another completed by the Danish National Birth Cohort that was trying to prove that exercise was linked to preterm births. Because exercise increases adrenaline and noradrenaline (which is the neurotransmitter that affects the uterus), it could be linked to uterine contractions. The study completed by the Danish National Birth Cohort was dismissed with many conflicting studies. While strenuous exercise could bring on contractions, more likely these are false labour pains and should go away with rest and water. Closer to your due date, your body may be ready to go into labour and women are often encouraged to be active to stimulate muscles and bring on labour, but another myth is that one particular exercise will be more effective than another...sorry, not true either. But, I did hear an interesting story of a woman who did Burpees to get things going and it worked.  For now, I'm going to avoid them but it might not hurt to try later on!

Bonus: Myth #11: A study said....so it must be true!

Truth: As an MA student, I read A LOT of studies. When you really look at a study though, it's amazing how many do not follow the criteria of "good" research: repeatable, large/random sample group, methodology fits the outcome, conclusions fit the results. For a fitness course we were asked to find a study and discuss it.  First, it was incredibly difficult to find the source of "the study" when I went looking for studies. The study I mentioned above commented immediately on the flaws of the Danish Birth Cohort's study because of the size of their sample group. A study with good research should be made up of a large, random group of people.  Although research could be published having only studied 5 women who all live in the same neighbourhood, it does not fit the criteria of "good" research. Second, when it comes to studies about pregnancy, most studies have never actually been done on pregnant women. Why? There aren't many pregnant women who are willing to give their bodies to science at this fragile time in their lives. Because of this, most of the research has to be self-reported or is based on similar studies so there is always the element of bias. Research that was completed post-partum (eg: effects of alcohol, smoking, caffeine, types of cheeses and meats, etc.) are often in relation to high amounts of the substance or the substance was tainted so it's difficult to conclude the effects of a "normal" amount. With all that being said, stick to your gut. Studies tend to publish the worst that can happen so go research a bit more, follow the paper trail and make your own decision.

It's always good to remember that every pregnancy is different.  When reading pregnancy books and online articles (including this blog) the information presented is often generalized and fits the "norm". It also seems that every symptom is normal. Whenever you have a concern, talk to your health practitioner before hitting the internet and take all the research (that's not government funded) with a grain of salt!

See you at the gym!!