Can/Should you ski if you're pregnant??

Rew · 17-02-2012 11:56pm

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

The link HAS been posted here if that's what you are saying

If you want to know what im saying I suggest you read what I wrote.

Paddy Bateman · 18-02-2012 12:02am

Rew wrote: »

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

The link HAS been posted here if that's what you are saying

If you want to know what im saying I suggest you read what I wrote.

Are you saying it should or shouldn't be posted? You seem to say one thing and imply another

avalon68 · 18-02-2012 5:19am

Stark wrote: »

Well I would say it's perfectly fine for an experienced skiier if they're being careful. The baby is very well protected within the womb. And like was mentioned earlier in the thread, pregnant women fall and hurt themselves when walking quite regularly without any harm happening to the baby.

Unfortunately, even if you are a careful competent skier, you still can't account for the actions of others......just today I got bowled over by a runaway kid.....felt like I got hit by a bus! And it's not the first time I've been run into, or run into someone else

.

Paddy Bateman · 18-02-2012 8:43am

avalon68 wrote: »

Stark wrote: »

Well I would say it's perfectly fine for an experienced skiier if they're being careful. The baby is very well protected within the womb. And like was mentioned earlier in the thread, pregnant women fall and hurt themselves when walking quite regularly without any harm happening to the baby.

Unfortunately, even if you are a careful competent skier, you still can't account for the actions of others......just today I got bowled over by a runaway kid.....felt like I got hit by a bus! And it's not the first time I've been run into, or run into someone else .

Hopefully you weren't pregnant - you could have lost the child ! Don't know how someone could live with themselves if that happened due to their selfish thrill seeking

earnyourturns · 19-02-2012 5:26am

Crikey, this is an emotive topic.

I too would have no qualms about skiing while pregnant, am an extremely experienced skier and would just tailor my ski days according to how I felt/the conditions etc. Would I do some high-speed carving down crowded icy slopes? No. Would I take off for some tight tree runs? No. Would I go off into the backcountry? No. Would I hit up the terrain park? No. Would I take the chairlift up and then cruise down some uncrowded green or blue runs, with pee breaks and hot chocolate breaks as required? Absolutely. (Bear in mind I am mainly talking about skiing in Canada here rather than very populated European resorts) I have seen women skiing when they are seven months pregnant in Canada, to no ill-effect.

I totally agree about "safety first" when it comes to skiing, won't step foot on (or off) the slopes without a helmet etc, but I really think we need to keep things in perspective here. Yes, you could be knocked into by someone else, but again if you stick to uncrowded slopes/resorts (if that option is available to you) then you're minimising risk right there.

The human body is pretty robust, even when pregnant. Probably *not* the time to head off on your first ski trip though.

am i bovvered · 19-02-2012 6:17pm

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

Hopefully you weren't pregnant - you could have lost the child ! Don't know how someone could live with themselves if that happened due to their selfish thrill seeking

Have you ever skied ?

Paddy Bateman · 19-02-2012 6:19pm

am i bovvered wrote: »

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

Hopefully you weren't pregnant - you could have lost the child ! Don't know how someone could live with themselves if that happened due to their selfish thrill seeking

Have you ever skied ?

Yes

am i bovvered · 19-02-2012 6:31pm

Then IMO you should realise that all skiing does not always involve "selfish thrill seeking" it can be very mentally soothing for somebody stressed and quite safe as as long as you are competent and stay on green or blue runs.

I find your postings here a little aggressive.

Do you believe you should not travel in a car because of pregnancy, I would say a lot more dangerous statistically than skiing a blue or green for a decent skier.

avalon68 · 19-02-2012 6:39pm

I'd agree with that- I find skiing a peaceful experience, no thrill seeking for me! However, accidents happen, and while you can minimize the risk, it is still a risk - an unnecessary one whilst pregnant. Comparing to riding in a car is irrelevant, yes statistically less people probably get injured skiing than driving, however, driving is a necessity for many people to get to work etc. skiing is not. If you have already booked, and can't get a fund, there a lots of things to do at a resort besides skiing - its probably only for a week right? I'm sure they would at least refund equipment rental etc.

EileenG · 19-02-2012 9:34pm

Very few things in life are actual necessities, and driving in a car is not one of them. It's just one where we accept the risk, including the risk to an unborn baby, because of the convenience.

Skiing may not be a necessity either, but considering it was about the only enjoyable thing I could do during my pregnancy, and that I'm a competant, experienced skier, I consider it well worth the risk.

I did cycle all through my pregnancies, and I defy anyone to tell me that's less dangerous than skiing. I was in Abbey Street yesterday and saw the remains of the bike that went under the car. I didn't hear anything about "selfish thrill seeking" when I cycled to work.

Denalihighway · 19-02-2012 11:16pm

at the risk of repetition...

the thrust of the thread is whether skiing while pregnant is "advisable". or at least it should be because that's what the OP asked. (bet they regret asking now...)

They didn't ask your personal opinion on it. Not whether you think you should do it, or whether you enjoy it, or whether it relaxes you, or whether a million other women have skied while pregnant and got away with it, or whether someone has "seen women 7 months pregnant skiing" etc, etc, etc, etc

the vast majority of medical advice seems to advise against skiing while pregnant. Sorry if that doesn't some peoples' opinion but it seems undeniable.

robinph · 20-02-2012 12:46am

Wouldn't make for much of a discussion forum then though would it?

It is not an exact science where there is a definite 100% correct answer, that is why people have been giving their opinions on the topic and arguing their reasons for that.

earnyourturns · 20-02-2012 6:44am

Denalihighway wrote: »

at the risk of repetition...

the vast majority of medical advice seems to advise against skiing while pregnant. Sorry if that doesn't some peoples' opinion but it seems undeniable.

Medical advice also used to be that women shouldn't run marathons in case it damaged their uteruses. Medical advice also used to be to smoke to combat anxiety. Medical advice also used to be blood letting to treat headaches and colds.

Peer-reviewed, evidence-based medical research is another thing. Has there been much scientific research/many studies done on women skiing while pregnant? Again, it might well be that this advice is mainly coming from doctors and other health care professionals who don't ski, so hence they advise against it.

(Incidentally, I wouldn't snowboard while pregnant, and again I'm an experienced snowboarder, have my instructor's cert etc. Just to do with the biomechanics of it and the likelihood of catching an edge etc. But again, no problem with skiing.)

Paddy Bateman · 20-02-2012 7:28am

earnyourturns wrote: »

Denalihighway wrote: »

at the risk of repetition...

the vast majority of medical advice seems to advise against skiing while pregnant. Sorry if that doesn't some peoples' opinion but it seems undeniable.

Medical advice also used to be that women shouldn't run marathons in case it damaged their uteruses. Medical advice also used to be to smoke to combat anxiety. Medical advice also used to be blood letting to treat headaches and colds.

Peer-reviewed, evidence-based medical research is another thing. Has there been much scientific research/many studies done on women skiing while pregnant? Again, it might well be that this advice is mainly coming from doctors and other health care professionals who don't ski, so hence they advise against it.

(Incidentally, I wouldn't snowboard while pregnant, and again I'm an experienced snowboarder, have my instructor's cert etc. Just to do with the biomechanics of it and the likelihood of catching an edge etc. But again, no problem with skiing.)

Your third paragraph contradicts the previous two

investment · 20-02-2012 8:34am

EileenG wrote: »

Because it's not you who is pregnant? For me, being pregnant was nine months of misery. If I'd had to miss skiing as well, I'd probably have hanged myself.

I would rather give birth twice a day, every day, than be pregnant.

Please tell me you're joking:mad:

So you would rather hang yourself and your un-born baby..If you could not get to go skiing

Some people should not be parents...this is ****ing disgusing

earnyourturns · 20-02-2012 9:29am

investment wrote: »

Please tell me you're joking:mad:

So you would rather hang yourself and your un-born baby..If you could not get to go skiing

Some people should not be parents...this is ****ing disgusing

I'm going to take a deep breath and walk away from this thread after this but no, I don't think that was what EileenG meant. I think it was more she was saying how miserable a time she had while pregnant, and how skiing was one of the few things that made things seem tolerable, and how even more miserable she would have been if she hadn't had that...

Paddy Bateman · 20-02-2012 9:33am

earnyourturns wrote: »

investment wrote: »

Please tell me you're joking:mad:

So you would rather hang yourself and your un-born baby..If you could not get to go skiing

Some people should not be parents...his is ****ing disgusing

I'm going to take a deep breath and walk away from this thread after this but no, I don't think that was what EileenG meant. I think it was more she was saying how miserable a time she had while pregnant, and how skiing was one of the few things that made things seem tolerable, and how even more miserable she would have been if she hadn't had that...

Its not advisable to use suicide to illustrate a point

robinph · 20-02-2012 9:35am

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

Your third paragraph contradicts the previous two

No it doesn't.

Snowboarding is a different activity from skiing, just happens to be done on the same mountains.

Paddy Bateman · 20-02-2012 9:52am

robinph wrote: »

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

Your third paragraph contradicts the previous two

No it doesn't.

Snowboarding is a different activity from skiing, just happens to be done on the same mountains.

But you are opining on snowboarding without peer reviews evidence which is what you want for skiing

robinph · 20-02-2012 10:29am

Paddy Bateman wrote: »

But you are opining on snowboarding without peer reviews evidence which is what you want for skiing

What, that snowboarding is different from skiing? I don't think we need a doctor to confirm that for us.

Back to the original question, which is two questions rolled into one.

"Can you ski if you're pregnant?" - Yes

"Should you ski if you're pregnant?" - Depends

The reasons for the "depends" would be based on the likes of how pregnant, how experienced a skier are you, how many times have you been before, where are you going, how high is the resort, how busy is the resort and probably a bunch of other variables that I can't think of right now.

olaola · 20-02-2012 11:09am

TBH I don't think anyone here is qualifed to give anyone else a recommendation regarding winter sports while pregnant.

Denalihighway · 20-02-2012 1:31pm

olaola wrote: »

TBH I don't think anyone here is qualifed to give anyone else a recommendation regarding winter sports while pregnant.

I agree with you.

That's why I did a quick trawl of the internet before posting and found that vast majority of medical advice was against skiing while pregnant.

I guess your next step would be contacting the medical practitioners who wrote the articles, if it doesn't suit your point of view (not you per se, I refer to anyone who wants to ski while pregnant).

That seems to be the main thrust of the pro-skiing group here. Not much is being said at all about the fact that there is overwhelming medical advice against skiing while pregnant.

The arguments are mostly based on one's PREFERENCE and anecdotal references about who did this and who did that with red herring comparisons to walking and driving etc etc. It's just not convincing unfortunately. There also seems to be a strong sense of solidarity among the female posters who have skied while pregnant or have known someone who did so, or whatever. That kind of emotion is a distraction from this.

That's all I've been trying to point out anyway. Not trying to unduly demonise anyone or anything like that.

robinph · 20-02-2012 1:56pm

If there was something to say that being at altitude or in a cold environment, despite being wrapped up warm, was an issue whilst pregnant then there would be a reason to take the medical types opinion as the only correct answer and say that nobody should ever ski whilst pregnant.

It is more of a grey area on the risk of injury, the persons general fitness level and how experienced they are at a particular activity. Apart from the fitness level the GP is not in much of a position to be commenting.

The risk of injury when skiing is incredibly low. Here is an article, admittedly a bit old and giving head and knee injuries for their statistics so not especially relevant to the potential issues that pregnancy might have...but still and interesting read: http://www.ski-injury.com/intro

I can't see anything in the medical advice to not ski about why that might be. There is no actual medical reason cited that I've seen, so it is purely on someone's opinion of the potential risk. There is a risk, and nobody is denying that, it's just what is acceptable and manageable by each person.

drkpower · 20-02-2012 3:59pm

Denalihighway wrote: »

That seems to be the main thrust of the pro-skiing group here. Not much is being said at all about the fact that there is overwhelming medical advice against skiing while pregnant.

No; there is overwhelming medical advice against falling while pregnant. Skiing itself does nothing to the baby, nothing at all; in fact, one would expect that the exercise would be positive for the baby.

So the queston is: how likely am I, given my particular circumstances, to fall (or be crashed into) and how significant might that fall be? That is a risk assessment that every mother-to-be must make. That risk assessment needs to be made vis-a-vis every activity they engage in (walking, running, cycling, the gym, yoga, driving, hill walking, whatever) as well as vis-a-vis the food they eat, the drink they drink and even the issues that cause them stress. Some mothers might quite reasonably determine that, for them, skiing is safer than hill walking or driving or the gym. Some might reasonably conclude the opposite.

The reason that doctors will, as a rule advise agianst skiing whilst pregnant, and especially why they will do so when they give blanket advice on websites, is because, as a general rule, skiing tends to be a more dangerous activity for the typical person. They do not want to provide advice that some unsuspecting pregnant woman will rely on to their detriment. But all medical advice must be given to an individual, not to the typical person. Secondly, contrary to popular opinion, very often, medical advice does not consist of 'you shalt do X' or 'you shalt not do Y' kinds of advice. It consists of advising of risks and allowing the patient to balance that risk themselves. So will every/most doctors advise every/most pregnant women not to go skiing; absolutely not.

Btw, Paddy Bateman is a notorious troll. The M.O. is the same as a guy on politics.ie (called Patrick Bateman) who freely admitted he was a troll. Paddy 'Bait' Man, get it......

flikflak · 20-02-2012 4:44pm

drkpower wrote: »

Btw, Paddy Bateman is a notorious troll. The M.O. is the same as a guy on politics.ie (called Patrick Bateman) who freely admitted he was a troll. Paddy 'Bait' Man, get it......

Thanks - suspicions confirmed.

Denalihighway · 20-02-2012 4:49pm

drkpower wrote: »

No; there is overwhelming medical advice against falling while pregnant. Skiing itself does nothing to the baby, nothing at all; in fact, one would expect that the exercise would be positive for the baby.......

again, I disagree.

The doctor is not advising against falling - they are advising against taking the risk of falling. No woman goes to their doc and says "Listen doc I'm going to Austria to fall on my ass all day for 7 days, whadda ya think?"

The doctor informs the women of the adverse effects of falls/collision/slipping etc while pregnant and based on that risk they generally advise against it.

THEN, after the advice is given...its up the individual.

You are misquoting me or other people and missing the point if you're talking about "Skiing itself does nothing to the baby" - no one is disputing that!!!

I think it's about time I excited from this. All the relevant points have been made. Only repetition at this stage.

EDIT

ps - cheers for the heads up on our troll friend.

Stark · 20-02-2012 6:01pm

Denalihighway wrote: »

again, I disagree.

The doctor is not advising against falling - they are advising against taking the risk of falling. No woman goes to their doc and says "Listen doc I'm going to Austria to fall on my ass all day for 7 days, whadda ya think?"

The doctor informs the women of the adverse effects of falls/collision/slipping etc while pregnant and based on that risk they generally advise against it.

THEN, after the advice is given...its up the individual.

For a pregnant woman to avoid the risk of falling, she'd have to strap herself into a chair for nine months.

EileenG · 20-02-2012 6:09pm

Stark wrote: »

For a pregnant woman to avoid the risk of falling, she'd have to strap herself into a chair for nine months.

And then she'd be in trouble for not staying active, thereby putting her baby at risk.

Denalihighway · 20-02-2012 8:07pm

Stark wrote: »

For a pregnant woman to avoid the risk of falling, she'd have to strap herself into a chair for nine months.

FFS! this is what I'm talking about

did I have to type the words "while skiing" after "falling" for it to make more sense?

Read my next line "The doctor informs the women of the adverse effects of falls/collision/slipping etc while pregnant and based on that risk they generally advise against it"

When I talk about falling I'm clearly talking about within the context of skiing. That post is borderliine trolling.

As Duncan would say...I'm out.

Paddy Bateman · 20-02-2012 8:37pm

Denalihighway wrote: »

Stark wrote: »

For a pregnant woman to avoid the risk of falling, she'd have to strap herself into a chair for nine months.

FFS! this is what I'm talking about

did I have to type the words "while skiing" after "falling" for it to make more sense?

Read my next line "The doctor informs the women of the adverse effects of falls/collision/slipping etc while pregnant and based on that risk they generally advise against it"

When I talk about falling I'm clearly talking about within the context of skiing. That post is borderliine trolling.

As Duncan would say...I'm out.

It's the degree of risk involved in skiing that the site I have linked to illustrates

Can/Should you ski if you're pregnant??

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