I'm going on three months pregnant. I would love to hear how long and to what extent those of you who have children skated during your pregnancy. I'm a coach as well as a skater. I need to be on the ice coaching through mid-March, but I'm just wondering about my own skating, what kind of things are safe, and how far I can safely push myself.

I've been skating for ten years and am very secure on my feet (for now). I am skating in our holiday exhibition next Tuesday, and plan on taking my adult silver moves test on Dec. 8. I'm not showing except for a "roll" that I already had anyway. That's about all I plan on doing until after.

So is it safe to jump, spin, etc? For how long? I can do up through lutz, but my exhibition program only has toe loops, salchows, and loops.

I'd love to hear your experiences and stories!

Thanks!

A skater on my synchro team is in a very similar situation. She was planning to skate until January, but now her doctor has advised her that the risk may not be worth it. It might be a bigger concern in synchro, where you are skating quite fast in very close proximity. Major injuries can happen if there is a big pile-up. On the other hand, on my old team a girl was 5 months pregnant when she finished up the season. However, she was only 16, and kept it a secret from us! Sorry I don't have any medical information for you.

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I knew a very experienced coach/skater who skated for her entire pregnancy. She never seemed to be bothered by her weight shift. Still, I would stop. Pregnancy is a short time thing, and your carrying a priceless gift. What IF you fell and something happened? Nomatter how good you are falls happen. I've seen almost all my rink coaches fall. You can skate again after the baby arrives. Some women at my rink claim that motherhood has made them better. =-) Congrads and best luck with your decision.

Chico

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Congratulations


My coach skated until 2 days before she gave birth! She was pretty careful but was still doing spins and footwork and single jumps (which were STILL much better than mine!). I think she was back in a couple of weeks .... I couldn't believe it. She felt fine skating but I know many who do stop skating and teach from the side. Like most things I suppose it's a matter of personal preference

x

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Well for the jumps and spins maybe you could just keep it to a minimum,lets say the ones that you know you can land you can try.
Same with spins,only do the basics.Dance i think you will be ok.

Congrats as well.

I remember seeing a video of Dorothy Hamill doing a Hamill Camel when she was 6 months pregnant. All I could think of was how small was her tummy if she was that pregnant. But she looked like she could pretty much do everything as normal, except for her balance being thrown off a bit. Most of the world level skaters seemed to have kept skating well into their preganancies from what they have said in their autobiographies (Gordeeva and Fleming are two that come to mind).

I would probably be more concerned about being knocked over by someone else. But if you can handle it why not keep skating. You will probably know the time is right to get off the ice when you feel it.

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For both my pregnancies I quit skating the moment I found out. To be honest I didn't have an easy time as the first time round I had a threatened miscarriage at 6 weeks and was advised to avoid any exercise at all and gave birth 7 weeks prematurely following a placental abruption. So as soon I discovered I was pregnant for a second time I stopped. I was advised to not even swim but still gave birth 10 weeks early.

However even if you are having a straightforward pregnancy and are a strong skater, I would certainly advise you to be very careful. I wouldn't recommend any jumps or spins or intricate footwork that could put you at a risk of falling. You must also remember that during pregnancy your ligaments soften in preparation for the birth and this can result in additional damage.

As a coach I don't see that you should give up altogether. We certainly had a coach who coached up until a few hours before the birth, but she wasn't actively skating, just standing around and doing simple demonstrations.

Just go with how comfortable you are with what you can do, but all in all remember that although it may not seem like it at the time, it's only a few months and sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry.

Nicki

I skated to 6 months with my first pregnancy until I had spotting after a practice. Other women have skated past their due dates. (LOL!) Still others I know didn't make it past the first trimester. Fortunately, I don't know any skaters who lost a baby. (Myself included) Realize that you CAN fall and hurt yourself or the baby. Your center of gravity changes, there's a hole, rut, or trash on the ice. It only takes a second. I know most of my falls are from NOTHING -- a wrong step, catching a toe pick, whatever. I don't fall out of camels or jumps.

This question really depends on your pregnancy and health. You and your doctor should make this decision. You should talk to your doctor and take his/her advice.

I once skated in a Nutcracker on Ice show with a woman who was 7 months pregnant. She was as big as a house!

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I skated while 5 1/2 months pregnant, but to be fair, I hadn't really even been on the ice for about a year, so all I did was stroll around and try a couple of spins and half-flips (originally had through sal solid, and flip inconsistent). Had I been skating more, I would have done more, I'm sure.

My good skating buddy skated all through her pregnancy, but again, she didn't have all that many skills *to* do, so she mainly strolled around and did a few half-flips, and waltz jump attempts. She was exceptionally stable, though.

There was a coach at my rink who skated all through her pregnancy, even demonstrating single jumps in her last week. I've heard that she fell once (small kid ran into her from behind), but was just fine.

I also saw a woman compete at AN (I think, might have been Wyandotte) who was 5 months along, at Silver level.

Basically, my view is that if you have a low-risk pregnancy and are stable on the ice, skate as long as you want! Keep it to moves that you are very sure about, and if at any time you feel unstable, stop. I think that most doctors who freak out about pregnant women skating picture their patient wobbling along, hanging on to the boards! (If that's you, don't skate, but if not, I think you're fine!)

I've heard that during pregnancy, some women's feet change size. My skate pro says that this is sometimes permanent, sometimes temporary. I wonder if a foot-size change along with weight gain during the pregnancy would cause the boots to stretch? Then if the feet go back to your normal size, would the boots be too loose?

This might not be too big of a problem... But Mel1977, will you be needing new boots anytime soon? If you do, I wonder if you'd get better results by waiting until after the pregnancy to get new boots....

Hello Mel1977,

It's nice to know that there is someone else who is expecting on these boards too. I'm just a little over a month behind you, and I have the same concerns as you do. I spoke to my doctor about my concerns and she told me that as long as skating is part of your regular routine, and you're not trying any new daring moves, skating should be fine-- with caution. I think it's different with every person. If you have health problems or a history of miscarriages, then continuing to skate may not be a good idea.

This weekend will be my first time skating knowing that I am pregnant (I just found out about a week ago), and I wonder how it will affect my skating. I will probably be less compelled to do too many jumps, and I think that I'll continue spinning unless I feel too sick to spin. My doctor told me to listen to my body and adjust accordingly.

Congratulations and good luck to you. Please keep in touch!

Emily

I remember when I first found out I was expecting and was determined to carry on skating, but knowing that I was pregnant completely changed the way I felt about being on the ice. I don't know if it was some strong maternal urge to protect my unborn child, but once I knew, I found myself very wary about being on the ice, and not at all "at home" on it like I usually am.

Nicki

Thanks everyone for the advice and experiences. Like I said my plan is to skate in our exhibition on Tuesday, and take my moves test on December 8th, and that will probably be it for my skating until after the baby is born. Our club is doing "Beauty and the Beast" in March, but I think I'll be skipping that one! (Although by then I'm sure I'd make an excellent Beast! )

My skaters that I coach are all of a level that they are pretty independent that I don't have to demonstrate every little thing. Mostly I hang by the boards and offer advice.

Eliao, the first week I skated after I found out I was more worried about spinning than jumping. It didn't make me any sicker than usual, but I was worried about that motion. Just take it easy and stick to things that you already can do solidly.

Had my first prenatal appointment Wednesday and everything was good, I even got to hear the heartbeat!

HEY,CONGRATULATIONS Mel.!!!!!! That's short for Melissa right? After you have your little one. Please oh pretty please,put some pictures up? I'd love to see the next skatingforums baby.

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I remembered reading on the skating newsgroups about a skater who did flying camels one night while NINE MONTHS PREGNANT! If that wasn't enough, she delivered a healthy baby the next day!!!

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Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

My husband's coach was teaching on the ice until 2 days before she gave birth (and it would have been the day before, but for the fact that there's no teaching ice at our rink on Mondays), and was back teaching, on the ice, holding a child in a harness less than a week later!

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My first coach skated until the day she delivered, and was back on the ice skating and coaching a week later. I remember one of the parents saying she saw her doing laybacks when she was 36 weeks pregnant. It must have been a sight to see. Anyway from a medical perspective, I would check with your doctor and see what they have to say. If you have a low risk pregnancy and aren't experiencing any problems skating should be fine, but if you notice any unusual pains, spotting, or anything that is concerning, I would stop. You're body will be going through some pretty big changes, so just take it easy and play it by ear. Skating in and of itself shouldn't be an issue as long as you modify to fit your changing body.

CONGRATULATIONS!

My coach skated until her fifth month during her first pregnancy, when she broke her wrist in a truly freak accident involving my daughter and no fall. She skated up until a week of her due date during her second pregnancy. During the first, she was only coaching, and continued from the boards, but during her second, she had started skating for herself again, and continued with moves, dance and spins. I don't recall how much jumping she did, if any. She did say that skating was easier and more comfortable for her than walking was, and that she thought falling forward onto her belly was very unlikely.

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I had a coach who had continued to skate during her pregnancy but took a sudden, bad fall when she was about 7 1/2 months along. When she went to her OB/GYN to get everything checked out and told the doctor what had happened, the doctor's response was something like, "You were doing WHAT??" After that, she coached from the boards!

She was a good coach from the boards, though, and I improved a lot even though she couldn't get out there and show me stuff. I'd say your plan of skating in the show and taking your test is probably a good one, but it might be a good idea to run it by your doctor just in case. Good luck!

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Just my two cents here - my coach decided she was going to skate through her pregnancy and the doctor said fine. At five plus months she was knocked over by another skater and started contractions. It was horrible to witness. After a spell in the hospital she returned but only from the boards.
The message I would like all our pregnant skaters to get is that it doesn't matter how you feel because it isn't really about you anymore.
It's about that new life your responsible for. It is unfortunate that there are accidents at the rink but it is reality. As the sign in every rink I have here skated at says "Skate at your own Risk!" or your own and your baby's.

I just had a baby....7 weeks ago.

I stopped skating when I found out because why take the risk? I never know when I'm going to fall....I've been skating for 7 years.

I've seen even more experienced skaters take some falls. I mean it could be as simple as forgetting to take off your blade guards...down you go.

But I'm not a big risk taker and from what I've heard its the first and second month, when the fetus has just attached to the uterus that is the most dangerous.....if you're going to skate probably a good idea to wait until the little guy has a hold of you first!

Congrats! This was my first and it was WONDERFUL..and my little guy is WONDERFUL! I can't skate as much as I used to, but it just doesn't seem as important anymore.......

*gasp* where do you skate?!! My rink has a nutcracker on ice and i live in the "chicago suburbia" AND there was a pregnant woman in the show !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I've had a coach who skated while pregnant, but I was having a lesson with her on public ice and a boy slid into her. Luckily, I saw it happening, and was able to hold on to her to steady her. But we agreed that the public ice lessons needed to end at that time.

About the lovely foot-enlargement disease I've gained a full shoe size after 2 pregnancies!

Schmeck

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blades, gary, Lucy, Emily, take care of Aiden and Sami. Sami is my sweetest heart, and always will be, forever. RIP Cubby Boy, my hero dog.

I must admit I told my husband he was not, copper-bottomed not, to ask his coach to dance with him while she was expecting. Poor woman has to do the Foxtrot with him occasionally now, though.... to my delight I find that the bit where we usually go wrong is him not me!

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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
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