THE MOUNTAINS
Lugging a heavy bump up a mountain can be tiring work, but amazingly the body adapts to cope with the extra stress. For example, the change in centre of gravity as the bump grows is offset by changes to the position of the spine, shoulders, pelvis, hips and knees. There is also a decrease in step length and a change to walking gait. Remodelling of the muscles of the heart and chest enables more blood to be pumped per heartbeat and more air to pass in and out of the lungs on each breath. This preserves cardiovascular function in the face of a 50% increase in blood volume and higher requirement for oxygen with baby in tow. For conditioned athletes who remain active during pregnancy, there’s even a chance of a permanent 5-10% increase in aerobic endurance after baby is born.
HILL WALKING FOR TWO
There are plenty of reasons to continue hill walking in pregnancy. Firstly, weight-bearing exercise is the most effective kind for obtaining the additive benefits of pregnancy and exercise. In fact, in one study, athletes undertaking “high-impact exercise more than fives times weekly” were far less likely to need an emergency C-section than other mums-to-be. Secondly, if you take things at a comfortable pace, hill walking is a low to moderate intensity form of exercise where sudden increases in heart rate need not be a concern. Baby’s heart rate will normally increase slightly as you exercise but in bouts of high-intensity exertion (above 90% maximum heart rate) there is evidence that the baby’s heart rate will start to drop. For this reason, pregnant women are advised to avoid overly ‘strenuous’ activities. To avoid concern, I wore a heart-rate monitor while hill walking during my first pregnancy. This helped me keep an eye on my effort levels, knowing that ratings of perceived exertion in pregnancy are now generally recognised as unreliable. As BMC Medical Advisor Dr David Hillebrandt says: “Pregnancy and mountaineering are great adventures. There is no reason why the two cannot be combined, if done in a sensible and informed way.”
“PREGNANCY AND MOUNTAINEERING ARE GREAT ADVENTURES. THERE IS NO REASON WHY THE TWO CANNOT BE COMBINED.”
MOUNTAINEERING MUMS-TO-BE
All good medical advice for exercising in pregnancy advises against sports with a high risk of falling or abdominal trauma. For this reason, if you are going mountaineering it is advisable to stay well within your comfort level. Climbing when pregnant can be made significantly safer by sticking to seconding or top-roping, but the same cannot really be said of alpine mountaineering where the implications of any fall can still be significant. In both cases it would be prudent to wear a full-body harness from the second trimester onwards, when the uterus sits higher and is no longer protected by the pelvis. Alpine days are also usually big days, with prolonged exertion and significant UV exposure. Pregnant women often find that their skin is more sensitive to UV and burns more easily. For this reason it is advisable to keep a steady pace and stay hydrated (avoid overheating), and use lots of high-factor sun cream. During the first trimester of my current pregnancy, I went hut-to-hut ski touring in the Silvretta, taking in the summit of Piz Buin enroute (3,312 m). The
62 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN. REMOTENESS
Pregnant women are not “ill”, but need to make sensible decisions when taking risks for two. If hill walking in the first trimester, be aware of the risk of miscarriage when far from help. Sadly one in six pregnancies end this way, but it is highly unlikely that exercise would be a causal factor as most are due to chromosomal abnormalities. Consider choosing more accessible routes or more populated mountains with paths. During both my pregnancies, I tended to avoid hill walking alone and kept an eye on my phone signal.
35 weeks: Beinn Lora, Argyll.
26 weeks: Le Tour des Aiguilles de Bavella, Corsica.
NAVIGATION SKILLS
Always important, but it’s vital that you know exactly where you are and can let the mountain rescue know your location precisely if you need medical assistance. Take a GPS too.
First trimesta: Silvretta ski tour.
HILL WALK WHEN PREGNANT
HOW TO:
Hill walking while pregnant brings with it a set of special considerations
BALANCE
After the first trimester, postural balance starts to be affected. As a consequence, pregnant women are 2-3 times more likely to be injured by falling. I found that by keeping active and often moving over uneven ground, I was able to adapt to this gradual shift.
Walking poles were a great help.
SPRAINS
Be extra careful not to turn an ankle. High levels of the hormone relaxin make joints slacker during pregnancy (peaking in the first trimester and before delivery). While its main function is to aid labour by softening ligaments, it tends to increase joint laxity in the extremities, predisposing pregnant women to strains and sprains. Keep an eye on your footwork, make sure you don’t get too tired and wear suitable footwear.
ALL PHOTOS: KERI WALLACE COLLECTION.
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