Pregnancy and Surfing Tip from a Surfing Mum

by Jodie Wittig Byron Bay Surfing Mums

There’s a lot to learn about pregnancy and babies and if you thought being pregnant may interrupt your surfing wait till you have the baby! Unless of course you are part of a surfing mums group.

The biggest dilemma with being pregnant and surfing is where to put your  expanding belly.

I’d only been surfing about 18months when I fell pregnant with my first child, Noah (now 2yrs 8mths), so I wasn’t exactly shredding up the waves but the joy of being out in the ocean  was something I really didn’t want to miss out on for the next 9 months. Initially I felt OK lying on the board and with minimal morning sickness I still managed to get a few waves .Then I had a particularly nasty encounter going over the falls and collided with the board badly bruising my leg , head and ego. It was a big reality check as I considered myself lucky the board didn’t hit me in the belly. At this stage I was about 10 weeks pregnant and decided that it was probably a lot safer to swim laps at the pool instead. As much as I love swimming its not exactly the sense of satisfaction you get from catching a wave or the joy of being out there with the dolphins around you. Seeing me sitting on the beach like a surf widow I think my husband, Geoff, felt sorry for me or maybe a bit guilty that he was out there and I wasn’t , as for Christmas he gave me an inflatable surf mat ,the red and blue type with handles. With my swim fins on and a soft mat underneath me there was plenty of room for my growing belly and I was back in action. Surf mats are not the easiest vessel to paddle especially in whitewater as being so buoyant you tend to get washed back in. Wearing swim fins is a must not only to get out there but to propel yourself onto the wave as well. It was so much fun I really didn’t feel like I was missing out at all. In fact I caught much bigger waves than I would have attempted on my board as there’s not much chance you wont make the take off. I surfed on the mat up until I was about 32 weeks pregnant without any dramas and 5 weeks after the birth of my son I was back on my board. The trusty surf mat didn’t sit idle for too long as my son has been riding it with his Dad since he was about 10 months old, must feel like familiar territory to him!

 

Pregnancy and Surfing

By Lorraine Aromando


Finding out that I was going to have a baby was wonderful news and with all the excitement I never put any thought into how it would affect my surfing. Now mind you I surf for fun; I am not a professional. I compete only in those occasional, enjoyable contests that allow us amateurs, kooks and old timers to enter, no questions asked. During the first few weeks I surfed whenever there were waves. With no visible signs of pregnancy, was I supposed to toss my board in the garage and hang up my wetsuit for good?

When I went for my first visit to the doctor, she didn’t tell me that I couldn’t surf. In fact, she told me she had continued skiing into her second trimester without any problems. She said the decision was entirely up to me (I can’t even decide between vanilla and chocolate ice cream). Being athletic, I wanted to continue my routine of light lifting and cardio exercises. The doctor assured me these exercises were fine, as long as my body was accustomed to them - these were predictable, non-contact exercises - but surfing is anything but predictable. No two rides are the same and no two pregnancies are the same.


Every Pregnancy is Different
If you really want to surf, sometimes a “wait and see” approach is necessary, which is what Alison Ferguson of Watergirl USA is doing. Currently in her fourth month of pregnancy, Alison has had no choice but to stop surfing, as she’s been battling queasiness. “I felt seasick for three months and couldn’t get off the boat,” says Alison. “I was not in the mood to surf at all.”

For the remainder of her pregnancy she plans to follow her instincts. And now that she is feeling better, she plans on surfing in mellow conditions. The midwives that are caring for Alison have advised her to keep on doing what she has been doing without over exerting herself. Her husband is supportive, and he hopes that for her own mental-health she can surf through most of the pregnancy. “A surfer knows their limitations – and abilities,” says Alison.

For Mindy Ballou-Fitzpatrick, a competitive surfer from North Carolina, it wasn’t a question of “should I?” or “shouldn’t I?” Mindy surfed through both of her pregnancies without any difficulties or problems and felt that if she was happy and relaxed from surfing, her unborn baby was more relaxed. Being an athlete in top shape, Mindy got the go ahead from her doctor with the advice of, “go at your own pace.” Being realistic, Mindy knew she couldn’t go as hard as she could in a non-pregnant state. Choosing the small, clean days was key according to Mindy. “I never felt guilty. As I got bigger I was adjusting to my weight on a daily basis. I would have never gone out in hurricane surf.”

During her second pregnancy, Mindy surfed up to seven and one-half months and still placed third at the ESA Surfing Championships. “They compared me to the buoy because I was dressed in orange and was so big!” she says. Mindy remembers competing during a choppy, ragged day. As she was paddling over a wave, her hand slipped from the board which then hit her in the ribs. “That did scare me,” says Mindy who checked in with a doctor on the beach just to be safe.


Risks and Benefits
According to most doctors and midwives, exercising during pregnancy is beneficial. Exercise helps keep the mother in shape for the tough labor to come. If you chose to surf, use common sense. Smaller days with more manageable conditions allow moms-to-be water time in a somewhat lower risk environment. For even safer water time, Dr. Deborah Saez-Lacy, OB-GYN recommends swimming as an alternative to surfing. “With swimming, the mother is not taking any risks to the pregnancy. It’s the best sport for pregnancy.” Another doctor interviewed said that if you are not feeling up to it, physically or mentally, participating in any sport during pregnancy isn’t recommended.

Not all doctors would agree that surfing is a safe sport for pregnant women. Although it is a non-contact sport, the ocean is unpredictable. One doctor I spoke with cautioned that pregnant women should be comfortable with the risks involved, as the possibility of getting hit with your or another surfer’s board does exist. One of the biggest threats to the fetus is the mother suffering a powerful blow to the abdomen. Although the unborn baby is well shielded in the womb, such a force could be damaging to the protective wall surrounding the baby. Dr. Saez-Lacy cautions that while most exercises are valuable for the baby and the mother, “Sports that have a significant risk of impact should be watched.”

Besides getting hurt, surfing poses other concerns. As a woman’s belly continues to grow, her center of gravity shifts. It may not be as easy to maintain balance and control while standing up. Paddling may also become difficult.

It is perfectly normal to feel guilty that something may happen when you are pregnant and surfing. It is also all right to get over it and continue surfing. Of course no doctor would recommend learning to surf if you are pregnant.

After surfing throughout one of my own pregnancies without problems I figured little would be different for my next. But the circumstances surrounding my second child were very different. My doctor changed; my health changed, and my attitude changed. After going through weeks of gut-wrenching vomiting, I was hospitalized for dehydration. Like Alison Ferguson, I couldn’t even think of exercising. However, after three months and feeling more like normal I asked my doctor about surfing. I will never forget his stern voice as he offered to walk me through a preemie ward and see if I felt like surfing then. He went on to tell me that if I couldn’t make this sacrifice for nine months I was selfish.

I reasoned with myself. My first pregnancy went along fine with plenty of exercise and surfing. So for baby number two, I chose the smaller days to surf.

As misfortune would have it, “Dr. Paranoia” was right! It was well into my third trimester during the late summer and I was still surfing. I had spent the day on the beach and just couldn’t resist the waves. I guess I didn’t realize that the exertion and the sun had taken a toll on me. I began having dull pains late that afternoon. When I called my doctor he had me meet him at the hospital right away. By then, I really knew something was wrong. As tests were being performed, he had me run through everything I had done that day. How could I tell my doctor that I had gone surfing at almost eight months pregnant? After everything was said and done, I went home to a prescription of bed rest and a constant dose of meds to keep any contractions minimal. For the remainder of my pregnancy, I had to monitor everything I did. I wasn’t even allowed to walk down stairs. Guilt set in. Why couldn’t I just sacrifice my surf time and wait a few months? Whether it was right or wrong, I had done this to myself.

While each pregnancy is different and the physician’s advice may change depending upon the pregnancy, it is important for a woman to pay attention to her own body. Luckily, I carried my second child to full-term. My son was born via c-section without any major complications. Two weeks later, my family headed up to Rhode Island for beautiful, head-high waves at Matunick. It was early fall; the waves were perfect, and I was on it. Stitches and all!

Source: www.girlssurflife.com