When you first discover that you’re pregnant, you’re overjoyed, but you also start to think about the many ways in which your life will change in the next nine months.
During this time, you and your baby’s health are of utmost importance.
You’ll have to be more careful about what you eat and exercise. While many people think the opposite, exercise is actually very healthy for you and your baby. However, it is strongly recommended that you avoid certain exercises like rollerblading to keep your baby safe.
It is still possible to rollerblade while pregnant, but you should take even greater precaution when engaging in this activity. Continue reading to find out more about rollerblading while pregnant.
What are the benefits of exercise during pregnancy?
As you’re dealing with all of the changes to your body during pregnancy, hitting the gym may be the last thing on your mind. However, exercising while pregnant comes with a lot of health benefits for both you and your baby.
Something as simple as a walk down the street could improve your sleep and even lead to an easier labor and quicker recovery postpartum.
But before you start, we recommend that you consult with your physician prior to engaging in any physical activity.
Once you get the green light, you can dust those sneakers off and get going!
Some of the known benefits of exercising while pregnant include:
Improves sleep
While you were probably expecting to experience sleep deprivation after the baby has come, you’d be surprised that many pregnant women also have poor sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is necessary for you to keep your health in shape.
But everything from uncomfortable sleeping positions to pregnancy symptoms can make even the deepest of sleepers lose precious sleep time.
To make matters worse, pregnant women are also more likely to experience insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea. Exercising on a consistent basis improves your quality of sleep and helps you wake up more rested.
Reduces fatigue
As your body is working to produce another life, almost any energy you have left in you disappears into thin air. Going to bed sounds much more appealing than anything else.
Most women experience fatigue during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. Doing some light exercise, even just a walk, could get your energy levels back up.
Alleviates back and pelvic pain
During pregnancy, your belly is growing, but so is your back and pelvic pain.
Some of the ways in which your body changes, such as loosening up the ligaments around your pelvis and shifting your center of gravity, cause your back to curve and your pelvis to become unstable.
This results in sore and stiff muscles. But with exercise, it is possible to ease that pain.
Lowers the chance of pregnancy complications
Even if you’ve done everything you could to keep you and your baby safe, things can turn south very quickly.
Exercising is a great way to help prevent gestational diabetes, unplanned cesarean sections, and other pregnancy or delivery complications.
What exercises should I avoid when I’m pregnant?
According to the American Colleges of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, it is recommended that women get about 30 minutes of physical activity at least five days per week throughout the entirety of their pregnancy. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Even activities like house chores would work.
While exercise is crucial to a healthy pregnancy, there are some physical activities that you should generally avoid to ensure your baby’s safety:
1. Exercise at high altitudes
It is unsafe for pregnant women to exercise at altitudes over 6,000 feet unless they’re already living at that high altitude. Research has shown that living in high altitudes could possibly be connected to pregnancy complications.
On the flip side, it would also be best for you to avoid scuba diving. As divers are returning to the surface of the water, they have to decompress.
Babies may have difficulty doing this and may succumb to decompression sickness.
2. Activities that can cause falling or abdominal injury
Anything that can make you more prone to fall, like bungee jumping, diving, contact sports, snowboarding, ice skating, and rollerblading, should be avoided at all costs.
3. Lying flat on your back
If any type of activity involves you having to lay flat on your back for a long time, it should be off-limits, especially after your fourth month.
The weight of your growing belly could put pressure on major blood vessels and restrict circulation to you and the baby. You could end up feeling nausea, dizziness, and difficulty breathing.
4. Jumping and/or sudden movements
While low impact aerobic exercise is fine for pregnant women, it can be risky if there are some jumping or sudden movements involved in the activity. Compared to before you were pregnant, your center of gravity has shifted which could affect your balance and coordination.
As a result, you may be more prone to injury.
5. Exercising in a hot environment
Raising your body temperature to more than 1.5 degrees F above your normal temperature should be avoided.
Exercising in a hot environment causes blood to be rerouted away from your uterus and your skin in an attempt for your body to cool off.
6. Motionless standing
This is more common in yoga and taichi and can cause your blood flow to restrict after the first trimester.
Can I go rollerblading while pregnant?
Now that we know a little bit about the benefits of exercising and what to avoid during pregnancy, let’s get into the specific topic of rollerblading.
As mentioned previously, it should be avoided.
Anything in the skating realm, including rollerblading, ice skating, roller skating, and hockey skating, is not safe for pregnant women. However, there’s also nothing or no one stopping you from doing it.
If you have been at it for a while and consider yourself a pro, you could do some light skating without jeopardizing your pregnancy.
Is rollerblading safe while pregnant?
Unlike many other sports, it is a surefire guarantee that everyone will get hurt at some point while they are rollerblading. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a pro, beginner, pregnant, or not pregnant.
It’s not always worth taking the risk if you and your baby’s health is on the line. It is possible that you could injure yourself due to a fall, blunt trauma, or the high-impact nature of the sport.
Below we’ll cover some of the risks more specifically involved in rollerblading.
Falling
Like we said, this is a given for any skating sport. Falling is the biggest risk involved in rollerblading, especially falling on your stomach after the first trimester.
The reason you’re more likely to fall during pregnancy is because the extra 10-15 pounds in your belly changes your center of gravity. Most likely, you started skating before pregnancy and practiced with a different center of gravity.
Since your body is different now, your balance is not what it used to be. It would be difficult to accommodate for this while pregnant as your body is constantly changing.
Additionally, a hormone called prolactin loosens up your joints in preparation for delivery, which can cause your balance to be off.
Falling could result in you landing on your belly and causing fetal injury, separation of the placenta from the fetus, premature labor, and life-threatening bone injuries.
Blunt trauma
Whether you’re aware of it or not, you are extremely fragile during this period of your life. Even if you don’t fall or get injured, you’re likely going to come into contact with other people at the rink.
Depending on how hard you get pushed or shoved, it can cause blunt trauma to your baby and result in a miscarriage or other complications in pregnancy.
High impact activities
Since rollerblading falls under this category, it means that it can become rigorous or even strenuous at times.
High impact exercises can put stress on your body, especially if you have a high-risk pregnancy.
It increases your risk of premature labor, miscarriages, and other birth complications. Not all pregnancies are the same, so there’s no way to know how one will react compared to another.
Just to be safe, it is recommended that you stick to low impact sports.
How do you stay safe rollerblading while pregnant?
Despite the risks, it is pretty common for women to rollerblade even when they’re expecting. If you do decide to rollerblade while pregnant, there are some safety precautions you should keep in mind.
1. Wear protective safety gear
In an ideal world, everyone would be wearing safety gear. Even though you’ll likely see many skaters without it, it is imperative that you wear it yourself.
At a minimum, you should be wearing a helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, and knee pads.
While they won’t save you from falling or experiencing trauma, they can lessen the impact any possible fall could have on your baby. Safety gear was designed to absorb the shock of falling.
2. Clear any obstacles
If you’re not going to be in a rink, make sure to clear out any obstacles that could be in the way or make sure to steer clear of them yourself.
Obstacles can pose a dangerous threat to any skater, so it’s best that they’re avoided while skating.
3. Pace yourself
One of the most important aspects of rollerblading while pregnant is being able to pace yourself. Don’t ever feel like you need to rush your stride.
If at any moment you doubt your ability, stop skating. Only come back into the rink when you feel confident that you can roll without too much difficulty.
4. Stay hydrated
Water is critical to our survival, and even more so during a pregnancy. In addition to keeping you cool while rollerblading, water can help you form amniotic fluid, produce blood volume, build new tissue, and flush out toxins to keep your baby healthy.
You should try to drink at least 2.3 liters of fluid every day, even more if you’re exercising.
5. Listen to your body
No one knows your body better than you – not even your doctor. Because your body is changing, you’re going to feel different on and off the rink. What was easier to you before may be a struggle to do now.
Some pregnant skaters noted that while their balance is good, the fast pace of rollerblading throws off their coordination and can be dizzying. You can continue to skate until it no longer feels good.
6. Wear loose clothing
With the new changes in your body, you’ll find that you’ll need an entirely new maternity wardrobe to accommodate it.
You’ll need to wear loose fit and breathable clothing in general and while rollerblading.
When you’re working up a sweat, your clothes will allow your body to cool down and your skin to breathe to prevent your body temperature from rising.
7. Have supervision
You never know what will happen, especially if you’re rollerblading while pregnant. And it’s better to be safe than sorry.
To keep you at ease, you should have a close friend or relative come with you rollerblading.
They can not only watch out for any obstacles or people nearby, but also be there to assist you if an emergency happens or just be there for support.
Conclusion
Traditionally, it was thought that women shouldn’t take part in any type of exercise while pregnant out of an abundance of precaution for the baby.
Nowadays, it has been shown that exercise is beneficial for both mom and baby. It can help improve sleep, fatigue, back pain, and reduces the likelihood of complications later down the line.
However, only low-impact exercises are recommended. Activities that should be avoided include those that are at high altitudes, can cause you to fall or injure yourself, and many more. This is because many of these exercises pose a threat to you and your baby’s health.
Rollerblading is usually on the list of sports to avoid while pregnant, but it is still possible to do it safely. The key is to know your body and what you can handle as well as take the extra safety precautions necessary before you do so.
Remember to always check with your doctor before you go rollerblading while pregnant.
Once you’ve had your baby and you are ready to get back to skating, you can check out our top picks on jogging strollers for rollerblading.
Good luck!
