Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 04:51 pm
With all the advice, instructions, and restrictions that come along with pregnancy, you might be wondering if your normal hobbies and activities are safe for you (and the bun in your oven). This is a worry many outdoor enthusiasts share when they get pregnant; they wonder whether they can hike while pregnant, or if they should glue themselves to the couch for the next nine months. Fortunately, experts have good news.
Hiking, within reason, does not pose any danger to women or their unborn child during normal pregnancy. In fact, hiking can be a great way to get low impact pelvic floor exercise, promote healthy blood flow, and staying sane during what can be a very difficult nine months.
In this post, we provide a guide to enjoying your love for hiking while pregnant and seek to address many of the questions moms in the first trimester have.
Before Hiking... Go to The Doctor!
Getting that positive on a pregnancy test is a flurry of excitement. Amidst that flutter, you’ll likely be scheduling an appointment with your doctor to discuss the pregnancy. While you’re in, you will want to get some basic information from your doctor before you hit the trails. While exercise during pregnancy is generally a good thing, every pregnancy is different, and it is important to discuss YOUR pregnancy with YOUR doctor.
During Your First Doctor Appointment
One of the first doctor appointments you’ll have in your pregnancy will include an early ultrasound.
The intent of the ultrasound is to identify certain conditions (if any). The ultrasound may help inform a doctor whether setting mama-specific guidelines for the pregnancy is necessary.
At the very least, the ultrasound and initial appointment is a good time to discuss the type of hiking you plan to do and ask whether that would work for YOUR pregnancy.
When Your Doctor May Limit Activity
While not likely, an ultrasound can provide a doctor with information that could warrant prescribing bed rest. Bed rest is a doctor’s order that would contain varying degrees of activity restriction for pregnant mothers (source).
Activity restrictions are based on the specific condition, and the overall delicacy of a pregnancy, for the mother.
If told to limit restrictions by a doctor, it could mean that you should avoid anything that gets you sweating and your heart pumping, although guidelines often vary from women to women based on the pregnancy.
If your doctor expresses the need for activity restrictions, bring up light impact hiking such as walking on a paved trail, with no extra pack weight. Your physician might approve this kind of activity, as long as you monitor your exertion levels and bring a hiking buddy.
If Your Doctor Suggests Limiting Activity
It is very uncommon for a pregnancy to require extreme limitations on activity, at least in the first trimester. That being said, if your doctor suggests limiting activity, listen to your doctor.
There are instances in which a doctor might order a woman to follow strict bed rest rules. The conditions that might justify this order are normally quite severe. Going against your doctor’s orders would put you and your baby’s health at stake.
If you are worried you might have a condition that would warrant limiting activity, you can read about some condition indicators here.
When Your Doctor Gives The Green-Light To Go Hiking
Even a remarkably healthy woman with a textbook pregnancy should let her doctor know she plans on hiking.
Trekking during the first trimester doesn’t have to be a scary activity, but getting the green-light from a physician really is the first step. It will help address any anxiety you feel around hiking and will likely help set some basic boundaries for you to follow.
Trekking during the first trimester can be an extremely therapeutic experience, and getting approval from a physician first is the best way to actually enjoy your hikes.
The rest of this post is devoted to outlining some awesome tips for when you do step on the hiking trails with your growing companion.
Pregnant Hiking is Better (and Safer) With a Buddy
For a lot of us, hiking is a blissful means of escape where we finally get to be alone. While being along in nature has a very balancing effect on the mind and soul, in the name of compromise, if you want to hike while pregnant, having a pal with you is a very good idea. There are two main reasons why:
- You need someone there if anything goes wrong: Pregnancy can have unpredictable effects on your body. Inner balance, blood pressure, and blood sugar can all fluctuate wildly during pregnancy. Should you lose your balance, lose consciousness, or encounter any other emergency, someone needs to be there to assist you and call for help.
- It becomes easier to follow the ‘conversation rule’: The conversation rule is a general rule-of-thumb created to help keep track of exertion. Essentially, you want to be able to maintain a conversation during physical activity. This can be especially helpful for those who have been ordered to any degree of bed rest.
Having a hiking buddy allows you to chat back and forth to monitor your breathing levels.
In the middle of your hike, if you find that you’re so out of breath that you can’t form a full sentence at a time, it might be time to take a breather and recollect.
Pack Your Hiking Bag...
…but maybe don’t carry it on your own.
Listen, the part of your body that is doing all the work safe harboring your baby is a muscle. And that muscle is already working hard. Hiking is also a workout, so you need to give a little somewhere to make sure you aren’t packing more onto your body than you can handle. I am sure your hiking buddy would be more than willing to help carry a few items for you.
More Reasons Not to Carry Too Much Weight
A woman’s body can put on up to 50 extra pounds during pregnancy. It’s good practice to restrict additional weight from bags and packs to 10-15 pounds.
The more you carry on your hike, the faster your heart will beat as your body exerts more energy. In return, you might feel more severe dehydration, motion sickness, and body soreness as the weight you are carrying increases.
Additionally, a pregnant woman’s center of balance changes as her pregnancy progresses. Overloading yourself with a heavy pack can lead to a painful and dangerous tumble.
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This is one of the reasons hiking with a friend is such a good idea. They’d probably be willing to throw your hiking supplies in their pack so you can focus on enjoying the views and, you know… growing a life inside you.
Check Your Pack List Twice
You don’t want to get on the trails and realize you didn’t bring something you need. This is always true when hiking, but even more so when carrying a baby.
From potty breaks to dehydration to swollen ankles, there’s a lot that can happen during a hike for a pregnant woman. Being prepared before heading out will help ensure none of that stops you before going off the grid.
Below are the essentials you’ll want to pack while hiking pregnant:
Pregnant Packlist Essentials
- Water: Lots of it. Staying hydrated is one of the most important parts of hiking while pregnant, especially if you are going out in extremely sunny or hot conditions. You will want to make sure you consume eight to ten ounces of water every one to two hours during your hike (Sorry, Gatorade doesn’t count!).
- Your cell phone…With a full battery: Even though you should have a hiking buddy with you. And they should have a phone of their own, you can never have too many ways (and back-up plans) to call authorities in case of an emergency. Bring your phone in case you get separated from your hiking partner or something is wrong with their phone. And, hello, mountain selfies, anyone?
- Snacks: We all know pregnancy cravings can be wild, but maybe don’t bring the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and bulk-sized Nutella. For your hiking adventures, your snacks should be protein-packed, sustaining, and with minimal added sugar. Peanut butter based snacks (put the Reece’s peanut butter cups back though, mama), dried fruits, tuna packets, granola, and trail mixes are all great examples of what to eat while hiking preggo. I personally loved this high-energy trail mix by Power Up when I was pregnant. It’s a scrumptious and nutritious mix of bananas, walnuts, papayas, cashews, and more (Gluten-free and vegan, too!).
- Toilet paper: Trust us on this. Pregnant women pee a lot… A lot. It is also generally a nice thing to have for a ton of other reasons too. Just remember to pack-out what you pack-in, in order to preserve our parks.
- Anti-nausea medicine: A mom who says she was never nauseous in her first trimester is definitely one of the lucky ones. Queasiness is an extremely common, albeit very annoying, symptom of early pregnancy. A lot of women find themselves so debilitated that they can hardly eat or leave the house. So if you’re fortunate enough to hike, consider bringing some anti-nausea medication for the occasional dizziness or vertigo. You can read more about morning sickness and its treatment at the Mayo Clinic.
- Pelvic support: To be blunt, being pregnant offsets the rest of your body. If you were to look at a diagram of your abdominal organs pre-pregnancy vs during, you may be startled at what you see. Your intestines, bladder, and other organs are basically shoved to the side to make room for your baby. In return, your hips, legs, and lower spine might feel all out of sorts. You can reduce the aches and pains as you hike with a pregnancy support belt, which gives all the right spots of your body some extra support. This support belt from NEOTech Care is a popular choice for mamas who want to stay active in their pregnancy.
Avoid Uncharted Trails - Hike What You Know
Hiking new trails is exciting! Coming across an unexpected 90-degree decline riddled with jagged rocks while nine weeks pregnant, isn’t.
If you have a few tried-and-true paths that you know every curve and slope of, you may want to stick to those for the time being.
Out and Back Trails vs Loop Trails
If you’re on a trail that doesn’t loop, every step you hike, you will have to repeat on the way out.
You may want to avoid venturing more than two to three miles on these out-and-back trails. This is especially true if cell reception seems bad. In case of an emergency, or in case of exhaustion, you’ll want to have the ability to cut your hike short.
Avoiding Specific Terrains on the Hike
Super steep and tumultuous trails aren’t recommended, even for the healthiest of pregnant women. What starts as a slight stumble can turn into a tragic (and avoidable) emergency.
If there’s a trail that you really want to go on but you haven’t done it before, do plenty of research into the trail’s terrain before departing.
Don’t be afraid to speak with your local Parks and Recreation Department, read forums, or reference AllTrails.com to learn about the trail you want to trek.
Searching online forums for information on a trail, or simply asking some hiking friends to do a test hike, is the best way to avoid surprises.
Listen to Your Body (and Belly)
A mother’s intuition doesn’t just apply to her baby; it is just as important to listen to your body for the sake of your own health, too.
Try as we might to plan and prevent anything from going wrong, we should always listen to what our bodies are telling us… even when everything should be going right.
If at any point in your hike, you experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, lightheadedness, excessive vomiting, fainting, or any other concerning events, STOP. It is always better to be cautious. Cut your hike short, and call your doctor right away.
Enjoy Hiking During the First Trimester
Thankfully, the stigma that pregnant women are highly fragile and breakable is phasing its way out.
More and more, pregnant women are enjoying themselves by staying active and staying healthy. Hiking can definitely be a great activity of choice for future mothers.
As long as you consult your doctor first, and follow some of the most basic guidelines and safety protocols, you don’t have to become a pregnant couch potato. Getting close to your baby in the first trimester will get you in the perfect mindset for hiking with your little one when they join you in person. Before you know it, you can hit the trails with a baby strapped to your back!
Image Credit: Christopher, Tania and Isabelle Luna |(https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_luna/) | Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)–reduced file size and image
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