UNCHARTED WATERS by Katie McAnena
I remember sitting on the hill at Ho’okipa Beach Park on Maui with my friend Sam Bittner a few years back. I’m not sure why, but something dawned on me, something rather profound, I said “Sam, think about it, when we get pregnant some day we won’t be able to windsurf for 9 whole months!”, to which she replied, “Flip, never mind the no windsurfing part, we can’t drink beer for 9 months either!”. Shock horror! Then, years later, as nature has her ways, I was met with my newest chapter of uncharted waters – there was a baby on the way and I had 9 whole months to figure my life out, prepare for the total unknown, and grow a brand new, unique human being. Easy!
INFORMATION
In panic mode as to how to still obtain my precious water time I did what any sensible pregnant woman does to find instant advice and answers from the most trustworthy of sources….. Dr. Google. I typed in “pregnancy surfing” and was met with a juxtaposition of advice from conflicting (and most likely non-reliable) sources. I suppose it’s only fair at this stage to point out that I am in fact a medical doctor myself, which technically should make me all-knowing and well versed on all things Obstetrically related, obviously. But alas when the shoe is on the other foot there are no amount of degrees or qualifications that will make you come up with sound, impartial advice. You’re just another woman, pregnant for the first time, lost in a sea of Wikipedia and ‘What to expect’ websites. So I decided to troll through the information and cherry pick the bits I liked, the bits that made sense and the bits which came from the most reliable sources I could find.
YOUR LIMITS
From everything I gathered I came to some reasonable conclusions; first and foremost, the key rule to go by in pregnancy is this; do what it is you have been doing before, within reason. I’ll elaborate, if you used to walk at a decent pace for a decent distance every day before you became pregnant then don’t stop. If you used to run before you became pregnant, then don’t stop. If you used to windsurf, surf or SUP before you became pregnant, then don’t stop.
Pregnancy is a new physiological state. With it comes massive hormonal and physical changes which need to be respected and appreciated. However, pregnancy is not an illness. You are not infirm. You do not need to go into confinement. It is a natural chrysalis that has been in existence for as long as we have.
CHANGES
When you become pregnant your body changes in substantial ways, which have a definite bearing on performance and physicality. For example your cardiac output increases by 30-50%, your heart rate increases by 15% and your vascular resistance decreases by 20%, which lowers your blood pressure significantly. You can’t take these changes lightly and along with the hormonal nuances which increase your soft tissue laxity, it is imperative that you function within your limits.