Was in Sauna, Tanned & Exercising High Intensity Before Learning I Was Pregnant

Hi Kim! My name is L., and I am the mother of a beautiful and really healthy 13 month old. I too have always heard that birth defects can come with excessive exercise, tanning, etc. That's why I was very afraid when I found out I was pregnant.

I had been playing indoor soccer, doing rigorous cardio at the gym, tanning, weight lifting, etc. Not only that but had still been taking my birth control pills which have also been linked to birth defects. The scariest part was that I found out I was pregnant when I was 12 weeks along. I had done all of this through my entire 1st trimester.

I know that all of this can cause birth defects in some cases, but the wonderful thing is that it doesn't in all cases. Loic, my son, has a very strong heart and has no defects at all. He was a very healthy guy when he was born and even left the hospital before he was 24 hours old.

I was very afraid and prayed for him a lot. God is faithful! Keep your head up and focus on doing your part now.

On continuing exercise, I did continue to work out - not the same intensity of course. I've always heard that if you did it before you got pregnant than it is okay to continue, but if you feel tired, dizzy, etc. to slow down and take it easy for a minute (which I had to do several times :D ).

Good Luck, and I will be praying for your third bundle of joy!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi, Kim! First of all, Congratulations on the third little blessing! Secondly, I'm not a pregnancy and exercise expert but I have always read in pregnancy information that you should be able to maintain the level of exercise that you were doing before you knew you were pregnant. The caution that I have seen is to not begin or increase exercise during pregnancy. Like I said, I'm not an expert so you might check out babycenter.com for any information on the subject. I would definitely stay away from the sauna, tannings, and hot tubs now though. And why worry over something you can't change now. You enjoyed those activities before you knew you were pregnant. You shouldn't let yourself feel guilty for being innocent! I hope that you can get some more information online and from other moms here before May 12. Best wishes and blessings!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi Kim,
Do not worry !!! I was doing very similar things when I found out I was pregnant and my doctor said that there is no harm done by tanning, and excercising now and through your pregnancy. My doctor said that as long as you feel good, you can continue to do any activities, within reason until the baby is born. I actually did high impact aerobics and weights up until about 2 months before my son was born, and he was born at 8 lbs 6 oz and healthy as can be... So relax !!! Don't worry yourself about this...
Take care,
D.

I own a tanning salon and I can tell you that there is no light or radiation risk involved. The main reason doctors say not to tan while you are pregnant is that you run the risk of overheating your body. It has nothing to do with the artificial sunlight as it only penetrates 2 to 3 layers deep into the skin tissue. Though I don't recommend it, tanning is not at all harmful to the baby. Good luck with the pregnancy!

P. N
Louisiana

Hi Kim...I too just found out I am pregnant and had been doing lots of exercise and also taking diet pills. As for the exercise, I have always been told and was told just Monday from my doctor that you can continue doing any exercise that you worked up to before becoming pregnant. It's trying to begin a rigorous routine after becoming pregnant that they don't want you to do. As for the tanning bed and sauna...I don't have an answer for that, and I wish I did b/c I am sure you are worried. But try calling your midwife and asking her or speaking with a Nurse or assistant. If they don't know the answer, I'm sure they will ask your Mid-Wife for you. Just so you can ease your mind until your appointment. And ask the place where you take your dance class if they have a lite program for pregnancy or for elderly people. If not, maybe they can recommend one. But again, I was told I could continue any workout that I had BEEN doing up until it becomes uncomfortable for me. Good Luck! This is my third as well and I know it's hard to finally begin really focusing on getting your body back and then become pregnant. Bittersweet.

I would continue the exercise program. My sister a personal trainer looked so great all during her pregnancy and there came a time when she could not exercise anymore comfortably. She didn't push herself and took it light when needed. She looked just as great afterwards in no time. No hottubs or saunas though. If you are really worried, don't wait until May 12, go ahead and schedule an appt. with a good OB/GYN for an intitial check up for you and the baby. It will benefit you both to not wait.

Hi Kim, My sister is a huge workout bum and she also works full time. She has a very intense workout routine also and when she found out she was pregnant her dr. told her to keep exercising as she always had but not add anything new. If your body is already used to the routine, you should be fine, however...avoid the tanning bed.

Kim, I was married 6 months and me and my husband were going to take a trip. I tanned for about 2 weeks before the trip and on the trip I drank and sat in the hot tub every day. I found out the day we got back that oops I'm pregnant. I now have a VERY healthy 2 1/2 year old so don't stress about it. Just don't do those things now that you know you are pregnant. As for the workouts, your doc is probably going to tell u to switch to a lower intensity workout. That is what my doc told me to do. He said that he had some cases of miscarriages when the mothers were involved in some high intesity workouts so he would rather be safe than sorry when it came to the baby so I just toned my workouts down a bit.

A high-intensity dance class, or high-intensity anything, whether you exceed 140 or not, is probably not a good idea in pregnancy. I'd find a different class/type of exercise for now.

Your midwife should be available at least by phone for a brief question. If not, consider getting a different one.

If you eat right, low in meat and processed foods, and high in low-fat, healthy foods, lots of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lots of water, you should do just great without stressing your body so much. High-intensity for 3 hours a day, even not pregnant, is not healthy! You might think, well, the big-time athletes do it. Well, Arnold Schwarzenegger, for one, had triple-bypass surgery. His heart wasn't getting enough oxygen for all of the work it was doing.

An hour a day of moderate exercise is the most I'd do if I were you, and be willing to taper that to half an hour to an hour of light-to-moderate by the end of your second trimester.

If you're concerned about gaining new weight with this pregnancy, well, you will gain weight. But being beautiful comes from being *healthy*, not from being as skinny as possible. But if you want to lose the weight lightning-fast after your baby is born, breastfeeding is amazing for that. Read some breastfeeding books or attend some La Leche League meetings to learn more, if you haven't breastfed before, and ask the experts about any questions or hesitations you might have.

Remember to put your baby first.

L.

Hi there Kim:
So sorry that you are upset. Once upon a time, people were encouraged to do everything in moderation. However, please don't worry. The new "bundle" is in its own protective world and should be okay( undamaged ) in any way . Try to stay calm . Remember God loves you and you never get more trouble than you can handle. Hugs C.

I agree with Tricia the doctor told me to keep doing my daily activity now mind you I was tanning and I stopped as soon as I was pregant. Definitely stay away from the sauna and hot tubs. I was working out big time before I was pregnant when i got pregnant I continued to work out till it got to be too much. So the only thing I can recommend is not to over do yourself. Congratulations on your third baby!!! Good luck!!

Try not to worry about something that you can't change now. I took several doses of cough medicine before learning I was pregnant, and have been a little worried about that. But since I can't change it, it won't help to worry about it. But I understand how you feel.

As to the exercise. Like the other posts said, if you are used to it, it shouldn't be a problem. Just don't push yourself too hard. My pregnancy workout videos always say to keep your level of workout at I think a 7 (a 10 meaning you are just about to drop and a 1 meaning you could do it all day). And definitely if you start to feel anything strange while working out like dizziness or cramps, then I would stop.

HTH
M.

When I was pergnant with my daughter, I played on my church volleyball team until my belly started getting in the way.