Pregnant climber needs doctor referral

Hi All, I just found out I'm pregnant and since I'm somewhat new to the area, I don't have a doctor yet. I'd like to find someone in W. Las Vegas who has dealt with a pregnant climber before. Any recommendations?

Consider changing your username to "iusedtoclimb."

All kidding aside, though, good luck finding an Ob. I have my opinions on climbing while pregnant, but I'll spare you of the details.

It's unfortunate that the first response to your (legitimate) question had to be so deprecating, although not really surprising considering what I've seen from this online climbing 'community'

I have never been pregnant and do not live in vegas so I have no real advice to give, just wanted to say congrats(!), and give you props for wanting to continue your climbing safely and find a doc that is helpful. That's awesome. Good luck!

(Not intended to be a potshot at Tom, just frustration at the 'you are pregnant so go sit down and be idle' attitude that was implied)

I can't figure out how to link pictures from Facebook but feel free to click around my wife's blog if you need active pregnant woman inspiration.

The Beginning of the End

EDIT: She's not a big climber but she did top rope as late as 35 weeks and went road and mtn biking throughout her pregnancy.

Brittany - Thanks for your support! I'm sure I will need as much as possible over the next few months and that Tom's won't be the first disparaging comment I hear. I've read that many women continue to climb safely with their doctor's blessing and that as long as you are comfortable and avoiding falls then it is ok to continue. I've also read that they get a lot of flak for it as well.

FYI Joanne Urioste was still setting routes when she was pregnant - go girl!
mountainproject.com/v/nevad…

Just another 'you go girl' response, don't live near Vegas. My wife, who happens to be a family doctor, climbed through 6 months her first and almost 8 months her second pregnancy. Personally, I've seen different pregnant climbers take different choices about risk during and after pregnancy. One last tidbit you may already know, tendons and ligaments are very flexible during and after pregnancy - beware deep drop knees. Good luck!

IIRC, Tom Fralich is an MD, I think it was his professional opinion, not some deprecating comment...

ilovetoclimb wrote:Hi All, I just found out I'm pregnant and since I'm somewhat new to the area, I don't have a doctor yet. I'd like to find someone in W. Las Vegas who has dealt with a pregnant climber before. Any recommendations?

Is there a particular reason you think any competent OB/GYN wouldn't be able to deal with a climber?

Personally I wanted more than just "competent" out of my wife's OB. She probably wants a doc who will explain the risks and timeline of those risks, not just give a blanket "don't climb." Many docs still do not understand athletes and do not realize how big a part of life it can be even during injury or pregnancy.

I don't have information to supply but a few months ago my partners, Rachel and Ben, and I did a new route Morning Sickness

Hope you get some inspiration from this. Best wishes for good health during the pregnancy.

Cheers,
Rob.calm

Uhg. . . .
Tom, don't worry about the comments on your "fun" response.
Most of us don't take you to be a "women supressor" who thinks her place is in the home. . . geesh.
I thought it was funny. . . "iusedtoclimb".

You might want to consider a Mid-wife. My DP (domestic partner) and I just had our son at home in September and it was, by far, the coolest thing ever!

Oh, BTW, she climbed until her belly got in the way and was just too uncomfortable to climb. Our Mid-wife thought climbing was stoopid in general but didn't forbid it.

BackCountry wrote:You might want to consider a Mid-wife. My DP (domestic partner) and I just had our son at home in September and it was, by far, the coolest thing ever! Oh, BTW, she climbed until her belly got in the way and was just too uncomfortable to climb. Our Mid-wife thought climbing was stoopid in general but didn't forbid it.

Doulas/midwifes are OK as long as you have a straightforward pregnancy, which you likely won't know until you're in the middle of it. When my wife and I had our first child, our daughter, she came thru the birth canal sunnyside up and they had to do an emergency C-section. During our second pregnancy, my wife's uterus had a small hemorage that wasn't detected when they stitched her back up and that required another emergency operation and several nights in the ICU and CCU. In both instances, if we were at home we would have had either serious consequences for our daughter for the first and my wife dying in the second.

My wife climbed until about the fourth or fifth month with our first. It's a completely personal decision that you'll have to make for yourself. She does not climb now and even I get out very rarely. I grumble from time to time but it's totally worth it.

Enjoy this time (as long as you're not really morning sick). It's very special.

Go for it Ms. lovetoclimb.
I've known many women who stayed active to the day the rugrat dropped.

My wife was an intern during her first pregnancy.
And the day we (SHE, I was just a coxswain) had our first child, she had ridden our old beater bike to work. When the contractions started in earnest, she road home, stopping to pant and breathe every 5ive or so minutes.

BTW - Not to jinx your adventure, but I'd put some thought into what FatDad says... A home birth w/ a doula works for many but for those with unlucky events, well...

I hope you have found a great MD w/ which to share the miracle of birth. Or an MD/mid wife combo.

Yeah, I was just teasing with the first comment. And it's not even my professional opinion, more of a philosophical objection. It's a real risk that you're taking. Women in minor car crashes and who've tripped/fallen come in to the ER routinely because they're concerned about the pregnancy...and rightly so. It's a potentially life-long committment for a special needs child, or a very emotionally traumatizing event if your pregnancy is compromised. I'm not judging anyone, but I do question the priorities of a lot of would-be parents. Not saying the OP is one of these, but it seems to me that being a good parent, including while pregnant, is more important than climbing (on a philosophical level). People shake their heads at pregnant women who smoke, drink alcohol, etc, so why is climbing any different? Plenty of women who smoke have normal babies, but no one is going to say that it's a good idea to smoke during pregnancy. I'd say the same about climbing...probably not the best idea. Staying active is one thing, but engaging in a high-risk, potentially high-impact activity?

After seeing my son be born I would never have a home birth. Too much stuff to go wrong, too far from the hospital. My boy might not be here if we'd done that.

But like climbing or bike riding during pregnancy that's a choice for each person to make, hopefully well informed. Having a midwife with you at the hospital seems like a fine choice if the father is not there or not capable of helping. I really liked being there and between the nurse and I, we didn't need another person in the room until the birth.

If you're going to climb anyway, please just avoid leading, bouldering, or slab climbing. If you were to fall, where would your harness squeeze your torso? And if wearing your harness in a special way, do you feel it is a safe fit?
Good luck to you and congrats! I hope you figure it all out - and when you do, please post for the not-yet-pregnant.

The Boulder Rock Club has full body harnesses for free for preggos BTW. Maybe other gyms have the same? My wife used one when she climbed near the end of her pregnancy. Comfort is going to be a big thing later on anyway. An 8lbs baby inside my pre-preggo 110 lbs wife was a big belly!

brittany kruger wrote:It's unfortunate that the first response to your (legitimate) question had to be so deprecating, although not really surprising considering what I've seen from this online climbing 'community' I have never been pregnant and do not live in vegas so I have no real advice to give, just wanted to say congrats(!), and give you props for wanting to continue your climbing safely and find a doc that is helpful. That's awesome. Good luck! (Not intended to be a potshot at Tom, just frustration at the 'you are pregnant so go sit down and be idle' attitude that was implied)

+1. Congrats!

Ignore the negativity... it's hard to find good advice on this site anymore. MP.com is kind of a microcosm of rock climbing these days.

Anyways... I have friends that climbed 8 months pregnant. Bouldering and leading are out when you are that pregnant (according to my friends) but you can TR for sure. Good luck!

Sorry, this is another off-topic post because I don't have a referral for you. But as a mom of two sweetheart boys 1 and 3 yrs old, I just want to say Congrats! In case you don't ever get a referral you like, your own internal voice may be your best source on finding a doc.

If you find yourself "shopping" for a doc write a list of every possible question you can think of before you get there. If you don't come back feeling heard, respected, understood and informed and generally great about the whole practice you'll be working with, move on as quickly as you can. Some starter lists of questions are available at websites like babyfit.com and babycenter.com. You may also be able to connect with other women there for referrals. I met other climbers on babyfit.

For my 2nd pregnancy I used a midwife/MD group, had the most amazing labor experience, and was grateful for the MD who did a terrific c-section on me when I had serious complications.

You may already know or have thought through this stuff, so please disregard if so.

Hope you have an amazing pregnancy! PM me if you ever want to chat about any of this stuff in detail. Yes, I climbed, biked, skiied but each pregnancy was quite different.

p.s. having kids now I see Tom's remark only as genuinely funny and sometimes frustratingly true, but before having my first I probably wouldn't have seen it that way.

My grandmother, Pointed at a shed down the dirt road from her farm and said that’s where the Hungarian lady leaned against the shed and had her baby on her way to the store.
She wrapped the baby up with her shawl and went to the store.

My wife stared in a birthing room with our second daughter. Nineteen hours later, with a doctor. The doctor said to my wife next contraction it’s the head or C-section.

That same daughter gave me the most beautiful grand daughter nine months ago.
My daughter I am told was laughing during the birth and said it was no big deal.

Point is you do not know what tomorrow will bring; being wise and safe may not for you mean do not climb.

Love each other, be happy and cherish this time as your child will be healthier for it.

PS Congratulations!!!!