Staying fit while pregnant: ‘It can be done’

Though each individual is different, and various potential concerns need to be considered beforehand, exercising while pregnant can be healthy for expectant mothers and their babies.

And while they may compete at a higher intensity, the performances of elite athletes have repeatedly proved that fitness levels can be maintained to a relative degree during pregnancy.

Perhaps most notably on South African soil, the results produced by marathon runner Irvette van Zyl in recent years have indicated that pregnant women can compete at an elite level even into the third trimester.

In 2016, seven months into her pregnancy with her first son Louis, Van Zyl clocked 34:56 at a 10km road race in Durban.

In 2018, after carrying second son Gideon for six months, she completed a 10km race in Cape Town in 35:07.

Even more remarkable than her results while pregnant was her recovery afterwards, and she broke the Soweto Marathon record in November 2018, completing the 42.2km race in 2:33:43 just five months after Gideon was born.

Speaking from her home in Pretoria, Van Zyl says she had different experiences while carrying each child.

“After five months I couldn’t train hard on the track with Gideon or go to the gym. I could only do swimming and slower long-distance runs on the road,” she recalls.

“With Louis, I couldn’t run for more than an hour or he would start kicking me, but for seven months I was able to do hard sessions on the track and go to the gym.”

A former Olympian, and one of the country’s most consistent elite road runners for nearly two decades, 32-year-old Van Zyl urges expectant mothers to consider their current fitness levels before embarking on any exercise regimes.

She also believes regular visits to a specialist are crucial in order to monitor the baby, and that it’s best to remain on the cautious side.

“How much you can do will depend on your fitness level when you become pregnant. It also depends how you adapt,” she says.

“When I decided I wanted to try exercise and stay fit while pregnant, I went to my gynaecologist more regularly than was expected, just to make sure everything was fine.

“I did get paranoid while running but I was very aware of my body and my limits. If I didn’t feel comfortable on a day, I didn’t run that day.”

Other international distance runners have also previously shown it is possible to return to their best soon after having a child, with the likes of former world record holders Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) and Ingrid Kristiansen (Norway) both having raced competitively shortly after giving birth.

Athletes have also competed while pregnant in other sports, including American tennis ace Serena Williams, who won the 2017 Australian Open while two months pregnant; Kristie Moore, a Canadian curler who earned a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver while five months pregnant; and American middle-distance runner Alysia Montano, who turned out in the 800m event at the 2014 US Track and Field Championships while eight months pregnant.

There has reportedly been an association shown between strenuous exercise and miscarriage, with the International Olympic Committee having previously advised limiting the intensity of high-impact training routines and avoiding repetitive heavy lifting in the first trimester.

And while there are widely recognised benefits of physical exercise, a recent study published by Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) found that participation in sport at an elite level had an array of negative health implications, many of which were gynaecological, largely due to a combination of intense exercise and strict diets.

Among the biggest concerns was energy deficiency.

The study, however, which was led by Benjamin Jones, a clinical research fellow in the department of surgery and cancer at the Imperial College London, found that regular input from a gynaecologist could minimise the risk of consequences for elite sportswomen competing while pregnant.

Regular visits to a specialist could also optimise health, fertility and performance.

Like Van Zyl, netball player Phumza Maweni believes it is possible to maintain fitness levels during pregnancy, making it easier to return to top shape after having a child.

Maweni recalls training and playing netball matches until she was eight months pregnant.

“I trained twice a day, as normal, and followed my routine,” she said.

“It was fun for me and also my son.”

Her efforts to maintain a consistent training regime ultimately paid off, and six years after her son was born, Maweni made her Proteas debut.

The 35-year-old defender is now a solid force at the back of the court and a key member of the national team.

Though she was back in action just four months after her son was born, however, Maweni admits there were challenges in making such a quick return to competitive sport, which requires time and commitment.

“Pregnancy and giving birth are probably the hardest challenges a body can undertake,” she said.

“I had to get back to training and give up breastfeeding, which was incredibly tough. It was so tough that I even considered quitting netball.

“It takes you a good few months to really get back your strength, control, stability and speed.

“Parenthood and professional sport both demand a lot of sacrifices, but with hard work, they can both be done.”

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