Active pregnancy and women’s claims

I’m not sick, I’m just pregnant”, were the words used by the German athlete Gesa Krause when she reached the finish line after running 5 kilometers, in the Silvesterlauf Trier held in the German town of Trier near the border with Luxembourg.

The 30-year-old athlete, a specialist in the 3,000-meter hurdles who has twice won the bronze medal at the 2015 and 2019 World Athletics Championships, completed the race 22 weeks pregnant and although she halved the load of kilometers in his training, he has continued to compete at a high level.

The Teutonic woman, far from going unnoticed, has shared her experience on social networks to thus encourage other women to engage in physical activity during pregnancy.

Gone is that April 19, 1967, when her compatriot Katherine Switzer clandestinely – since the participation of women was prohibited – became the first lady to officially participate in the Boston Marathon with her remembered number 261.

The story goes that on that occasion the organizer Jock Semple violently burst into her path and taking the athlete by her shoulders rebuked her, yelling: “Get out of my damn race and give me the number.”

Nothing and no one could stop her and with 4 hours 20 minutes she reached the finish line. The image of the attack is considered by many to be the first photographic reporting of a female athlete in the US.

Today, it is commonplace to observe the presence of women in all kinds of athletic events, but it is rare to see them participate when they are pregnant.

There is a marked prejudice transmitted by generations, about the inconvenience of physical activity during pregnancy, which today is hardly compatible with the medical recommendations for active women and in good health.

Thus, in a colorful page such as Argentina.gob.ar, monitored physical exercise is encouraged in pregnant women, to improve their general physical and mental state, the prevention of overweight and constipation, the reduction of tensions and the reduction of suffering from insomnia. .

Well-managed, patterned movement can help a woman without contraindications have a lower risk of gestational diabetes and a shorter labor. It is suggested at least 150 weekly minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity, for three alternate days and regularly.

James Pivarnik and Lanay Mudd in “Health benefits of physical activity during pregnancy”, detail a series of general recommendations for the proper development of a neuromuscular conditioning program during pregnancy, such as avoiding the Valsalva maneuver, using weight machines, elastic bands or light dumbbells instead of free weights to reduce risk of injury from center of gravity, lower resistance, increase repetitions and use shorter sets, avoid powerlifting activities and emphasize the proper form of execution of the exercises.

As balance becomes more difficult, especially when walking, it is necessary for your gait to be more basic, with a shorter and more varied step, using the big toe as the last support surface of each foot. At the same time, strengthening the abdominal muscles is recommended to control the degree of lumbar curvature.

With the proper medical authorization, the previously active pregnant woman may adapt her physical exercise program and the sedentary start a plan based on the criteria set forth.

Despite the fact that the history of the physical exercise-pregnancy relationship reveals a curious suspicion, which still persists in certain areas to this day, manifestations such as those of Gesa Krause contribute to vindicate and make visible the enormous potential of women.

*Lawyer. Prof. Nat. of Physical Education. University teacher. [email protected]