Climbers who love their sport may not have to hang up their ropes and harnesses just because they become pregnant, a University of Alberta study suggests.
Although physical activity guidelines advise expectant women to stay grounded due to the risk of falling, the research presents the first direct evidence that continuing to climb into the third trimester doesn't increase the chances of self-reported pregnancy complications.
The researchers conducted a global survey asking 692 participants about their involvement with climbing while expecting, experiences of falls, health outcomes during and after pregnancy and for their babies, and returning to climbing postpartum.
The results showed that across nearly 64,000 hours of climbing, participants experienced 155 "hard falls," defined as a fall or catch hard enough to remember or cause concern. The rate of adverse clinical events was also low, at 0.03 per 1,000 hours of exposure, and all babies were born live. There was no significant difference in pregnancy or fetal health outcomes between individuals who stopped climbing at or before 27 weeks and those who continued.
As well, 96 per cent of those surveyed said that although they were concerned about climbing while pregnant, they felt "happy" or "very happy" that they continued to climb.
Though preliminary, the findings challenge an assumption about maternal exercise that was based on opinion rather than research, says Dr. Margie Davenport, a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation and lead author on the study.
"For decades we have restricted pregnant women from activities like climbing due to concern for their health and the health of the baby, but our evidence suggests it's beneficial for both mental and physical health."
