Opinion about mother who one the NY marathon?

[anisha]

I want to get people's opinion about the controversy surrounding the young mother who recently won the NY marathon after 9 months giving birth. I doubt she is raw, but from the point of view of a raw foodist (Me), I don't think there is anything terrible about this..Since researchers admit themselves that there is not much information in this area..

Here's the article:

Marathoner's triumph sets off debate over how active moms should be before and after baby
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer
November 8, 2007

CHICAGO (AP) -- For bleary-eyed new moms, the image of Paula Radcliffe celebrating her astonishing New York marathon victory just nine months after giving birth is more than slightly surreal.

There she was, one sinewy arm holding a baby, the other victoriously waving a British flag, ribs visible beneath a washboard-flat torso, not an ounce of visible fat on her sleek body.

"Running whilst preggers? Winning 9 months after? Yo!" read one blog comment. "She is phenomenal and a role model to all new Mums!" said another.

Radcliffe's triumph Sunday, running 26.2 miles in two hours, 23 minutes just 291 days after childbirth, inspires equal amounts of awe and envy. But it also highlights a medical debate about just how gung-ho women should be about exercise during pregnancy and afterward.

Some doctors believe women used to rigorous exercise can continue it at least early in pregnancy and resume soon afterward, but that this is not the time for inactive women to suddenly decide they want to try a marathon. Their advice is often that it's OK to continue what you're used to, but don't push it.

Other doctors are "pretty nervous about women exercising during pregnancy" and advise against, said Dr. Linda Szymanski, a Johns Hopkins obstetrician and exercise specialist.

The problem is, guidelines are vague and there's not much research, she said.

Most medical advice on the topic is based on "pretty poor evidence," and there's even less data on the effects in highly trained athletes, Szymanski said. "It's a really tough area."

Running a marathon requires several months of training and long-distance running most days. The intensity is rigorous for those hoping to win.

Radcliffe ran throughout her pregnancy and has said her husband's help made training afterward easier. The British runner also has said she resumed training too soon after a long and difficult labor. She suffered a stress fracture at the base of her spine that sidelined her in May for eight weeks.

Still, the 33-year-old women's marathon world record-holder is a seasoned pro who won six previous marathons. So for her, running during pregnancy and afterward made sense, said Dr. Alan Peaceman, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Kristen Chase of Atlanta, who had a baby son two days after Radcliffe's daughter was born in January, was a several-times-weekly jogger before pregnancy. She said her doctor told her she could start exercising again when her son was six weeks, "but not to do anything strenuous."

That would definitely rule out training for a marathon -- not that Chase was contemplating it.

"New moms are extremely tired, so the prospect of getting on a treadmill or even running outside at six weeks when your children -- at least my children -- aren't sleeping through the night" seems unimaginable, said Chase, who also has a 3-year-old daughter.

Except for women who have had a Caesarean section, which takes longer to heal, most women are ready to resume prior activity levels by eight weeks post-baby, Peaceman said.

"It's good to get back to the level that you were at prior to pregnancy, so for elite athletes, there's no reason they can't resume training," he said.

Pregnancy causes physical changes that both help and hinder athletic performance. Increased blood flow could be beneficial. But the girth from a swelling belly can change a woman's gait and make her feel off balance. Also, joints and ligaments become more lax, which can raise the risk for injury, Szymanski said.

Some doctors, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, discourage most women from bouncy or high-impact workouts during pregnancy and urge them to take it easy at first after giving birth because some body changes linger.

The group says some lower-impact activities are generally safe during pregnancy, even for beginners, including swimming and walking. Marathon running isn't listed.

Admirable as it is, Radcliffe's triumph isn't unprecedented. Other elite long-distance runners have won races soon after having babies, including Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen, who won the 1983 Houston marathon within five months of giving birth.

It still seems way out of reach for moms who aren't athletes.

Says Marsha Takeda Morrison, a Los Angeles blogger whose children are 9 and 11, "It's been 3,285 days since I last gave birth and I get winded just walking to the refrigerator."

Updated on Thursday, Nov 8, 2007 4:19 pm, EST




Just want to know other people's thoughts.

[gabscastillo]

I am personally both a mother and a marathoner. I have never won a marathon, nor is it a goal. I run because I love it.
It's healthy, empowering, and a much better way for me to manage depression, mood swings, stress, etc., than to use drugs. It also helped me to manage a very healthy weight before
I went raw.

Running makes me a better mother. I get to get outside, be by myself, have time for my own thoughts, prayers, etc... It's quiet, I'm alone, my heart's pumping, my body's humming with strength, I'm taking in beautiful fresh air and seeing things I don't get to see from the driver's seat. My two most recent blessings in that department were some adorable little brown bunnies who live in a blackberry thicket, and later, a red tail hawk, who is no doubt hanging around cause he likes the bunnies. And I live in a big city.

Pregnant women are often taught to think of themselves as "sick" and "frail." During my own pregnancy, I was made to feel as though I was a hazard to my baby, and was criticized for running, or experiencing negative emotions. I lived in NYC, and was three months pregnant when the twin towers came down, so grief and depression were a part of my pregnancy. Running HELPED me to deal with this.


I am a big believer in listening to your body. It knows more than anyone else what it needs. I stopped running a couple of weeks into my third trimester, mostly because I felt unwieldy and worried about taking a fall. I began running when my son was 8 weeks old. He, in the jogging stroller (dubbed by my husband as the good ship "hot mama") became my training partner and got me ready for my first marathon.

He's almost six now, and very proud of his mama. And I'm a better mom because I take care of myself.

People who criticize women who are strong and assertive about taking care of themselves upset me. What about the sedentary pregnant women we see every day stuffing their bodies with horomone, salt, fat, sugar, chemical and toxin-laden foods? That would not be my choice.

Just my opinion... As you can tell, I feel pretty strongly about it. Thanks for the interesting conversation starter.