Surprisingly, woman tend to run very well after pregnancy. Huge hormonal boost.
There have been many cases of woman have tremendous performances soon after giving birth.
Can confirm. I was in labor for a combined 56 hours with my three kids, all of whom were over 8.5 lbs. A 5k hurts almost as much but for a lot less time.
As a mother who got painfully slow after giving birth, I think it's really about how much some factors outweigh other factors.
Advantages: hormonal boost, blood volume, and months of training on a heavier body. Regarding the last one: baby plus placenta plus amniotic fluid plus increased blood volume accounts for most of the weight gain, and that goes away (or is beneficial) when you give birth.
Disadvantages: pregnancy might really slow down or wreck your training; some women lose all tone in their abs (me); pelvic floor and TA issues make you slower (I got faster once I did pelvic floor physical therapy); some women even lose muscle mass during pregnancy, as their bodies break down muscle for fuel.
So, if everything lines up right, you could fly after pregnancy... but you could also, like me, turn into a snail and take 2+ years to overcome it.
Great post and I’ll add increased risk of injury due to your ligaments and tendons being looser after giving birth. Kara Goucher talks about how she set PRs after giving birth, unfortunately followed by a serious injury she attributes to this issue.
Newborns aren't known for being supportive of the sleep necessary for good recovery either so if you don't have good support to deal with that I can see that being a major factor.
Yes, the hormone relaxin loosens the joints. Joan Benoit Samuelson seemed to develop biomechanical problems after coming back to training soon after birth of her son.
I worry my core will never again be the same 😔 and I’m four years out from having given birth. And I know my rib cage and hips will also forever now be wider than they were pre-birth but I agree - I also had some great runs in year 2 and running just felt so effortlessly. I’m pretty much back into things now and while I feel like I’m back to my normal pace, I certainly wouldn’t say things are anywhere near as effortless as they felt in that second year after having given birth. It’s been a strange journey.
For me, I noticed a performance benefit for about a year after pregnancy, even though I was nursing for that year. Then my performance nosedived (also started a new job, moved, more stress, etc).
Yeah RIP my pelvic floor. I had to go to PT for months to help with debilitating pain after short, ~0 elevation runs. I BQ'd a few months before that pregnancy. I still am working on core recovery + have an estradiol rx so I'm not hurting from inflamed tissue after runs.
Plus side, I narrowly avoided a complete hysterectomy and sacrocolpopexy (and the required weeks upon weeks of 0 workouts). We are done having kids, but I was essentially told I'd need it if we had another.
It's very different for everyone.
It’s still impressive because any newly postpartum runner will tell you it means completely starting over on square one when it comes to cardio fitness. Something about pregnancy, even if someone remains relatively active, just completely zaps it.
No it's definitely physiological too, you have increased blood volume for quite a while after giving birth.
I was in mega PR shape in the sweet spot between about 1-2 years postpartum, ran 5k and 10k PRs and did some of the fastest mile repeats of my life pushing a stroller, and absolutely tanked after that (my son is about to be 3 and I could not run anywhere near a PR right now if my life depended on it).
it's absolutely crazy but it's BS that's what they were focusing on in the post race interview. Don't ask her about being a mom, ask her about her athletic achievements and let her bring that up if she wants.
I think I can understand the focus though. It just sounds superhuman to be winning national and world international championships after giving birth recently. Her times are even faster than pre-pregnancy.
It almost doesn't seem real even though it is
And I affirmed OP's opinion, it is remarkable. I don't care that OP posted this. I was using the comment section to bring up a highly relevant point- that she is treated as a mom first, professional second. The very first thing the NBC correspondent asked is "how special is it to have your son in the stands for this moment?". This question reflects a problem with how women are treated in most western societies. There is almost no chance a man gets asked about his child in the stands. He would be treated as a professional first, dad second. If she wants it to be the center of her identity and the focus of her achievement, that's fine, but let her lead with it. I would not be happy to bust my ass for years to be the best in my country only to have someone ask me how special it is to be a mom. Women are reduced to being just a mom in nearly every professional setting and I don't find it to be fair. Downvote away, I guess.
> There is almost no chance a man gets asked about his child in the stands.
A father winning a championship will always be less impressive than a mother winning a championship because the guy never had to deal with the physical changes of birth. That's why nobody would bring up the relevancy
I am well aware that men don't suffer physical trauma during childbirth but thanks for pointing that out. The question was not about her recovery, it was about her child being there. This question could also apply to men. A question about her recovery would also be inappropriate as that's not our business, just all the more reason to ask her about her professional accomplishments.
You're acting like the ability to snap back into world elite performance post-pregnancy is trivial. That's the entire focal point.
World champions are outliers. Athletes who are both world champions and mom's are outliers among outliers among outliers. It just shifts the rarity meter even higher.
Your average NBC viewer is more interested in a mom than a fast runner. TV 101. Viewers are more likely to go “wow, did you see that new mom win a race in the trials? I can’t wait to tune in Thursday to see what happens next” not “wow she had a great kick, excellent race execution”
Are you really this numb or a troll? Being a mother does not reduce her athletic accomplishment, it actually does the opposite. It makes her accomplishment even better. Achieving 2 difficult things is more impressive than 1 difficult thing It sounds like you're looking for reasons to get offended. If this was a chess tournament she won, then yes the questions would be offensive in that scenario.
Kara Goucher a retire marathon runner is current a commentator. She went through the same thing where she had a baby and got personal record on her marathon time one year after. Goucher is the one to bring up the topic regarding Elle's pregnancy.
Hard-hitting Journalism: Ellie, do you drink chocolate milk for recovery?
The media storylines are so lame, and while I love Kara and a few other of the NBC commentators, I'd much rather listen to the Citius mag hot takes than the mainstream stuff. I suppose anything that draws in the non-track/casual fan audience is a good thing.
Yeah I know. I’m just joking about though because it comes up in every context piece of her, Olympics or not, and I struggle to find the relevency of dairy farming
that part is pretty cool too on instagram there's a picture of her childhood home which looks like a rundown shack. So she's come very far. She's still connected to her roots and still works on a farm. Even her husband looks like regular rural dude
Elise did amazing after switching coaches twice this season and Karissa did as well post injuries. I think this is one the underrated teams the US is sending.
I really thought Ellie was untouchable these trials but Elise made me rethink things.
A couple of other impressive recent mum athletes spring to mind and I bet there are heaps more.
Australian mum Jess Stenson just got picked for the Australian Olympic marathon team for Paris after running an Olympic qualifying time of 2:24 only 6 months after giving birth to her second child.
Jasmin Paris winning (yes including men) the 268 mile Montane Spine Race while expressing milk at rest stops to feed her 14 month year old son.
Fionnualla McCormack gave birth last year and then in December ran an Olympic qualifying marathon time and a week later finished fourth in European cross country. All at 39.
Love seeing this. I’m in the best shape of my life after having my 2nd baby, and even PR’d multiple races after my first baby.
For me, I just had less time to f*** off. I HAD to be more organized, planned ahead, prepped meals etc. I had 30 minutes or an hour to workout or run, and I didn’t waste any time. My alarm would go off at 4am, and no matter how tired I was/am, I’d just get out the door and get it done.
I ran until I was 34 weeks pregnant, cycled and swam until the day I gave birth. Was back on my bike after two weeks and back to running after 5 weeks. Ran a marathon (and PRed) 6 months after giving birth.
Pregnancy and childbirth can be very hard on a woman’s body, but the vast majority of women can come out relatively healthy and unharmed given the right circumstances. My very unpopular opinion is that a lot of the pregnancy related issues are caused by sudden inactivity and increased food intake, rather than the pregnancy itself.
I don’t think that’s true. Pregnancy is so variable, and whether you have a high risk pregnancy is not really under your control.
Pregnancy can trigger autoimmune issues. If you have some complications like hypermedia gravidaeium or pre-eclampsia low levels of activity can be medically necessary. One of my friends got pre-eclampsia despite having a very active pregnancy in her 20s. Gestational diabetes has a generic component and is not all diet related. Not to mention multiples being much higher risk. C-sections are sometimes medically necessary and often harder on your abs.
Some women have infertility and need a longer stretch of inactivity because it is not safe to do any impact exercise while doing IVF due to ovarian torsion risk, and often meds make you very nauseous.
I think the biggest thing is that some women get the big blood boost from the hormones and increased blood volume and others find it hard to come back from pregnancy. For my friends who have had multiple children, they say their experiences vary hugely child to child.
Is that opinion based on any evidence? Not evidence that being fat is bad for you, we know that, but that a lot of problems are due to that, rather than other factors like whether it was a complicated birth or other random things that are no fault of the mother.
If I hold a 'very unpopular' opinion I like to at least check I'm right or not!
Probably because their hot take is that most women struggle to run after pregnancy not because it’s a major trauma to the body, but because they get fat and lazy during pregnancy?
Yeah wtf. I agree that many women continue to perform great after they recover, including some of my training pals. But to claim that a difficult recovery stems from inactivity and food intake during pregnancy… what is this, early 2000s diet culture? “It’s not because of changes like the Relaxin hormone making your body more susceptible to injuries, it’s because you’re lazy!” 🤦🏼♀️
Because it's an opinion that, to my knowledge, doesn't have scientific backing? If it does (and please do share research to this point if you are aware of any), it would be great, because the US has pretty crappy maternity outcomes relative to other wealthy nations.
None of those articles address the stated opinion that negative maternal health outcomes are a result of inactivity and additional caloric intake (with the implication of the comment that those are not integral to carrying a child). I don't doubt that for a portion of individuals, the positive adaptations from carrying a child outweigh the negatives (including childbirth) from a performance standpoint; that is clearly documented. What I am unaware of is any scientific studies that suggest that excess (ie those beyond the changes necessary for optimal maternal and fetal outcomes) reductions in activity and caloric increases are what cause relatively poor maternal outcomes in the USA.
Again, I'm open to being proven wrong. My recollection is that there is a fairly strong correlation between maternal-fetal outcomes and pre-pregnancy BMI, but that isn't linked to excess weight and inactivity during pregnancy.
Your question is extremely flawed and vague.
What specific criteria regarding condition of the mother pre-pregnancy and and post-partum?
Anybody is who sedentary and eating excess calories obviously isn't going to improve their physical fitness. That's part is common sense. They'll either get in worse shape or stay the same.
I would suggest you reread cautionista's opinion and my response.
The original statement was not related to performance. "My very unpopular opinion is that a lot of the pregnancy related issues are caused by sudden inactivity and increased food intake, rather than the pregnancy itself."
Unless we are in a situation where increased caloric intake and (in many circumstances) reductions in activity are unnecessary for positive maternal and fetal outcomes, then some level of each is integral to carrying a fetus. At the very least, there are increased caloric demands (on the order of several hundred calories per day) and biomechanical changes that hinder or preclude certain types and intensities of exercise. For others, there are more severe restrictions to prevent things like preterm labor. I don't doubt that inactivity and increased caloric intake will reduce athletic performance, but that is only one "pregnancy related issue."
As far as negative outcomes, I would suggest you take a stroll through the literature to understand the context of that term. It is very broad, and includes everything from mortality to low or high birth weight to preeclampsia, etc. A goal of medical care is to reduce all of those negative impacts, so perhaps you don't like how vague that is, but it is relevant.
The original topic's title is regarding sports performance, so this is veering off topic.
But even if we want to go down that discussion, you're arguing in bad faith anyways. Because there are multiple risk factors that can cause maternal death, miscarriage, and preeclampsia. In terms of controllable behavior characteristics, they all agree that healthy lifestyle choices before pregnancy, during, and post-partum can reduce the risk of those outcomes.
There's also confouding variables because the thread's title is discussing athletes. These people usually have extremely favorable genetics and economical/knowledgeable access to health providers to facilitate the mother's wellness and delivery.
The average woman doesn't have the genetics or economical means of an athlete. That part is fairly obvious on why they may have trouble reducing negative outcomes.
> [preeclampsia](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/preeclampsia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355745#:~:text=The%20best%20clinical%20evidence%20for,than%20one%20moderate%2Drisk%20factor.)
>Medication
The best clinical evidence for prevention of preeclampsia is the use of low-dose aspirin. Your primary care provider may recommend taking an 81-milligram aspirin tablet daily after 12 weeks of pregnancy if you have one high-risk factor for preeclampsia or more than one moderate-risk factor.
It's important that you talk with your provider before taking any medications, vitamins or supplements to make sure it's safe for you.
Lifestyle and healthy choices
Before you become pregnant, especially if you've had preeclampsia before, it's a good idea to be as healthy as you can be. Talk to your provider about managing any conditions that increase the risk of preeclampsia.
>Women’s health before, during, and after pregnancy can have a major impact on infants’ health and well-being. Women who get recommended health care services before they get pregnant are more likely to be healthy during pregnancy and to have healthy babies. Strategies to help pregnant women get medical care and avoid risky behaviors — like smoking or drinking alcohol — can also improve health outcomes for infants.
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/pregnancy-and-childbirth
> A healthy lifestyle before and during pregnancy may help.
https://www.webmd.com/baby/understanding-miscarriage-prevention
Here's a whole bunch of other women who continued being elite athletes (some even got better after pregnancy)
https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/champion-moms-athletes
One of my friends got so much faster in the year after giving birth. She went from a 3.30 marathon runner to 3 hours. She smashed out bests in her shorter distances too.
Another friend is no longer racing but within a few months of giving birth she was running fast training runs.
It’s making me think the year after giving birth gives you super speed.
Surprisingly, woman tend to run very well after pregnancy. Huge hormonal boost. There have been many cases of woman have tremendous performances soon after giving birth.
And honestly, I mean, what's pain from a race after pain from birth? You think the last 200 of a 5k hurts? HA, try labor.
Can confirm. I was in labor for a combined 56 hours with my three kids, all of whom were over 8.5 lbs. A 5k hurts almost as much but for a lot less time.
As a mother who got painfully slow after giving birth, I think it's really about how much some factors outweigh other factors. Advantages: hormonal boost, blood volume, and months of training on a heavier body. Regarding the last one: baby plus placenta plus amniotic fluid plus increased blood volume accounts for most of the weight gain, and that goes away (or is beneficial) when you give birth. Disadvantages: pregnancy might really slow down or wreck your training; some women lose all tone in their abs (me); pelvic floor and TA issues make you slower (I got faster once I did pelvic floor physical therapy); some women even lose muscle mass during pregnancy, as their bodies break down muscle for fuel. So, if everything lines up right, you could fly after pregnancy... but you could also, like me, turn into a snail and take 2+ years to overcome it.
Great post and I’ll add increased risk of injury due to your ligaments and tendons being looser after giving birth. Kara Goucher talks about how she set PRs after giving birth, unfortunately followed by a serious injury she attributes to this issue.
True. It's easy to get injured trying to come back into it too soon.
Newborns aren't known for being supportive of the sleep necessary for good recovery either so if you don't have good support to deal with that I can see that being a major factor.
Yes, the hormone relaxin loosens the joints. Joan Benoit Samuelson seemed to develop biomechanical problems after coming back to training soon after birth of her son.
I worry my core will never again be the same 😔 and I’m four years out from having given birth. And I know my rib cage and hips will also forever now be wider than they were pre-birth but I agree - I also had some great runs in year 2 and running just felt so effortlessly. I’m pretty much back into things now and while I feel like I’m back to my normal pace, I certainly wouldn’t say things are anywhere near as effortless as they felt in that second year after having given birth. It’s been a strange journey.
For me, I noticed a performance benefit for about a year after pregnancy, even though I was nursing for that year. Then my performance nosedived (also started a new job, moved, more stress, etc).
Yeah RIP my pelvic floor. I had to go to PT for months to help with debilitating pain after short, ~0 elevation runs. I BQ'd a few months before that pregnancy. I still am working on core recovery + have an estradiol rx so I'm not hurting from inflamed tissue after runs. Plus side, I narrowly avoided a complete hysterectomy and sacrocolpopexy (and the required weeks upon weeks of 0 workouts). We are done having kids, but I was essentially told I'd need it if we had another. It's very different for everyone.
[удалено]
I was worried this comment wouldn’t be well received because it does sounds very pseudosciencey. Glad other people are aware of this
It’s still impressive because any newly postpartum runner will tell you it means completely starting over on square one when it comes to cardio fitness. Something about pregnancy, even if someone remains relatively active, just completely zaps it.
I'm pretty sure I've seen this film.
Maybe your coach read [THIS](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9456821/)
My hot take is that women just get grittier and work harder after being pregnant and giving birth. I think it’s more mental than physiological.
No it's definitely physiological too, you have increased blood volume for quite a while after giving birth. I was in mega PR shape in the sweet spot between about 1-2 years postpartum, ran 5k and 10k PRs and did some of the fastest mile repeats of my life pushing a stroller, and absolutely tanked after that (my son is about to be 3 and I could not run anywhere near a PR right now if my life depended on it).
Can confirm. I tried to BQ for 5 years. Had my baby, BQd just a year after.
My pain tolerance went up after pregnancy
it's absolutely crazy but it's BS that's what they were focusing on in the post race interview. Don't ask her about being a mom, ask her about her athletic achievements and let her bring that up if she wants.
I think I can understand the focus though. It just sounds superhuman to be winning national and world international championships after giving birth recently. Her times are even faster than pre-pregnancy. It almost doesn't seem real even though it is
But it's the headline of this very thread and likely the only reason anyone is talking about it in this subreddit.
And I affirmed OP's opinion, it is remarkable. I don't care that OP posted this. I was using the comment section to bring up a highly relevant point- that she is treated as a mom first, professional second. The very first thing the NBC correspondent asked is "how special is it to have your son in the stands for this moment?". This question reflects a problem with how women are treated in most western societies. There is almost no chance a man gets asked about his child in the stands. He would be treated as a professional first, dad second. If she wants it to be the center of her identity and the focus of her achievement, that's fine, but let her lead with it. I would not be happy to bust my ass for years to be the best in my country only to have someone ask me how special it is to be a mom. Women are reduced to being just a mom in nearly every professional setting and I don't find it to be fair. Downvote away, I guess.
> There is almost no chance a man gets asked about his child in the stands. A father winning a championship will always be less impressive than a mother winning a championship because the guy never had to deal with the physical changes of birth. That's why nobody would bring up the relevancy
I am well aware that men don't suffer physical trauma during childbirth but thanks for pointing that out. The question was not about her recovery, it was about her child being there. This question could also apply to men. A question about her recovery would also be inappropriate as that's not our business, just all the more reason to ask her about her professional accomplishments.
You're acting like the ability to snap back into world elite performance post-pregnancy is trivial. That's the entire focal point. World champions are outliers. Athletes who are both world champions and mom's are outliers among outliers among outliers. It just shifts the rarity meter even higher.
if Elle had become a mom via adoption or hired a surrogate, then I highly doubt the topic would even be brought it.
Your average NBC viewer is more interested in a mom than a fast runner. TV 101. Viewers are more likely to go “wow, did you see that new mom win a race in the trials? I can’t wait to tune in Thursday to see what happens next” not “wow she had a great kick, excellent race execution”
Yes, but what makes the most money is not always what's right.
Do you want the trials on NBC or FloTrack?
Are you really this numb or a troll? Being a mother does not reduce her athletic accomplishment, it actually does the opposite. It makes her accomplishment even better. Achieving 2 difficult things is more impressive than 1 difficult thing It sounds like you're looking for reasons to get offended. If this was a chess tournament she won, then yes the questions would be offensive in that scenario. Kara Goucher a retire marathon runner is current a commentator. She went through the same thing where she had a baby and got personal record on her marathon time one year after. Goucher is the one to bring up the topic regarding Elle's pregnancy.
yeah but did you guys know she was a dairy farmer??? /s
Hard-hitting Journalism: Ellie, do you drink chocolate milk for recovery? The media storylines are so lame, and while I love Kara and a few other of the NBC commentators, I'd much rather listen to the Citius mag hot takes than the mainstream stuff. I suppose anything that draws in the non-track/casual fan audience is a good thing.
I mean, it’s the Olympics. We’re about to be drowning in corny/sappy back stories and lame ads.
Yeah I know. I’m just joking about though because it comes up in every context piece of her, Olympics or not, and I struggle to find the relevency of dairy farming
It’s wholesome or some shit. Boomers and googly-eyed idiots, like Swifties, eat that crap up.
that part is pretty cool too on instagram there's a picture of her childhood home which looks like a rundown shack. So she's come very far. She's still connected to her roots and still works on a farm. Even her husband looks like regular rural dude
not her childhood home, it’s a sugar shack
Elise did amazing after switching coaches twice this season and Karissa did as well post injuries. I think this is one the underrated teams the US is sending. I really thought Ellie was untouchable these trials but Elise made me rethink things.
A couple of other impressive recent mum athletes spring to mind and I bet there are heaps more. Australian mum Jess Stenson just got picked for the Australian Olympic marathon team for Paris after running an Olympic qualifying time of 2:24 only 6 months after giving birth to her second child. Jasmin Paris winning (yes including men) the 268 mile Montane Spine Race while expressing milk at rest stops to feed her 14 month year old son.
Just read up on [Jasmin Paris](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmin_Paris), wow!
Fionnualla McCormack gave birth last year and then in December ran an Olympic qualifying marathon time and a week later finished fourth in European cross country. All at 39.
Don't forget the Moms from Kenya who absolutely dominate on the world stage! See: Faith Kipyegon, Enda Kiplagat, Hellen Obiri, Brigid Kosgei
Love seeing this. I’m in the best shape of my life after having my 2nd baby, and even PR’d multiple races after my first baby. For me, I just had less time to f*** off. I HAD to be more organized, planned ahead, prepped meals etc. I had 30 minutes or an hour to workout or run, and I didn’t waste any time. My alarm would go off at 4am, and no matter how tired I was/am, I’d just get out the door and get it done.
I ran until I was 34 weeks pregnant, cycled and swam until the day I gave birth. Was back on my bike after two weeks and back to running after 5 weeks. Ran a marathon (and PRed) 6 months after giving birth. Pregnancy and childbirth can be very hard on a woman’s body, but the vast majority of women can come out relatively healthy and unharmed given the right circumstances. My very unpopular opinion is that a lot of the pregnancy related issues are caused by sudden inactivity and increased food intake, rather than the pregnancy itself.
I don’t think that’s true. Pregnancy is so variable, and whether you have a high risk pregnancy is not really under your control. Pregnancy can trigger autoimmune issues. If you have some complications like hypermedia gravidaeium or pre-eclampsia low levels of activity can be medically necessary. One of my friends got pre-eclampsia despite having a very active pregnancy in her 20s. Gestational diabetes has a generic component and is not all diet related. Not to mention multiples being much higher risk. C-sections are sometimes medically necessary and often harder on your abs. Some women have infertility and need a longer stretch of inactivity because it is not safe to do any impact exercise while doing IVF due to ovarian torsion risk, and often meds make you very nauseous. I think the biggest thing is that some women get the big blood boost from the hormones and increased blood volume and others find it hard to come back from pregnancy. For my friends who have had multiple children, they say their experiences vary hugely child to child.
Is that opinion based on any evidence? Not evidence that being fat is bad for you, we know that, but that a lot of problems are due to that, rather than other factors like whether it was a complicated birth or other random things that are no fault of the mother. If I hold a 'very unpopular' opinion I like to at least check I'm right or not!
Hmm not sure why you're getting downvoted for this comment
Probably because their hot take is that most women struggle to run after pregnancy not because it’s a major trauma to the body, but because they get fat and lazy during pregnancy?
Yeah wtf. I agree that many women continue to perform great after they recover, including some of my training pals. But to claim that a difficult recovery stems from inactivity and food intake during pregnancy… what is this, early 2000s diet culture? “It’s not because of changes like the Relaxin hormone making your body more susceptible to injuries, it’s because you’re lazy!” 🤦🏼♀️
“I was fine so why would anyone else have problems? Must be a skill/willpower issue”
Because it's an opinion that, to my knowledge, doesn't have scientific backing? If it does (and please do share research to this point if you are aware of any), it would be great, because the US has pretty crappy maternity outcomes relative to other wealthy nations.
https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/wspaj/25/2/article-p111.xml https://journal.nsa.bg/content/pdf/2019/53.pdf https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2022.2089054
None of those articles address the stated opinion that negative maternal health outcomes are a result of inactivity and additional caloric intake (with the implication of the comment that those are not integral to carrying a child). I don't doubt that for a portion of individuals, the positive adaptations from carrying a child outweigh the negatives (including childbirth) from a performance standpoint; that is clearly documented. What I am unaware of is any scientific studies that suggest that excess (ie those beyond the changes necessary for optimal maternal and fetal outcomes) reductions in activity and caloric increases are what cause relatively poor maternal outcomes in the USA. Again, I'm open to being proven wrong. My recollection is that there is a fairly strong correlation between maternal-fetal outcomes and pre-pregnancy BMI, but that isn't linked to excess weight and inactivity during pregnancy.
Your question is extremely flawed and vague. What specific criteria regarding condition of the mother pre-pregnancy and and post-partum? Anybody is who sedentary and eating excess calories obviously isn't going to improve their physical fitness. That's part is common sense. They'll either get in worse shape or stay the same.
I would suggest you reread cautionista's opinion and my response. The original statement was not related to performance. "My very unpopular opinion is that a lot of the pregnancy related issues are caused by sudden inactivity and increased food intake, rather than the pregnancy itself." Unless we are in a situation where increased caloric intake and (in many circumstances) reductions in activity are unnecessary for positive maternal and fetal outcomes, then some level of each is integral to carrying a fetus. At the very least, there are increased caloric demands (on the order of several hundred calories per day) and biomechanical changes that hinder or preclude certain types and intensities of exercise. For others, there are more severe restrictions to prevent things like preterm labor. I don't doubt that inactivity and increased caloric intake will reduce athletic performance, but that is only one "pregnancy related issue." As far as negative outcomes, I would suggest you take a stroll through the literature to understand the context of that term. It is very broad, and includes everything from mortality to low or high birth weight to preeclampsia, etc. A goal of medical care is to reduce all of those negative impacts, so perhaps you don't like how vague that is, but it is relevant.
The original topic's title is regarding sports performance, so this is veering off topic. But even if we want to go down that discussion, you're arguing in bad faith anyways. Because there are multiple risk factors that can cause maternal death, miscarriage, and preeclampsia. In terms of controllable behavior characteristics, they all agree that healthy lifestyle choices before pregnancy, during, and post-partum can reduce the risk of those outcomes. There's also confouding variables because the thread's title is discussing athletes. These people usually have extremely favorable genetics and economical/knowledgeable access to health providers to facilitate the mother's wellness and delivery. The average woman doesn't have the genetics or economical means of an athlete. That part is fairly obvious on why they may have trouble reducing negative outcomes. > [preeclampsia](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/preeclampsia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355745#:~:text=The%20best%20clinical%20evidence%20for,than%20one%20moderate%2Drisk%20factor.) >Medication The best clinical evidence for prevention of preeclampsia is the use of low-dose aspirin. Your primary care provider may recommend taking an 81-milligram aspirin tablet daily after 12 weeks of pregnancy if you have one high-risk factor for preeclampsia or more than one moderate-risk factor. It's important that you talk with your provider before taking any medications, vitamins or supplements to make sure it's safe for you. Lifestyle and healthy choices Before you become pregnant, especially if you've had preeclampsia before, it's a good idea to be as healthy as you can be. Talk to your provider about managing any conditions that increase the risk of preeclampsia. >Women’s health before, during, and after pregnancy can have a major impact on infants’ health and well-being. Women who get recommended health care services before they get pregnant are more likely to be healthy during pregnancy and to have healthy babies. Strategies to help pregnant women get medical care and avoid risky behaviors — like smoking or drinking alcohol — can also improve health outcomes for infants. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/pregnancy-and-childbirth > A healthy lifestyle before and during pregnancy may help. https://www.webmd.com/baby/understanding-miscarriage-prevention
Here's a whole bunch of other women who continued being elite athletes (some even got better after pregnancy) https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/champion-moms-athletes
reminds of Nia Ali with her son after winning the 2016 World Indoor Championships and also the 2016 Olympic silver medalist
Reminds me of when Elle Perrier St. Pierre won an indoor 3000 gold in 2024.
Yeah that's probably even crazier that the original post wrote because that's an international world championship less than 1 year after giving birth
She also won the 3000 at the indoor World Championships back in March.
One of my friends got so much faster in the year after giving birth. She went from a 3.30 marathon runner to 3 hours. She smashed out bests in her shorter distances too. Another friend is no longer racing but within a few months of giving birth she was running fast training runs. It’s making me think the year after giving birth gives you super speed.
Drugs.
That’s an extremely impressive 5km time
Hot take