Long before I got pregnant, I was thinking about childbirth and how I might handle it. Since I am a marathon runner and generally in shape, I was curious if it would be any easier for me. One question I asked many runner friends who had children was “Do you think being a runner helped you during labor?”. For the most part, everyone I asked laughed and told me that they are completely different and couldn’t be compared. Now that I’ve had my own baby I thought I’d share my honest answer to that question! NOTE: I am NOT a doctor, and each pregnancy/labor is different. Realize that your experience will 100% be your own! So, read on for A Runner’s Diary: Did Being A Runner Help WIth Childbirth?
To read all about my pregnancy check out my Runner’s Diary for my first, second, and third trimesters!
Expectations as a Pregnant Runner
Early on in my pregnancy, I decided I wanted to have an unmedicated labor, and labor at home as much as possible. These decisions were for a few reasons. One was curiosity, I wanted to see if I could handle unmedicated labor. I think that speaks to the endurance athlete in me, being curious about what my body could do. Another reason was the health and safety of my baby and me. I figured it would be a faster recovery for both of us if we had no interventions (or the least amount of interventions possible). And lastly, and what probably sounds like the silliest, I hated the idea of not being able to feel my legs if I had an epidural. I knew that if I had Pitocin to induce labor, I would most likely need an epidural since Pitocin makes your contractions more intense. So overall, I just wanted nothing to do with any of it, and I wanted to do it on my own at home as much as possible.
To help meet my goal, I hired a Doula and took a childbirth class. My doula was amazing and provided me with support and information throughout my pregnancy. The childbirth class helped me to ask the right questions when needed, and gave me a realistic view of the childbirth journey.
Since I am a planner, doing as much “planning” for my labor was mentally what I needed. Honestly, you can have an idea of what you want but things will unfold the way they will and it’s largely out of your control. Having my support system and knowledge going into labor helped ease my anxiety as my due date approached.
Reality Childbirth as a Runner
At 38 weeks my body wasn’t making much progress toward delivery. I wasn’t dilated or effaced. This made me very disheartened, even though looking back now I realize it was very early to tell anything. My 40-week appointment came and at that point, I decided I would have my membranes swept if they were able to do so. This was a stretch for me since I originally hadn’t wanted ANY interference to get my labor started, but I was getting nervous that I may never go into labor on my own.
Here Comes Baby!
Once my OB performed the membrane sweep, I felt a gush of liquid come out of me. My OB didn’t think it was my water breaking… but they did a check just in case. Lo and behold it WAS my water breaking! This is what I mean by you can plan all you want but in the end, plans change. Once your water breaks you are on the clock to deliver within 24 hours. This is due to a higher risk of infection if you wait any longer.
My OB told me I had 12 hours to get my labor going on my own, then they would have to start Pitocin if no progress had been made. We live far enough away from the hospital, and the weather was bad, so we decided to stay around the area and get lunch before checking in.
After lunch (and Krispy Kreme donuts, shush don’t tell anyone! =p ) we checked into our room at the hospital and waited for my labor to intensify. It didn’t progress much in 12 hours. So, the dreaded Pitocin was started. I had a feeling I was going to want an epidural at some point once the Pitocin started, but I wanted to wait it out and see how long I could handle it.
Active Labor!
I’m not sure how long it took where I knew I needed an Epidural (like RIGHT NOW) but there was no question in my mind that it was the right decision. The contractions started off slow, but once the back labor became unbearable I asked for the meds. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get one for another hour due to the anesthesiologist being backed up. So I had to endure the back labor until they could get to me. When he finally arrived and gave me the sweet sweet drugs I felt like I heard angels sing. It seriously felt like heaven.
After the epidural, they told me and my husband to sleep. We did, and it felt amazing. They had me sleep with a peanut ball between my legs. The nurse rolled me from side to side every once in a while to get the drugs to spread evenly. I woke up in the morning and they checked me and told me that it was almost time to push! It was surreal to go from absolutely no progress to waking up and being told my baby was almost here!
Push It! Runner Style!
So THIS is where I feel the athlete in me really shined. First of all, I was very nervous about not being able to feel the urge to push since I had a VERY effective epidural. As we waited for the nurse to arrive my smart doula started talking to me about my passion for running. This really helped me refocus and calm down. Once the pushing began I automatically went into workout mode. I did what the nurse told me to do and had water/ Gatorade at every other pushing break. It felt like I was doing a run workout as I took nutrition breaks between “reps”. I started to feel the need to push after a while as the drugs drained out of my lower body a bit. After two hours of pushing, my wee one was born!
Did Being a Runner Help With Childbirth?
While my birth didn’t go exactly as planned, the ultimate goal was success. Both baby and mom were healthy in the end. So much pressure is put on having the ideal birth experience, but in the end, I felt fine about how my story turned out.
To answer the question “did being a runner help with childbirth”, I would say yes and no. Being in shape and active during pre-pregnancy and pregnancy helped my stamina both with delivery and recovery. But being a runner and having done hard things didn’t necessarily make my induced active labor any easier. Though, it did help me focus and get through pushing. In general just stay active, whatever that means to you, and it will pay off in its own way! Now I am four weeks postpartum and walking daily and looking forward to getting back to running. =) Fitness is a huge part of who I am and it will be interesting to see how I can incorporate it with this new little guy! Stay tuned to the blog for my latest endeavors!
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