My Experience as a Pregnant Equestrian: First Trimester
First off, big disclaimer: what follows is only my personal experience. I am not a medical professional or pregnancy expert. Please check with your own care provider before making any decisions regarding your equestrian pregnancy.
When I first found out I was pregnant, my first thought was, “how am I going to ride?”
After some major digging online, interrogating every equestrian I knew that had ever had a child, and talking at length with friends, my trainer, and family, I felt comfortable making choices that were safe for myself and my growing baby without sacrificing the thing that gets me out of bed every morning or my career.
I have to say though, information is so limited out there about how to safely work in a physical field and go through pregnancy and the postpartum period. This is frustrating because the resounding message seems to be “just don’t do it.” Unfortunately, this isn’t helpful, as many women either can’t quit their jobs for financial reasons, or won’t for mental health reasons. It is much more helpful to learn how to safely navigate this time in a rapidly changing body.
So here is the first of what I hope to be several posts about what I have learned, either through trial and error, or by learning from other women who have successfully navigated an equestrian pregnancy.
Finding clothes that fit
I was shocked at how quickly my go-to clothes stopped fitting. Half my jeans were ruled out by week 10, and some leggings and breeches were too tight to feel comfortable even sooner than that. But maternity pants slipped down constantly, making them annoying and impossible to get anything done.
Here is what I learned:
Low wasted jeans can be modified with looped rubber band through the button hole to give them a little extra stretch. Low wasted leggings and breeches can sit a little lower and not interfere with your belly. This is the most frustrating time because while you feel really different in all your clothes, nobody can see the difference yet. Know you’re not alone in this struggle, and dress for comfort over style. By week 12 I had a box in my closet that I would toss clothes into that no longer felt good or fit. When that box filled up, it went out of sight to storage and another empty box took its place. That way I never argued with the same pair of pants twice.
Feeding your body when food is the last thing on your mind
When you work a physical job food is non negotiable. But in the first trimester food might feel like your absolute worst enemy. I learned to keep nuts next to my bed and eat them before I even opened my eyes. This helped a lot to get more food down later. I also put on pressure point bracelets before even getting out of bed.
Even if all I could choke down was some fruit or a smoothie, I let myself eat whatever sounded good…no…tolerable. I kept sparkling drinks with me in my car and in the house at all times, and ginger chews in my pocket just in case a wave of nausea hit while I was in the middle of a lesson or working a horse.
But to be honest, the worst days for me were the days I stayed home. When I was out with the horses and interacting with clients I felt so much better. I think the fresh air, activity, and distractions all helped to keep my morning sickness very manageable.
Exercise, knowing your limits, and riding
Gone are the days when pregnant women were told to sit back with their feet up and not lift a finger. Exercise during pregnancy has been shown to reduce complications and speed postpartum recovery (and as I write this four weeks postpartum I can attest that in my own experience this is true). The rule of thumb now is that it is safe to continue doing any level of activity you were doing before becoming pregnant. However, lifting heavy objects, twisting, and anything that causes your abs to pooch out (think sit ups) are strictly off limits, as is any undo risk that could lead to injury.
So you have a great excuse to make other people unload hay and muck stalls for the next nine months. Riding itself is safe. Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s too much “jostling” for the baby. However, falling could be much more serious now than ever, and as your bump grows your balance can change drastically. So listen to your instincts. You’ll know which horses are safe to climb onto and when to stay grounded all together. As you get further into pregnancy relaxin can cause your pelvis to shift and riding can become more uncomfortable or even impossible.
But all said, the first trimester is really pretty cut and dried physically. While I was tired and not particularly interested in a lot of activity, it’s actually pretty safe to continue as usual with the baby hiding safely within your pelvis.
Dealing with the exhaustion
For me, the exhaustion was real. I slept at least ten hours every night and took a long nap every single day. It’s also rough to be used to a highly active lifestyle and suddenly feel like just walking to the kitchen is too much work to be worth the effort. For me, this went away around week 12 or 13, and I suddenly felt much more like my normal self.
While it’s tempting to drink a bunch of coffee and get back out there, I highly recommend planning time in your day to just sleep, even if it means turning down friends or working a few less hours. It feels so good to just give yourself permission to be lazy for once, especially for us go-getter horse girls.
The round ligaments
Oh the round ligaments. We have become very well acquainted over the past few months. It is hard to believe I never even knew they existed before.
My first introduction to the round ligaments was one I will never forget. Sometime in mid December, I was wrapping up at the barn and walking toward my truck to go home for the evening. Then, I sneezed. I immediately doubled in half and tears came to my eyes from the stabbing, shooting pain that coursed through my pelvis. I quickly climbed in my truck, embarrassed and not ready to explain myself to anyone (nobody knew I was pregnant yet), and whipped out my phone to google. Turns out, this is completely normal. And I would soon learn that it wasn’t just sneezes that angered the round ligaments, but coughing, twisting, too tight pants, standing up too fast from a squat, and just about anything else jarring would set them off as well.
I learned quickly the value of daily stretching and slowing down, literally. Moving slowly when standing up, rolling over in bed, or squatting. And of course, doubling in half to sneeze, cough, or sometimes even laugh.
I hope that these lessons are a helpful resource for other women in physical fields. I’ll leave you with one last nugget of advice. What you do is nobody’s business but your own. Whether you choose to ride, haul trailers, train, hike, farm, or do any other physical work is a very personal decision. You are absolutely allowed to decline to answer people’s questions, tell them you’ll “think about” their advice, or even flat out lie to avoid the unsolicited advice from perfect strangers. Your doctor, partner, and other support team members will hopefully be well enough educated about the real risks, and know you well enough to understand how important this lifestyle is to you. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help, no task is too small or silly.