Pregnancy Activity Question

I agree with Claudia. My husband played softball with his work & one of the girls was pregnant & the batter nailed her really bad in the stomach...She ended up in the hospital for 2 days & unfortunately ended up miscarrying because the hit was so hard. It really is a personal decision, but just keep in mind that unlike running, swimming, etc, that softball can be a bit risky in the case of falling or getting hit with a ball!
But, congrats on the pregnancy!

Softball sounds low key but can be risky, especially if you get hit by a ball or were to fall while running - preggie women are not the most nimble and graceful creatures! Even a regular fall will land you in the hospital immediately for an ultrasound, as there's a chance of leaking, bleeding, or that the placenta can separate from the membrane, leading to miscarriage (I learned this the hard way after I tripped at 20 weeks, baby was OK but it's very scary!). So go to the game, but stay on the sidelines. Let walking, swimming and window shopping be your low-activity, low-risk exercise.

Activity-wise I think it would be fine to stay active (of course, doctors always know best), but I would be worried about collisions and getting hit with the ball. I am a bit over-paranoid when it comes to those things though. :)

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I continued playing volleyball until I was 5 or 6 months and it wasn't an issue, but I was definitely getting slow-moving, clutzier, and my hips started popping out of joint from the relaxen making my joints looser.

It seems like the risk is pretty low for playing softball, especially if you are normally active, but call your doctor.

Also, consider the risk of just twisting your ankle. How will you feel about being on crutches, while pregnant, this spring? To me, it would make it impossible to stay mildly active (walking, biking) and would not be worth the fun of the softball team.

If you are doing softball for the social interaction, offer to be the ball and bat girl... Hang out with the team, but stay in the dugout.

If it were me, I'd skip the team this time around.

I think it's a very individual thing. I went to hawaii and you can do many activities till you're 6 months pregnant (snorkeling, etc.) - and I think they have to have a cut-off for liability reasons. You might want to check to see if the league has something similar. Give your doc a call this week. Exercise is good for you, but of course you should be cautious as you get bigger. How long is the season? If it's just a couple of months, it may be over before you're big enough to worry about it. Have fun!

I would think its ok as long as you're not sliding and colliding with other players. Although, you'll find that as your belly gets bigger, it will become more difficult. Put a call into the doctor. This is the type of question they can answer over the phone, especially if you're already an established patient and they know your history.

The best thing to do is call your doctors office and ask the dr/nurse(as you can see by the variety of answers:)).

Exercise is good for you when you are pregnant. I hiked the Grand Canyon when I was 5 1/2 months pregnant and my doctor approved. The only concern would be a ball hitting you in the stomach. It is not likely to happen but just be on guard.

go for it. i am doing a 5k run/wak in 6 weeks and ttc and if i turn up pregnant next week i am still doing my race

I'd call your dr. I'd always call for things I was uncertain of (especially in the early stages & your appts. are so far apart). Maybe you could be the "water or bat girl" for the team. :) Good luck!

I played basketball and volleyball until I was eight months pregnant. I was pretty hard core too. During the first 2 months I kept diving for balls and didn't hurt the baby. I had to slow down when I started to show more and stopped doing crazy things. The only thing you need to be careful is not getting hit with a softball. I would be considered if I was batting.

I would suggest no, as the chances of falling is higher than if you were jogging or something like that. I would call your doc and ask him over the phone. Why wait for your appointment? If you're an active person I think it's important to know now how much you should or should not do, generally speaking. He can let you know more when he sees you.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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I wouldn't do it. Not so much because you might hurt the baby, but because you could damage your placenta. If you were to run into someone and get knocked over it could potentially cause placental abruption (tearing) and result in a miscarriage. You may not be hard core, but some of your team-mates might be. Besides do you think you could make it a whole inning in the outfield with out a trip to the ladies room?