And the Doctor Says...

NO!

In my previous post, Bump on Board: Running in Pregnancy, I mentioned that I was going to contact my doctor/midwife to discuss my second trimester running in relation to the strength of my cervix. Don't worry, I won't get more graphic than that.

I read about this on US sites and it seems like a fairly common, encouraged, question that pregnant runners ask so I thought I'd give it a whirl here in the UK.

Swallowing my pride, I called my local surgery (for those in the US that's the doctor's office) and left a message for the doctor asking if I should come in for a quick cervical check up and hopefully get his blessing to continue running. It was fun explaining all this to the receptionist...

I can't say I was shocked when the receptionist called me later that day and said, simply: "We've passed on your message to the doctor regarding your running and he said you'd better not."

I'd better not. That was it. No check up. No reason in relation to me. Stock advice. From my initial encounter with the midwife I expected this might be the response I got, but I still felt disappointed. I really like my doctor; he has always been lovely and patient with me through any odd little ailment I've had. But I've done my research on running and believe I should be able to continue at this stage. It's slightly aggravating that since the general UK advice on the matter seems to be "don't do it," the one precautionary check I'd like done doesn't appear to be an option due to differences in US/UK pre-natal culture. I'm not knocking the UK system - I think it has a lot of benefits the more I learn - but in this instance, I'm not a fan.

So truthfully, what am I doing? I've made the executive decision to continue my weekend 5k run at an easy pace. If I feel anything is out of sorts, I'll stop. I'm not looking to be stubborn or doing anything that will be unhealthy for our baby, or me. But I don't think I am based on my research and the fact I'm treading carefully and have not experienced warning signs. Maybe at my 20 week sonogram they'll be able to comment on my little ol' cervix. I'm not sure though. I'll keep you posted :)