What started out as an attempt to look after myself almost turned into a nightmare. Today, I went swimming with my sister. Everyone, even the pregnancy books said that swimming would be safe. I rationalized that there wouldn't be any extreme pressure, impact or strain since I was going to be supported by water. I figured that I would just paddle around and walk in the water. Which was what I did. I also lay on my back and just kicked myself from one side of the pool to the other. In my teens, I had been pretty good. I trained 3 times a week under a coach and even considered going competitive at one point.
Perhaps in was the fact that I hadn't swam in years. When I got out of the water, I noticed a slight cramping sensation in my groin, somewhere on the right side. Being totally paranoid, I kinda freaked out and insisted that we should call the doctor.
Kelvin was as white as a sheet. He had told me that I shouldn't go swimming. However, his reason was more to do with chlorine water getting inside me so I had reassured him that under no circumstance would our baby be choked by chlorine water and that swimming was the safest exercise next to walking.
After calling the emergency number my gynae had given me, I lay down in bed. I suppose when you're paranoid and pregnant, you really imagine the worst. My gynae finally called me back and I don't remember what I said, I suppose I was rambling. He told me to take some of my hormone pills and call him in two hours. I couldn't wait so long so an hour later, I called him up and agreed to meet him at the hospital. All I wanted at that point was an ultrasound just to make sure the baby was okay.
In the end, the baby was fine. However, I had strained a muscle in my uterus and was experiencing a mild contraction. My gynae looked at me yet again as if I was the most ridiculous pregnant woman he had ever met and commented, "That must have been some swim!"
"Heah-hee," I protested. "All I did was wade around and do some kicking in the water."
The doctor told me to take it really easy. He gave me a week of MC and instructed me not to do housework even.
When we got home, Kelvin patted my head that said, "What have we learned today? If anything, it's to always listen to the voice of truth and reason--ie, me. No more swimming for you."
"Yes dear," I sighed.
4 comments:
Uh. How can you strain a muscle in your uterus while swimming??
Well... you should take it easy. But the question in my mind is, doesn't this mean all the more you should 'train' your uterus? After all, it's going to be really utilized in the upcoming months...
That sounds really stupid. =P
What I mean is, I'm sure there are classes for physical training for the birthing process.
Oh, and...
ONE WEEK MC??!
but i think you should walk. more.
sure, not strain yourself, but then, you're pregnant, not ill. whatever you're used to doing before pregnancy, you should be able to do in successively lower intensity, isn't it?
Still remember the story of this woman who lived in JB, worked at NUH, who bike-commuted on a daily basis. Not some cheap and light scooter, but a 1300cc Sports Tourer. She got pregnant, continued riding, all the way into the day of her delivery. That last bit I am somewhat sceptical, but... you know my point.
and listen to your body, not necessarily the voice of reason... i mean, what do/can men know about pregnancy and childbirth?
And with that, I automatically disqualify my own statement. sigh. :P
Well, apparently as the uterus expands, the muscles unfurl like a woven net being stretched. I suppose I just stretched it too much too fast. Pretty late to be training now. Basically, if my abs were strong in the first place (luckily I've been doing lots of belly dancing workouts and core resistance exercises) then I won't get so much backaches later on in the pregnancy. That motorcycle woman was probably just doing what her body is used to. Hmmm...then I should just continue belly dancing right? I don't know how to train the uterus wall muscles. They will perform the necessary contractions when the time comes. Yah, I should definitely do more walking. But for this week at least just lots of lazing around. Time to ponder my life and think about new directions and finances...
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