Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Marathon Mom


Yesterday I read a blog about a woman who ran a marathon at 39 weeks pregnant, then went into labor and delivered a healthy baby seven hours later.

Today I saw a segment on the Today Show about the woman. Matt Lauer and Ann Curry were questioning whether or not it was acceptable for this mom to have run the marathon so late in her pregnancy.

Here is a woman who is fit and healthy and ran with her doctor's blessing. She slowed to a walk whenever necessary and drank plenty of water and ate along the way.

Now obviously this isn't something every pregnant woman should do. But this woman was an experienced runner and had already run while pregnant with her first child and earlier in her current pregnancy. She was cleared by her doctor and ran with her and her child's health in mind. Maybe for once we can stop judging every little thing that other moms do and recognize that here is a healthy mom who takes care of her body and her baby, and celebrate her strength and endurance.

God knows she'll need that same strength and endurance to get through the newborn phase. And I bet she'll be back to her pre-pregnancy weight in no time...a claim I still can't make a year later.