Pregnant Athletes

Authors: Melissa Her, May Xiong, Christina Chagolla, Sabrina Chavez

The anatomy and physiological changes of a pregnant women are complex. For the pregnant athlete, or just any pregnant women in general, there is no black and white guideline as to how they should exercise and maintain healthy behaviors. Pregnancy has a series of steps and changes involving both the anatomic and physiologic functions of a human body. Physically, the process and changes of pregnancy is very visible, but what happens inside is not visible to the naked eye.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TO1GJfKRAo

There are many different physical changes that occur while an athlete is going through the process of her pregnancy. The first notable one is gestational weight gain; the woman on average gains around twenty-two to thirty-five pounds. At this time, the abdomen grows as well as the breasts; this causes for the center of gravity (COG) to get altered. According to an article from “The Pregnant Athlete, Part 1: Anatomy and Physiology of Pregnancy,” how much weight you gain depends on a few factors: your age, body mass index(BMI), pregnancy activity level, and socioeconomic status. Another physical change is the extension of the trunk, but distinctly in terms of the lumbar spine. The body mass changes to where its above the area that is supported, and can cause elongation (decreased tone of abdominal muscles). During an athletes pregnancy, weight gain increases that amount of force that is put on the joints. This weight gain and altered postural alignment could also lead to problems in postural balance. Women experience a numerous amount of physically changes during the process of their pregnancy.

There are many physiologic changes that happen and the hormones are the most common to cause the changes inside the body. The main source of pregnancy sustaining hormones is the corpus luteum, which is a mass of cells that forms on the ovaries, stimulates glandular tissue, and ducts in the breasts. The corpus luteum can also increase mobility of the joints, and the ligament laxity alterations are affected during the first trimester of pregnancy. The high levels of progesterone, a steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle or pregnancy, directs the action on a smooth muscle of the lung and increases the heart rate, stroke volume, and blood volume. Also, decreases airway resistance, thereby reducing breathing effort and facilitating a greater airflow in pregnancy. This change in the size and shape of the abdomen, residual capacity that are the volume of air present in the lung and overall lung capacity but instead the vital capacity that are the amount of airs the pregnant woman can take. Pregnant females make a postural adjustment, which changes muscles tone to decrease and increase the back pain. They are likely to gain weight due to the amount of nutrition they need for the body to maintain the changes inside the body. The extra energy or food inside the body will become fats that increase of maternal red blood cells and possibility of increase in back pain. This fluctuates of hormones made changes inside the pregnant female’s body.

In conclusion, we learned that some of the physical changes include increases in the specific hormones that mediate the the process of fetal development and sustain essential functions for both mother and fetus. We have informed ourselves on the woman’s body and we can recognize when the athlete is pregnant. We can give advice and guidance in matters pertaining to the health of a pregnant athlete.