Abstract
Background
Women runners are a group with potential for health maintenance and health promotion
in pregnancy. When providers counsel women to discontinue or cut back on running without
cause, an opportunity for health benefits to both woman and baby may be lost.
Aim
This study aims to explicate the experience women runners have in pregnancy to further
providers’ understanding of this population’s unique needs.
Methods
An online, qualitative inquiry was employed to explore the experiences of an online
community of women runners in pregnancy (N = 22). The Doing Pregnancy framework provided guidance for final stages of the analysis.
Findings
Four themes emerged, explicating a process for “Doing Pregnancy” as a woman-runner:
(1) I am a runner; (2) running tunes me into my pregnant body; (3) adjusting to pregnancy’s
changes; and (4) trusting my instincts & knowledge vs. listening to others.
Discussion
Women’s sense of embodiment caused them to feel strongly tuned into the needs of their
maternal-fetal dyad and to trust that they knew what was healthy regarding running
during pregnancy. When provider advice was conflicting or was not evidence-based,
women lost trust in their providers.
Conclusion
Providers caring for women runners should recognize running as a key piece of their
identities and enter into shared partnership as women navigate changes in pregnancy.
Women have a strong sense of embodiment and are tuned into the needs of their body
as well as the needs of their baby.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 11, 2018
Accepted:
July 29,
2018
Received in revised form:
July 26,
2018
Received:
March 7,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
