Women jumping while pregnant

[mailin 0]

I stopped jumping as soon as I found out I was pregnant (at 5 weeks), had a trip planned to CA for Jump for the Cause that same week. I spent that week in the trailer feeling pretty worthless and slightly ill with morning sickness. I made the decision not to jump because my husband asked me to.

Considering I passed out after a session with my personal trainer, while in line at the video store, the decision to not jump was pretty much made for me. (And it happens frequently in the first trimester to many pregnant women, for any one wanting to know)

It was easy for me to say before I was pregnant that I would jump and be more cautious than usual. But, as you know, now that she is here I can't be cautious enough even in the shower. My decision to jump again is on hold - we're purchasing a house and need to get life insurance, with all those things we won't have money for 'extra curricular' activities and probably wouldn't really want to participate in them anyway. Playing with our daughter and watching her smile are the best ways we can spend our time right now.

People who don't have kids or aren't pregnant (and even then the parental instict hasn't really kicked in) aren't provided with the proper perspective. The commercial is correct: 'Having a baby changes everything' - you can't understand until it happens to you. I, personally, couldn't have imagined loving anything so much; and my 'previous life' seems very unfullfilled. Your right in that your perspective really changes.

On the bright side, Ari has 15 jumps.


Jen

Arianna Frances

[noblesmelissa 0]

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Roller coasters aren't recommended for pregnant women because the sudden starts and stops/jolts could *possibly* cause the placenta to seperate from the uterus (placental abruption). There aren't any sutdies that indicate whether roller coaster riding is actually safe or not.

Do you really need a study to tell you if it is "possibly" safe or not? Common sense already tells me...

Just my 2 cents...

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[Conundrum 1]

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People who don't have kids or aren't pregnant (and even then the parental instict hasn't really kicked in) aren't provided with the proper perspective.

How do explain peope who are pregnant and/or have kids who continue to jump then?

[vskydiver 0]

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People who don't have kids or aren't pregnant (and even then the parental instict hasn't really kicked in) aren't provided with the proper perspective. The commercial is correct: 'Having a baby changes everything' - you can't understand until it happens to you. I, personally, couldn't have imagined loving anything so much; and my 'previous life' seems very unfullfilled. Your right in that your perspective really changes.


Again, I had 4 (four) kids and continued to skydive during each pregnancy. I would say my "parental instincts" have definitely kicked in and I do have the proper perspective on the situation since my kids were born and raised on and around the DZ. My youngest is now a teen-ager and my oldest is off to college this fall. I can look back and ask myself was it a good thing or a bad thing? HELL YES it's a good thing every time. Why is it that we as women are expected to give up OUR LIVES just because we bring forth life? Why are we labeled unloving, selfish, horrible parents because we still want to have a life of our own? I personally feel that I love my children as much or more than you love yours, since I've had more time with mine. My perspective may have changed a bit when I had my children, to include them, but my life didn't stop. Life still is there to be lived.

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[Conundrum 1]

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Roller coasters aren't recommended for pregnant women because the sudden starts and stops/jolts could *possibly* cause the placenta to seperate from the uterus (placental abruption). There aren't any sutdies that indicate whether roller coaster riding is actually safe or not.

Do you really need a study to tell you if it is "possibly" safe or not? Common sense already tells me...

Just my 2 cents...

No not really, but regardless, some people are willing to accept the risks associated with doing certain activities. You might not be willing to go on an aerobatic flight, where on the other hand, I would, and same with jumping. It's different for eveyone.

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[DALAILAMA 0]

Either way you sway on this matter thanks for bringing it up, My wife is planning on doing her first skydive in a week or so and I appreciate all the input from everyone. edited to say....Oh yeah, shes knocked up! 16 weeks

"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form"

[Sky15 0]

I will share my personal experience:

After battling infertility for over a year, found out I was pregnant and stopped jumping due to general paranoia likely brought on from the infertility. And basically if I did have a m/c I didn't want to even think of the possibility that jumping might have caused it. I had made a jump while only 3 days pregnant without knowing I was pregnant obviously.

On my third pregnancy (second one was an early m/c just one month before and I hadn't jumped during that short pregnancy so it did not cause the m/c) I jumped the first three months and then stopped. I knew the long layoff I had ahead of me since I had just had it not long before, and was working on keeping my AFF rating current. I was selective about who I jumped with, didn't take any big students, and only jumped in perfect wind conditions. It's hard for me to imagine jumping much longer than 3 months pregnant since I got big pretty quickly.

[vskydiver 0]

Congratulations on the forthcoming baby! Is your wife still planning on making that 1st jump in a week?

[DALAILAMA 0]

So far she is if she doesn't chicken out!
I am an examiner and she has sat in on a course and seen the (as she calls it ) Death video.

"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form"

[adventurechick 0]

I might go skydiving once while pregnant, just so I could tell my baby one day that they were in freefall before they were born :o)

Other than that one time, I would quit jumping for those nine months and save some money that could be put towards the baby and minimize risk of miscarriaging.

Being only 21 right now... babies are definitely out of the question... maybe my opinion will change if I do become pregnant one day, but for now... no babies for me!!!

PMS #449 TPM #80 Muff Brother #3860
SCR #14705 Dirty Sanchez #233

[mailin 0]

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I personally feel that I love my children as much or more than you love yours, since I've had more time with mine.

I highly doubt that. I hope you don't consider skydiving as spending time with your kids considering kids can't skydive. Yes, they can be at the DZ but most of the time you would be relying on other people to keep an eye on your child(ren).

This is not spending quality time with them - don't fool yourself.


Jen

Arianna Frances

[wmw999 2,121]

As your kids get older, "spending quality time" with them changes.

I was a skydiver while pregnant. My son is 22 now, and doesn't think I'm a bad mom at all. As it happens, I quit when he was about 5, and didn't jump much before that (after he was born) for unrelated reasons. I jumped until about 5 1/2 months pregnant.

What makes a normal healthy family is different for each family. Really.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[mailin 0]

Please don't misunderstand me - I'm all for people doing what is right for them. I'm not preaching that jumping while pregnant is bad - I chose not to do it but alot of it had to do my experience level and personal feeling - its different for everyone.

I took exception with the previous posters assumption that because she spent more time with her kids while at a DZ meant that she loved her children more than I love mine - in reality, you are not spending time with your children. You are doing something for YOU that does not necessarily involve them. She was using that rationality so as to say she was a good/better mother, and that is not necessarily so.

I don't knock moms who skydive, I hope to be able to do it myself some day.


Jen

Arianna Frances

[wmw999 2,121]

I didn't read her post as saying anything about whether you had parental perspective; she was just saying that she most emphatically did. I read her post as being about her, not you. Really.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[vskydiver 0]

I would have to agree with Wendy. You have blown it all out of proportion. First of all, my kids are older, where yours is still a baby. I said I've spent more time with my kids because they are OLDER. I'm talking years of time. I'm not saying you don't spend time with your kid.
As far as spending time with them at the DZ, I only jump on the weekends. And when I jump I'm only away from them for 15 or 20 minutes. When they were small my husband stayed with them while I jumped. And I was with them while he jumped. We jumped at a family run place where families were the norm. There were always activities for the kids to do and the parents to do with them. The DZ owner jumped while she was pregnant and raised her kids there. My kids are now old enough to go out there and make money themselves by packing parachutes. I don't have to watch them like I used to, John and I both jump together now, but it's still a family activity we go and do together regardless of if they are old enough to jump yet. So in reality, YES I'm saying I'm spending time with my kids at the DZ. They are interested in skydiving as well. You know not of what you are talking about.

I think it was probably the right decision for you not to jump while pregnant because of your experience level. I had been jumping for over 5 years before I became pregnant for the first time. But I can understand why you didn't and that's fine. I don't have any problems with you not jumping.

[livendive 8]

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I personally feel that I love my children as much or more than you love yours, since I've had more time with mine.

I highly doubt that. I hope you don't consider skydiving as spending time with your kids considering kids can't skydive. Yes, they can be at the DZ but most of the time you would be relying on other people to keep an eye on your child(ren).

This is not spending quality time with them - don't fool yourself.

She said her youngest is a teenager and her oldest is starting college. Your's is an infant. That's how she's spent more time with them. Do you love your husband more today than you did one year into the relationship with him? Raising children is the same way. While it seems impossible for you to love them anymore than you already do, each day/week/month/year that passes you learn that you can and do. That's been my experience with my 18 year old.
Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[flyinghonu 0]

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I think it was probably the right decision for you not to jump while pregnant because of your experience level. I had been jumping for over 5 years before I became pregnant for the first time. But I can understand why you didn't and that's fine. I don't have any problems with you not jumping.

I think this somewhat hits the nail on the head. It also depends on how much skydiving is a part of your life when you become pregnant. Being that I only had 85 jumps when I became pregnant - it wasn't nearly the "sacrifice" to me as it may have been to someone who had been jumping regularly for years with many 100s of jumps. Also wasn't one of the people that "hung" around the DZ - I mainly came to jump, learn, and then headed home. With you Mailin, I think skydiving was not nearly to you what it may be to women who decide to continue to jump while pregnant.

We have risks in our everyday life that we choose to accept or not accept. Even with the "necessary" risk of driving - you choose how aggressive to be behind the wheel. Some of us change those habits b/c that's what works for us and some of us don't. I have def. chilled out behind the wheel, going out, even working out as hard as I used to (mainly b/c I'm throwing up up about 5 times a day). Sometimes it doesn't even make sense to me - I give up skydiving and aggressive driving but I plan on going wave running and swimming withe the dolphins while on vacation (some might say that's a pretty big "unnecessary risk" but I choose it to be acceptable to me). But I don't think I've "given up my life" so to speak just b/c I'm pregnant. We all make different decisions for different reasons - doesn't make any of them right or wrong. Just makes it what works for and is acceptable to the person carrying the child.

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky..." - Jimi Hendrix

[wmw999 2,121]

To put things in perspective, while I was pregnant, I also drove 40 miles each way to work in Houston traffic, and went through a category 3 hurricane.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kbordson 8]

I sent a response to Wendi (at the Parachutist) but haven't gotten the most recent edition. This is what I had sent to her

Pregnancy and Skydiving

There is little true research done on the effects of skydiving and pregnancy or on the changes related to pregnancy and their effects on skydiving. However, with what we do know about skydiving and the medical knowledge of pregnancy, some conclusions can be made. The following article is not intended to stand on its own as absolute recommendations, rather it should be discussed with an Obstetrician or Family Physician that can integrate this information into a whole person plan of care.

General Risks: Accident statistics as provided by United States Parachute Association (USPA) revealed that in 2005, of the 31,276 USPA members making nearly 2.2 million skydives, there were 962 USPA members requiring medical attention with 27 fatalities (www.uspa.org/about/page2/relative_safety.htm). General risks of skydiving include but are not limited to risk of injury leaving the aircraft or during freefall, risk of injury with deployment of main parachute, risk of malfunction of main and need for reserve deployment, and risk associated with flying of parachute and landing. While it may be impossible to exactly quantify the risks with each area, there are risk modifiers that can be used to reduce the risks taken. Simple safety techniques such as participating in Safety Day events at the local dropzone and consistent practice of equipment checks help to reduce a portion of the inherent risks. Additionally experience level, wing loading and currency needs to be evaluated.

Normal changes of pregnancy add to the complex risks of skydiving. This is due to effects of hormones, changes in internal organs and the presence of the baby.

One of these hormones includes Relaxin. Relaxin causes the ligaments and joints to become more flexible, which could affect joint stability and increase risks associated with landings. Estrogen and progesterone have significant effects on the pregnant body, but have less of an effect on factors related to physical activity or skydiving. Other hormones also are increased, but like estrogen and progesterone, would have little impact on skydiving. Epinephrine is a hormone that is not specific to pregnancy but does regulate blood flow to the organs in the pregnant body. With significant changes in levels (high stress situations), blood could be redirected away from the uterus to more “key” organs such as the heart, lungs and brain.

The changes in internal organs include the obvious growth of the uterus as the pregnancy progresses. In the first trimester (first 12 weeks), the uterus is protected by the bony pelvis. After that, the uterus grows into the abdomen and would be more susceptible to injury. Specifically in the uterus is the placenta, which is the organ that feeds the baby. The risks of the placenta separating (placental abruption) become more significant as the pregnancy progresses. A placental abruption could cause serious problems, not just for the pregnancy, but also possibly for the pregnant jumper. Any type of trauma to the abdomen, especially later in the pregnancy is very concerning. Whether it’s a fall down the stairs and hitting her belly, a car accident or a hard opening.... all could cause problems. It's not guaranteed that it will cause problems, and there's no guarantee in life that it will all work out even if everything is done correctly. But to better understand this risk, consider that the average opening shock after a skydive performed at terminal velocity is approximately 3-6 g’s (per Parks College Parachute Research Group; Jean Potvin and Gary Peek). These forces are influenced by body position and inflation of the parachute. Hard openings have been documented to 9-12 g’s. With comparing that level of g force to an automobile accident, research done by Marc Ross, et al. has shown that during a 35mph head on test crash to a fixed barrier, the restrained test dummy has a maximum deceleration of 27g’s. This suggests that a hard opening can cause a force comparable to one third or about one half of that of a major motor vehicle accident. According to Schiff et al., data on motor vehicle accidents and pregnancy shows a significant risk of placental abruption and preterm labor for both injured and uninjured women in the accidents. There is also risk of fetal injury or death following motor vehicle accidents.

In conclusion, there are a lot of factors that could influence injury with skydiving while pregnant. There are no real studies to recommend one action over the other, just comparative data and professional opinion. Both of which could be wrong. Remember, it's not the doctors job to tell someone how to live. The responsibility of the medical field is to educate people on the risks that certain activities might have on his/her health. It's the individuals life and his/her decisions to live that life the way that he/she feels that is important. I, personally, rarely tell my patients that they "can't" do anything... that's not my job. I tell them why I wouldn’t recommend certain activities in an educated and logical way, understanding of course that life is not logical.

Karen Bordson

[jumpdoc 0]

I think you have a very valid point. The issue of skydiving while prgnant has always been a difficult one for me. My first pregnancy I jumped until I saw a heartbeat (around 6-7 weeks). My second, I quit the instant I had a positive pregnancy test...not because I thought skydiving was an unnecessary risk but because I KNEW that if I miscarried or something went wrong, I would blame myself regardless of the knowledge that miscarriages aren't anyone's fault. Both pregnancies I quit jumping early on because of that feeling. I started jumping again after my oldest son was born. Now, as the breadwinner in my family (so my husband can stay at home and raise my kids), I've chosen to hold off on jumping once again...the life insurance that would have to raise my kids while my husband busted his butt to pay the bills isn't nearly what my children deserve...and I can't consciously take that risk. Of course, we also moved from Mississippi to Idaho where we have less access to jumping... and a lot of outdoor activities to do. I do miss skydiving and the comraderie, but my responsibility is to my family now.