You are doing a great job! The third trimester was personally the hardest trimester for me. I continued attending classes until I reached 37 weeks; not because I couldn’t do it physically, but because I got too large for my gi! I opted to continue practicing at home until the day I delivered. In fact, I did some stepping techniques around the house to relieve some contraction pains at 3 am thinking they were Braxton Hicks. Turns out they were real! Karate really is for everybody, regardless of where you are in life!
Changes in the Body
There’s a reason why everyone says that the second trimester is the easiest. From a hormonal standpoint, your body’s levels of progesterone, estrogen, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and human placental lactogen (hPL) have surged in the first trimester, which may have caused you to feel sick during that time. As human bodies are amazing, yours adapted to the increased levels in the second trimester, defining it as the “new normal” so you likely started to feel less ill. As you come into the third trimester, your body’s hormone levels will begin to rise again, potentially causing you to feel the familiar side effects of fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. On top of that, you’ll be gaining even more weight per week than before as your little one starts putting on that much-needed baby fat.
For me, it was a weird mix between having a lot of energy, but being physically exhausted, so I felt very “cooped up” in my own body. Practicing techniques slowly, even if was just uke-waza while sitting on the couch or exercise ball, helped with this weirdness that I was feeling.
The aches and pains that were introduced in the second trimester don’t typically go away until you deliver the baby. However, if you find yourself in incredible pain, please talk to your doctor. The worst, new pain I discovered in the third trimester was sciatica pain in my right thigh.
Exercise
I previously talked about exercises and techniques in your first and second trimesters. Now that you’re in your third trimester, here is a modified list.
What to Avoid
- Contact Kumite/Sparring
As you enter the third trimester, your belly will be prominent with your growing baby inside, so it is now of the utmost importance to avoid any direct impacts to your abdomen. - Repetitive Jumping/Jumping Really Fast
The only risk with jumping from now until you deliver your baby is the possibility of falling onto your stomach and causing injury to your baby. As you gain weight and your belly becomes larger and heavier (and wildly uncomfortable), you may find yourself becoming off-balance, so perhaps substitute repetitive/fast jumping for marching. But if you’re feeling up to it, keep on practicing the jump in Heian Godan. Turns out that was the only jump I would bother doing. - Training Too Long or Too Hard
This will be on every one of my “do not” lists. As I mentioned previously, your developing baby is incredibly selfish and takes whatever nutrients it needs from your body, and you have a finite supply (that is replenished when you eat and drink). Training uses a lot of those nutrients at a faster pace and increases the risk of dehydration for yourself, the same as if you weren’t pregnant, but now you have a baby that is depleting your stores even faster. It is very important to keep yourself hydrated because dehydration can lead to serious complications which can lead to birth defects due to lack of water and nutrition. It is not uncommon for pregnant people to go to the ER feeling awful only to be diagnosed with dehydration and spend the day or night receiving fluids via IV. Aside from water intake, my doctor encouraged me to keep my own heart rate below 140 as a general rule of thumb to keep stress levels low. - Front Abdominal Stretches/Exercises
It’s best to avoid forward crunches and sit-ups because they put more pressure and pull on the abdomen. You’ll also want to avoid moves that involve contortions or bending over backward. Side crunches are still perfectly fine (and encouraged). Your abdominal muscles have been split down the middle (called diastasis recti), and movements that directly engage your frontal abdominal muscles may exacerbate it by putting extra strain on your abdominus rectus and potentially causing longer term problems. If you discover that you have a gap of more than three-fingers width, consult your doctor and do not resume these types of core exercises postpartum, as that will delay healing. - Lying on Your Back for Too Long
Your uterus may be large enough that it could compress the inferior vena cava, the vein that carries blood back to your heart from your lower body, when you lie flat on your back. Instead, keep yourself propped up so that your heart is above your belly button when doing floor exercises.
What you Can Still Do and/or What is Encouraged
- Dynamic & Static Stretching
In the adult classes, we do dynamic stretching at the beginning of class and static stretching at the end of class. In any trimester, stretching will not have any negative impact on the development of your baby, so stretch away! Just be aware that your joints may have relaxed, or loosened, which can increase joint pain or allow you to be a little extra flexible. My doctor told me not to continue stretching to the point where something hurts, just stretch to where it’s uncomfortable. Of course, ask your doctor to find out what’s right for you. - Jumping
Ironically, I included repetitive / fast jumping in the avoidance list, but it is listed here too because the act of jumping will not cause harm to your baby. Jumping itself is safe, but it can pose a risk of falling if you’re feeling off balance. - Kihon/Basics and Kata/Form
Keep on training as usual, just take it easy and keep in mind the points I made earlier, especially about exercising for too long or too hard. In general, it is safe for you to continue at the intensity/level you were at prior to becoming pregnant, but it is not recommended to push yourself farther! Try not to exhaust yourself and keep hydrated! - Side Crunches/Abdominal Exercises
Your abs are in a weird place right now. Because pregnancy has them stretched out and possibly separated, they won’t work the same as they used to. However, you shouldn’t neglect working out your core! Proper side crunches and other alternatives are still safe to do while pregnant.
What Became More Difficult
Here is a new list I wanted to add purely to acknowledge what was safe to do but became harder to do because of the big belly.
- Seiza
We practice sitting in seiza (formal kneeling position) for formal events like guest instructors, belt tests, and more. While it is perfectly safe to do, I found my legs have become so swollen that my butt could no longer touch my heels. It quickly got painful after a few minutes and then I’d have to switch to cross-legged sitting. - Balance
Certain moves have you pushing off one leg and stopping your momentum with the other. It might become more difficult stopping your momentum now that you’re much heavier than you’re used to, so you may find yourself tipping over unexpectedly during practice. This is okay, just be sure to do things slowly so you don’t fall and hurt yourself or your baby. - Endurance
It is no wonder why you feel fatigued sooner than your karate-ka’s. There’s no shame in having to take a moment in the middle of class to sit. Your organs go through an amazing shift, affecting their efficiency and potentially reducing their output. Your heart actually works harder to make up for it all, since your blood isn’t just circulating throughout your body, but it’s being pumped through the umbilical cord and around your baby’s body too. Check out the video below to see where your organs shift throughout pregnancy!
The video was created from this interactive slider by Chicago’s Museum of Science + Industry which shows the “impact of a pregnancy on a [human’s] body as [they] adjusts physically and mentally to the changes inside [them]”.
If you have any specific questions or concerns in regards to your pregnancy, please consult your doctor. The information here is based on the average, low-to-moderate risk pregnancy.
September 1, 2021 Update: this article was updated to use gender-neutral language because not all pregnant people are women. I am one of them.
Disclaimer: The author of this article, Tessa Watkins, is not a medical professional. All advice provided here is through research, discussion with medical professionals and pregnant people or people who went through pregnancy, and Tessa’s own personal experience of being pregnant. Tessa practiced karate at Riva’s Shotokan Karate-do for the duration of their pregnancy.
This article was first seen on Riva’s Shotokan Karate-Do website.
