Aimee Roseborrough, 8-Month Pregnant Woman Still Rock Climbing

Dear Woman Who Gave Birth After Finishing a Marathon, meet your match. Aimee Roseborrough is in her eighth month of pregnancy and she is climbing whole mountains. The 36-year-old physical therapist has been rock climbing for 14 years. She kept at the sport until she was at 37 weeks in her first pregnancy. Now, she's at 34 weeks with her second and has no plans to slow down.

Roseborrough says climbing is an escape, "I do kind of get to forget that I'm so huge and, at times, uncomfortable ... it takes you to beautiful place," she said on Good Morning America. And, she thanks her hormones for her extra flexibility.

Babble's Carolyn Castiglia wondered whether this type of activity is at all safe for pregnant women, and found that Roseborrough isn't the only mom doing it. Mom Carrie Cooper posted video of herself -- at 39 weeks pregnant -- climbing up the side of a rock.

And Teresa Delfin, another climbing mom, created Mountain Mama, a website for woman who "should have stylish, functional clothing at all stages of life -- including pregnancy," after she was disappointed by the lack of long john underwear in her pregnant rock-climbing days.

So, is extreme exercise in pregnancy safe? Raul Artal, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health at the St. Louis University School of Medicine told The Huffington Post that it's risky, and there are important reasons to be cautious.

While a moderate amount of exercise is healthy for pregnant woman, he said, it's important to recognize the difference between extreme physical exertion and everyday activity. Keeping fit throughout pregnancy prepares women's bodies for labor. He suggests walking, jogging and yoga as three safe activities.

Comments

[Emmanuel Lacoste]

04:03 AM on 02/14/2012

I followed a link to this thread for a rock climbing forum, I have to say, they are some very naive people posting here. I was tempted not to post, because I don't even think most users read the only post before writing something.

My take. I've been rock climbing over 20 years now. Several big studies have been done on climbing while pregnant by OB and various researchers. No study has ever found a reason not to climb during the first two trimesters of pregnancy and only one has recommended a pregnant women "limits" how much she climbs after that.

Rock climbing is not mountain climbing, those of you who talk about slipping down a slope, climbers just laugh at your comment. You're showing how little you know and how much you actually wanted to learn about the sport before deciding.

I currently own a climbing gym and manage 7 other location via my consulting service. Even American insurance companies don't have a pregnant woman no climbing clause in gym insurance.

As stated before, continuing an activity you already while pregnant, especially in the exercise category should be encouraged, not spit on.

I may add, Yoga for pregnant women has modify poses. Running is not recommended because of the pounding, nor is jump-rope. Both swimming and driving a car are more dangerous than rock climbing. Experts agree, statistics prove it, insurance companies back it up, and personal experience tells me so.

[ZoeBowie]

11:52 PM on 01/27/2012

Yoga is way more dangerous than rock climbing! http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&smid=fb-share

[TINKER6]

03:07 AM on 01/27/2012

That baby is going to be as athletic as it's momma, better be near a hospital!

[pnelson513]

07:02 PM on 01/26/2012

The amount of misinformation in the comments here is hilarious. Physically, what Aimee is doing is not much more strenuous than easy yoga or cardio, especially since she has years of practice and technique built up on much more strenuous climbs. What she is doing is the equivalent of a pro figure skater taking a couple laps around the rink.

As for those who are concerned about the danger, there is no safer type of climbing that she could be doing. There is a huge amount of redundancy and backup systems that are in place in case she falls. The likelihood of her falling and hitting the ground while doing this would be the same as saying that "pregnant women should not drive, because their cars' brakes might fail."

Conclusion: internet commenters are idiots, and are probably pontificating about "risk" and "health" while stuffing themselves full of transfats, corn syrups, and sitting around watching videos all day.

[2004rockcity]

03:59 PM on 01/26/2012

She is top-roping. Look it up and educate yourselves. She is not in danger of taking a fall and if any of you were rock climbers you would know this.

[phoebequeen]

04:39 PM on 01/25/2012

I'm old school; this makes me nervous.

[Congo Line]

12:05 AM on 01/26/2012

You're normal, if this makes you nervous

[N0NDescript0]

12:13 PM on 01/24/2012

It's great that Aimee is staying so active, but strange that this is news-worthy. Why has it become so surprising that women are still capable of normal behavior, despite the growing human inside of them? Like breast feeding and *not* knowing the gender of your baby until it's born, these things are completely normal. There was no alternative until relatively recently.

[joanf]

08:37 AM on 01/24/2012

To throw some gas on the fire, the dad (Kyle Roseborrough) has a video on the internet of him (?) dropping and swinging his little daughter in a harness off a cliff in Spain. "Ella Playing at Sella on Vimeo".

[kyleclimbs]

10:38 PM on 01/25/2012

Yes. That's exactly what happened. I dropped her off a cliff in spain. It was the worst experience of her life. She barely lived.
http://vimeo.com/11999140

[Congo Line]

09:29 PM on 01/23/2012

Super-irresponsible-mom should be the headline.

This woman is a goofbag

[N0NDescript0]

12:15 PM on 01/24/2012

How is this irresponsible? You think she should be laying in bed?

Guess what: for hundreds of thousands of years pregnant women have been physically active right up until their time of birth, and the human species is still here!

[Mental Revolution AWAKE]

01:55 PM on 01/24/2012

Thank you!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one with the same line of thought.

I had people ask me why I was working out if I'm pregnant. During my last pregnancy I was still mowing the lawn at 8 months. The thing wasn't even self-propelled. Women in less developed countries continue with their daily lives. Just because I'm in the U.S. and the doctors think they know my body better than I do, I have to stop. Sorry, $#!+ has to get done and keeping in shape during my pregnancy is just as important as keeping in shape prior to pregnancy. Kudos to this lady!!!

[Congo Line]

03:57 PM on 01/24/2012

Lots of space between laying in bed and death defying activity. You need prayer. Go with God.

[MyNinja]

07:44 PM on 01/23/2012

"hormones for her extra flexibility" - How's that work?

[simplyc]

06:32 PM on 01/24/2012

The hormone Relaxin softens the pubic symphysis.

[MyNinja]

07:49 PM on 01/24/2012

Oh, well thank you.

[pamiejune]

07:37 PM on 01/23/2012

Heh - I used to race cars when I was pregnant - but not THAT pregnant...and it was relatively safe - no NASCAR or anything like that...SCCA Solo II. A fall from a rock face would probably be pretty damaging for both mother and baby...although the womb is a pretty tough muscle - Mother would take the brunt of it...

[kaysings]

07:02 PM on 01/23/2012

This woman is playing with fire. The distribution of weight shifts when you're that big, and your body reacts differently to intense exercise when you're pregnant. If she fell, she could lose her baby, but it might not even take a fall to provoke a serious problem.

I have two children (now adults), and ran and backpacked until my sixth month in both pregnancies. At six months, I stopped the backpacking and walked and rode a stationary bike instead because I just couldn't carry all the weight. But I was also concerned about possible injury to my babies and myself.

[phoebequeen]

04:42 PM on 01/25/2012

Agree. I am small and gained only 23 pounds with my son, but , that extra weight used to throw me off center making me fall often, just walking across the street. Hated that part.

[tayjones08]

12:18 PM on 01/26/2012

I haven't gained any weight at almost 8 months pregnant, but just having all this extra stomach makes me fall just trying to have a seat! I can't imagine trusting myself enough to climb anything! I even tripped going up the steps to our house and slammed into a brick wall, which worried the heck out of me!
I know she must be pretty well balanced and does this all the time, but I can't even imagine it can be safe.

[joanf]

06:54 PM on 01/23/2012

I live near a very popular rock climbing location. It's not uncommon to hear that someone has fallen off the cliffs and when they do they are often seriously hurt and sometimes they die. Considering that your center of gravity changes when you are pregnant, that you are carrying extra weight, and that you have a big belly in the way, even an experienced female climber in late pregnancy might be at more risk than usual. If you feel good and want to remain active you should, but I think it illadvised and irresponsible to participate in a high risk activity late in pregnancy. The mountain isn't going anywhere, wait until after the baby is born.

[harriettubman]

02:01 PM on 01/25/2012

I say let these foolish women do what they want. They can go whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, mountain climbing, drink wine, etc. As along as they don't ask taxpayers to provide for their damaged children in public school.

[Emmanuel Lacoste]

03:35 AM on 02/14/2012

I would like to know what climbing area you live near. I've been climbing 25 years and most climbing accidents get noticed by serious climbers. if you area has climbing accidents on a regular basis, I'd like to know the name of the place.

[elaine tomkinson]

06:21 PM on 01/23/2012

Pregnancy is only 10 months of a womans life - its the childs whole life! Most of us give up a lot of the things we like when pregnant ........unlike this selfish woman who obviously is not thinking about the child she has or the one that is coming.

[Henssis1]

06:17 PM on 01/23/2012

She needs to have her head examined...