Exercise and Pregnancy

Boy, am I a hypocrite! I have nine children, and, with the exception of baby #1(Charlie), I ran throughout each pregnancy. Baby number 5 (Annie) was born a few hours after I ran 4 miles. And I ran the day before number’s 8 (C.C.) and 9 (Sam) were born. Every pregnancy went to term, with more than a few going beyond the due date. My mother, understandably, disapproved at first. But I reassured her that the minute I thought something wasn’t right, or felt that running was not good for the baby, I would immediately stop. I felt very fortunate that my doctors were supportive, and I always knew that I could talk to them without feeling judged.
With all of that being said, I could not believe my gut reaction the day I was driving and I saw a pregnant woman running. She was at least seven months along, maybe more. And it looked, well…wrong! It just didn’t seem right. That’s all I could think. I quickly recovered, and thought, “Good for her!” However, I couldn’t shake that initial feeling when I saw her swollen tummy and watched her running. Wow, what a hypocrite I was!
Things have come a long way since our mothers and grandmothers were pregnant. But what is now acceptable? Is it okay to run throughout the pregnancy? To do aerobics? Pilates? Lift weights? A recent article in Runner’s World talked about exercise and pregnancy.