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Surfing & Pregnancy
Hang 20
My first thought when I discovered was pregnant was, ‘Forget it; you can’t surf when you’re pregnant.’
I moved Devon because I love to surf. I decided that I couldn’t stand being stuck behind a desk watching swells come and go on a computer any longer, so I gave up a well paid job in the city, a nice flat and a busy social life to be able to surf every day and I’ve never looked back. Its everything I’ve ever wanted.
So when two blue lines appeared on the white stick I couldn’t believe my eyes. Pregnant? NO chance. This wasn’t in the plan. The stick must be wrong. There was no other explanation.
I went to the pub and tried to forget about it.
But the next day, after an early morning trip to the chemist I realised that unless all little white sticks were wrong, I was definitely pregnant.
It took some getting used to. There was none of the joy that I’d imagined accompanied finding out you were pregnant, because all I could think about was that I wouldn’t be able to surf. I was due in December, so all the autumn and early winter swells would come when I was enormous! It was a disaster.
I went to the doctor in a panic. Already feeling pretty awful for being pregnant and not overjoyed about it, I knew couldn’t just walk in and ask if I could still surf. So in an attempt to seem less like the most selfish person in the world, I tried discuss grown up things like health, and finance, and procedure, and I was doing OK until just as I was leaving the surgery when it came blurting out.
‘But what about surfing? I can still surf can’t I?’
Thankfully, he didn’t say no. I admit he didn’t seem exactly ecstatic about the idea, but living in a surf community I guess it wasn’t a question he had never heard before, and he told me that as long as I had surfed pre-pregnancy I should be OK to carry on. For now. But to take it easy.
It gave me the breathing space I needed. At first I surfed whenever there were waves. I was a little more cautious than normal, but with no visible signs of pregnancy I couldn’t see any problem. Gradually I started to enjoy the fact that there was a little someone inside me who was surfing too. I remember the first decent ‘pregnant’ wave I caught, and thinking, that’s his or her first good wave. It wasn’t the best wave I’ve ever caught, but it’s definitely one of my favourites. I was so happy that I could still be out in the water, and began to feel happy about being pregnant too. I realised that he or she would grow up in the best place on earth and surf from day zero. My friend said he would shape me a teeny surfboard.
I can also remember the first time I went out and felt the ominous uncomfortable bump in my belly. I think I was about 5 ½ months pregnant, and typically there had been a really flat spell just when I was starting to panic that I didn’t have much surfing time left. The more I willed the swell to come, the more it stayed away. So I hadn’t been on a board for weeks when finally a tiny wave appeared, and as soon as I jumped on a longboard and got paddling, I knew it wasn’t right. It wasn’t comfortable, and I felt like I was doing something some harm. Still, I stayed out and surfed these little foot high waves until the swell dropped off into nothing. I got out when the waves were so small that my fin got stuck in the sand.
I knew it was over. Carrying the board up the beach I knew there was no way I could do that again, and no way I could go out when there were actually decent waves. No more surfing. I was devastated, and totally expected a clean swell to hit immediately.
But luckily for me it stayed flat for a while longer, giving me time to get my head around it and come up with a new plan. Surf mats.
Surf mats are a bizarre kind of blow-up body board with handles. I had never seen or heard of one, but a friend promised they were the way forward, and a couple of days later appeared with one tucked under her arm and a big grin on her face. I wasn’t convinced. You can’t stand up on them, which is a problem from the beginning, but as everyone said at the time, at least you’re getting out in the water. It made me feel like a right whinger, so I decided that I should be more hippy about the whole thing and just to suck it and see. My friend assured me that there was a pregnant woman up the coast who rode one every day come hell or high water, and that it would be the answer to all my problems.
I began to check the swell reports hoping for waves again. As soon a swell arrived I slung the strange lilo-thing over my shoulder and strode purposefully down the beach. Unfortunately I still didn’t really look pregnant, so what everyone thought I was doing going surfing on a lilo I don’t know but I avoided everyone’s eyes and got in, quickly.
It was… OK.
I guess it’s an acquired skill. My boyfriend sat in the line up and howled with laughter at my attempts to catch waves, as I floundered about like a beached whale. It’s OK when you are in the white water and can jump aboard, but when you’re out past the breakers getting on the thing is trickier. Remember how hard it is climbing onto a lilo in a pool when you’ve got nothing to hold onto? Not the most graceful maneuver in the world. Now imagine trying to do this pregnant, in a wetsuit amongst a bunch of too-cool-for-school surfers, and you’ve got some idea of my troubles. And as they’re inflatable you lie really high in the water, which lets you paddle as you would on a surfboard, but flailing legs are an issue, and I have to admit, I struggled. But I persevered because at least you’re in the water.
You can’t use them on a beachie in big swell, or I can’t, because it is just impossible to get through strong white water. Getting underneath is not an option so I ended up rolling it, but then you have the problem of getting back on board. If I sound like I’m moaning I don’t mean to, because if it’s the difference between being in the water and being stuck on dry land, surf mats are worth their weight in gold, but I still can’t wait to get back on a board!
No two pregnancies are the same
You read about people surfing well into their eighth month which to me is a mystery. I couldn’t have done it and I don’t know how they do. It seems to be a physical impossibility, but if I could have I would. And surfing two weeks after a caesarean? No idea how that’s possible either. A wait and see approach is what’s needed. I was lucky in the first few months as I felt OK – I can’t imagine wanting to get out in the ocean in the middle of heavy morning sickness.
The sea is an unpredictable beast, and there is always the possibility of freak accidents and board/stomach collisions. One of the biggest risks to an unborn baby is a hard blow to the abdomen. I don’t think anyone can go as hard as they would when not pregnant, and I will never be convinced that charging (or waddling) out into crowded waters, especially when it’s full of inexperienced board-bailers, is a good idea. Only you know your own limits and abilities, and if six foot surf is a walk in the park to you, so be it. But accidents in six foot surf can be heavy, so if it’s a challenge, it’s probably a good idea to wait until it drops off a bit. You should only take on what you would do comfortably when not pregnant, and of course nobody would recommend learning to surf when pregnant.
Risks and Benefits
Almost everyone agrees that exercise during pregnancy is good for you. It keeps the pounds off, keeps you fit and gets you ready to take on labour. But opinion on which kind of exercise is suitable varies. Some doctors advise against so called high-risk sports such as surfing, many pregnancy guides include surfing in their list of pregnancy no-nos and recommend swimming as an alternative. That’s fine, if you have never surfed. Swimming’s great, but its no alternative to surfing.
You have to be comfortable with the risks. Accidents do happen, and feeling guilty that something might happen is pretty normal. I felt a pang of guilt quite often when I got out of the water as there’s no way of knowing for sure whether everything’s still alright in there.
Pushing yourself through your comfort barrier just to be able to say you kept surfing is plain crazy. If you feel like it, fine. If you don’t, hang up your board till the baby’s safe in granny’s hands and get stuck back in, guilt-free.