I did not train during my pregnancy, I stopped training at 8 weeks. My doctor recommended no training and racing during pregnancy. The reason is because there is a risk at losing the baby. And my doctor thought any risk was too much of a risk. I admit that that was hard for me to hear. After working so hard to accomplish certain triathlon goals, I found it difficult to just stop training. I ended up taking 2 years off and did no physical exercise.

When my child was about 10months old I returned to training and lost the baby weight and now I am back to normal training. For my second child I don't know if I will give up training all together like last time. I might just stick with some low impact exercise: strength training, water running, bike trainer and maybe keep with swimming depending on how it goes. But racing and biking outdoors will definitely be out.

From the research I have done, the baby is protected from a fall until 3 months. After 3 months a bad fall can cause an abortion. Also, in the first trimester, you can cause damage to the baby's development if you do not keep your heart rate below a certain level. The one other issue that I know about is a drop in body fat or low body fat, can cause an abortion of the fetus in the second trimester, as well as other stresses associated with prolonged exercise.

Really it is a personal decision. When I made my decision, I tried to envision what it would be like to go through through the experience of losing a baby during a pregnancy. To me it was devastating, so I decided not to take the risk. Especially since my husband and I had trouble conceiving in the first place. Since you have already lost two, you are in the high risk category. Having a child to me was always more important than training/racing, so I decided to put it on hold. You can race triathlons well into your 60s now, so there is always time for that.

my n=1 experience

my wife stopped running around 4mos in - but it was less volume/intensity than she might otherwise have done. she was 33 at the time of pregnancy.
she was active until about 7mos (like mixing mortar for me while i was building a block retaining wall, but not cycling or running)

the boy has so far been unstoppable - 7yo tomorrow
healthy mamas usually beget healthy babies

given your recent history, i'd be inclined to suggest foregoing a HIM in favor of a healthy pregnancy with low to moderate activity [perhaps i'm assuming too much with the first two pregnancies - if i am, i apologize]

i'm interested to see what others say

good luck with your pregnancy this time

Personally, I would not do an HIM during pregnancy. That strikes me as too risky, but that's me. And really, what's the point? You're not gaining anything fitness-wise because you're about to turn into a whale :-), you can't push yourself to do any kind of personal best, you will have to hold your heart rate down so low you'll feel like you're crawling along.

I did not train or race during either of my pregnancies. Actually, I swam up until hours before delivering, but stopped running at 5.5 months (too uncomfortable) and stopped cycling on the road before that (too dangerous, just a small spill could have such awful consequences).

The life you have with your kids is long: decades and decades. A season of triathlon is short by comparison, and there are always more seasons to have. The sacrifices you make during a pregnancy are only the beginning of the many things you may have to change or alter about your life once a child arrives.

Getting back to training and racing after having a baby takes commitment and creativity, but it's doable. I was doing races while still nursing both of my babes. They are now 12 and 15, so training is so much easier now!

First, I'm so sorry for your losses. I hope that the new year brings a healthy pregnancy that goes to term.

I concur with IronMom, tri_ac and hamlet cat. I think the volume and type of training for a HIM would be ill advised for a pregnant woman.

Stick with low impact and dial it back a notch.

Best of luck to you!

@ chasing the Irondream... I concur with the above. Especially when you have lost 2 pregnancies already. I would say you could do some light training (no long weekend workouts) for a period just to stay healthly and fit better about yourself until the baby arrives.

I think Ironmom said it best when she said "what's the point of doing an IM when your not at your best".

Don't cloud your judgement with the goals you have set before. Focus on the bigger picture at hand (a healthy child with a healthy and encouraging mom).

In the end you will do what you want and its your own choice, but I think we are all in agreement here in this community to put the hard-core IM stuff on hold for a short period of time. However, it doesn't mean you can't kick some serious butt in the mean time on the shorter distance stuff as sort of a last "going out with a bang"!

It is kind of joke you need to take rest for at least 3 month before pregnancy and if you are doing the work like racing or some tough exercise they is a 100% chance of miscarriage and the same situation is happen over here. Take the advice from the expert doctor and proper diet chart you need to follow during pregnancy.