Making the Decision to Keep Skiing While Pregnant

Tips and Tricks from a Mama Who’s Skied at 7 Months

You’ve probably seen the photos that I’ve shared on my Instagram for Outdoor Mama Bear but let’s talk about skiing while pregnant. This is an extremely personal decision and it shouldn’t be made lightly.

My husband and I discussed whether I could or should ski while pregnant at quite a length. We talked about the benefits and the risks. To help gather more information we talked to many of our friends who also skied through their pregnancies. And of course, we talked to healthcare providers.

What to Consider When Making the Decision to Ski with a Baby on Board:

Your Skill and Level of Comfort with Skiing While Pregnant

I’ve skied since I was three years old. Without giving away my age, that’s over 30 years of experience. Arguably there are days when I am safer on skis than I am walking around on my own two feet (just ask the door frames in our house).

For me, I am very comfortable on skis, and I know my limitations. I know my risks and when I am pushing the line for safety. Having skied together for a few years now and gone out west together, my husband is also very comfortable with my skill level. Together we made the decision to continue skiing while pregnant with some modifications.

Terrain

One of the first limitations we discussed was where would be comfortable with skiing. For us this wasn’t so much scaling it back from blacks to blues, but where there were less people. The one thing our family, healthcare providers, and we all agreed upon was that I could control my own skiing but not that of other people. The greatest risk for us personally was other skiers and snowboarders.

Luckily for us, last winter was terrible and there weren’t many people skiing. We were able to stick to some of our favorite runs and they weren’t crowded.

Speed

The third thing we considered to keep safe while skiing while pregnant, was speed. Typically I like to ski fast. With a baby on board though, we decided to slow it down. This gave me greater control in reacting to other potential people on the hill while also reducing my risk of falling.

I still got to ski, and was able to keep it safe.

What If We Didn’t Ski?

Finally we considered bagging it all together, and not skiing while pregnant. We asked ourselves is the risk worth it? For us, the answer was yes. As someone who has not missed a winter on the slopes in over 30 years, I had a very hard time with the idea of hiking being my only winter activity. We didn’t get enough snow to snowshoe or cross country – and honestly not having done cross country before that would be more dangerous for me and the baby.

I truly believe that the reason people get down and depressed about the winter, on top of the shortened days and limited sunlight, is not having a way to enjoy the winter. Ask anyone who skis, snowboards, snowshoes, cross countries, or even rides their bike in the snow, they’ll tell you winter is great. Ask anyone who doesn’t and winter is the doldrums.

I think my mental health would have suffered had I not had a way to be active and outdoors.

What Other Changes Did We Have to Make?

My skis and boots were fine. By staying active by riding my bike, doing yoga, hiking, and eating right, the only real weight I was gaining was due to the actual baby.

This did mean that I eventually had some trouble with my ski pants. We hit the Burton Outlet in Grove City and snagged a pair of Gortex pants for like $30. These were less restrictive than the Helly Hanson Pants I had before. Honestly I was looking to get a different pair before I got pregnant so this was a good time.

But quickly my belly protruded past the capabilities of these new pants. So I opted for the highly technical and refined…hair tie. Yup I took an extra hair tie and used that to gum band my pants together. It flexed when I needed to bend over an put my boots on so life was great.

Eventually I needed a larger jacket too but I had a Columbia Soft Shell from Costco that was a bit roomy so all was good there.

The Biggest Change

Honestly, the biggest thing to get used to isn’t the shift in your clothing/gear. It’s the shift in your center of gravity. As you and the baby grow, your center of gravity changes and it becomes more difficult to keep your weight forward.

I was shocked by this. I thought with the weight being in front of my body that it wouldn’t be such an adjustment but it was. Now this year, I’m working on unlearning the changes I had to make in my skiing.

Season Pass

The other issue we ran into was that eventually between the weather and my expanding belly, I couldn’t ski any longer. So we talked to the resort and they prorated our passes and gave us a discount on next season’s pass.

Skiing Now

Having my mom as a baby sitter so that we can enjoy the slopes the year after having our son has been huge. We are so blessed that they live near the resort and can get their skiing in during the week. The little guy is a handful and can wear anybody out with his constant attempts to climb the steps, or play with the fireplace tools.

The biggest adjustment I’ve had to make post baby is my ski boots. For the life of my I couldn’t get my boots tight enough or to be able to control my skis. For Christmas I got my husband a custom boot fit but now I was having problems. We went to Peak Ski and Board and talked to their master boot fitter. We were all shocked when we learned that my feet had actually shrunken by a size. Shrunken!

Most women go up a size after pregnancy. He asked if I had lost weight, which was true, but not so much that I was that much skinnier than before I was pregnant (aka when I bought my ski boots from the same store and gentleman).