Question

Mary Smith is a marathon runner and has been training for the Boston Marathon for a year. She recently found out she is pregnant and the marathon is less than two months away.

Her obstetrician says she should withdraw from the marathon.

Why might this be?

Consider the cellular use of oxygen and how that might be affected by a fetus.

Answer 1

Mary Smuth should withdraw from Marathon because it is a strenous exercise and during these exercise the body cells(calf and leg muscles mostly in this case) takes up more oxygen in order to boost the performance. As a result the fetus is deprived of oxygen and can lead to complications like miscarriage,IUGR(Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction), permenant disabilities, and SIDS(Sudden infant death syndrome)

Strenous exercise during pregnancy(first trimester) can also result in generalised weakness, pre-eclampsia, difficulty in maternal thermoregulation.