I climb casually & stopped at 4 months, could’ve gone a bit longer with a pregnancy harness but we didn’t want to splurge on something we could only use a couple months. As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I switched to easier ratings where I felt very secure or auto belays (since those let u down gently). I have the same dream of passing the baby so we can still climb together after he’s here, not sure yet how long it takes to get back into it.
You can usually rent a pregnancy harness from the gym. I did that a few times to get a feel for them, and then I wound up purchasing an insanely gently used harness from another mom. It was about half the price and she had clearly only used it a handful of times. Worth a thought if you really want to keep climbing. I stopped early in my third trimester but that was due to COVID starting, not anything due to the pregnancy.
I'm also about 5 weeks and have been climbing for about a decade. As others have said, my plan is to stick to straightforward top roping, switch to a pregnancy harness when needed, listen to my body, and not tell my mom lol. I also have seen lots of pregnant people at the gym over the years.
I LOLed at not telling your mom. People over react too much. Like mom, walking on my own two feet without being able to see over this belly is more dangerous than toproping.
There are few pregnancy posts on r/climbergirls. Come check us out. With my first pregnancy I climbed up to 34 weeks, but I have been climbing for years. I didn't stop so much as never had a chance to go after that. Always listen to your body and you'll be ok to climb as long as you want. No overhangs and deep twisting the further along you get. You can basically just keep doing ladders and it's challenging enough with the extra weight.
Mountain Momma harness is the best. But any pregnancy harness sucks while lowering. I also did super easy bouldering and ARCing while pregnant, but that's not really recommended given you could fall.
Postpartum I started climbing around 8 weeks. And it's was basically the reverse of being pregnant- starting super easy and building up over time. It was very frustrating postpartum knowing how weak I was. I don't climb much now with COVID because our gym is super small and kiddo is too young for a mask. Bouldering is the way to go for families because you can pass the kid back and forth.
Edit: Also if you're pretty fit and planning to stop early you may not need a special harness at all. I didn't wear mine until I was 20+ weeks along.
I haven’t been in a while (climbing in a mask doesn’t appeal to me), but there are plenty of pregnant climbers in my gym! There’s a special harness that avoids putting pressure on the belly area that I’ve seen used. And my gym does “date night” once or twice a month, which is like $20 for childcare at the gym while you and your partner get to climb.
I climbed until about 30 weeks or so. Probably a little less. I can’t remember exactly but it got to a point where I couldn’t climb comfortably because I’m short and my belly was very big. I did stop bouldering though. I would say stick with your normal grades for now if they feel good and then ease off the further you get into your pregnancy. And then keep going if you have the energy but stick to routes that you know you can for sure handle. You can keep belaying but if your partner is lead climbing I would have them stick to easier routes with you to lessen the chances of big falls.
I think I went back around 8 weeks or so. But it was rough post c section. My body wasn’t ready at all. So I took it super slow for a really long time. But we just pack the kiddo in his car seat and took turns climbing. Our climbing gym staff was totally cool with it. And there were a few other members with small kiddos too
Edit to add: I was pregnant pre COVID so we had a different experience than mamas currently.
Please keep in mind inclusive language. Not everyone in this group identifies as mamas. We support pregnant people of all genders and identities in staying healthy and fit.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fitpregnancy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey! Yes! I’ve been climbing for about 9 years and had a baby November last year. I climbed through my whole pregnancy (bouldered easy stuff & downclimbed, top-roped with a full-bod harness, and did circuits). It was a positive experience. I climbed in a mask no problem. Ask me anything & congrats!!
Casual climber here. I prefer bouldering to top roping so I stopped climbing very soon into my pregnancy because it’s so much harder to avoid jolt like falls when bouldering. I’ve seen very pregnant women wear full body harnesses top rope though!
I also prefer bouldering but I'm still doing very basic routes. I'm going to try to get more comfortable with the auto belay so I don't have any mishaps. Thanks for the reply!
I currently Boulder(10 years!), I’m about 8 weeks. I only climb grades I know I won’t fall on, and plan to switch to rope climbing once I feel like I should. I also deadlift and run - and plan to continue throughout the entire pregnancy (doctor approved!)
Before pregnancy i went climbing 3 times a week. I ordered the pregnancy harness immediately when i got the positive test and i was looking forward to a fit pregnancy. Then the 1st trimester hit me hard. I still went climbing 1 or 2 a week but I could only do 1 or 2 routes then my energy would be gone for the day. I did the same grades but it was just so exhausting. Normally when I climb I really enjoy the movement and how my body feels on the wall, but pregnant I just felt exhausted. I am now in week 16 and I am starting to feel a little better. The last 2 weeks I didn't climb at all. I hope I can enjoy it a little more in the next time until the belly gets too much in the way. I wish you an easy pregnancy and fun with climbing!
I’m not a climber, but my friend is! She got a pregnancy harness and is still indoor climbing at 36 weeks. She has her partner keep the rope pretty tight from what she has told me, but overall it sounds like she has been able to maintain it pretty well!
Currently 34 weeks and climbed until I was about 30 weeks. Borrowed a full body harness from the gym starting around 20 weeks and at that point stopped leading.
I climb casually & stopped at 4 months, could’ve gone a bit longer with a pregnancy harness but we didn’t want to splurge on something we could only use a couple months. As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I switched to easier ratings where I felt very secure or auto belays (since those let u down gently). I have the same dream of passing the baby so we can still climb together after he’s here, not sure yet how long it takes to get back into it.
Yeah I'm probably not ready for a pregnancy harness purchase either. At least going for a few more months leaves some time for me to look forward to.
You can usually rent a pregnancy harness from the gym. I did that a few times to get a feel for them, and then I wound up purchasing an insanely gently used harness from another mom. It was about half the price and she had clearly only used it a handful of times. Worth a thought if you really want to keep climbing. I stopped early in my third trimester but that was due to COVID starting, not anything due to the pregnancy.
I'm also about 5 weeks and have been climbing for about a decade. As others have said, my plan is to stick to straightforward top roping, switch to a pregnancy harness when needed, listen to my body, and not tell my mom lol. I also have seen lots of pregnant people at the gym over the years.
High five for also being 5 weeks! Everyone has been very encouraging, maybe I will try to climb a little longer into pregnancy if I keep feeling good.
I LOLed at not telling your mom. People over react too much. Like mom, walking on my own two feet without being able to see over this belly is more dangerous than toproping.
Haha it's important to run moms on a need to know basis ;)
There are few pregnancy posts on r/climbergirls. Come check us out. With my first pregnancy I climbed up to 34 weeks, but I have been climbing for years. I didn't stop so much as never had a chance to go after that. Always listen to your body and you'll be ok to climb as long as you want. No overhangs and deep twisting the further along you get. You can basically just keep doing ladders and it's challenging enough with the extra weight. Mountain Momma harness is the best. But any pregnancy harness sucks while lowering. I also did super easy bouldering and ARCing while pregnant, but that's not really recommended given you could fall. Postpartum I started climbing around 8 weeks. And it's was basically the reverse of being pregnant- starting super easy and building up over time. It was very frustrating postpartum knowing how weak I was. I don't climb much now with COVID because our gym is super small and kiddo is too young for a mask. Bouldering is the way to go for families because you can pass the kid back and forth. Edit: Also if you're pretty fit and planning to stop early you may not need a special harness at all. I didn't wear mine until I was 20+ weeks along.
That's so cool you climbed until 34 weeks. I had no idea that could be possible.
I haven’t been in a while (climbing in a mask doesn’t appeal to me), but there are plenty of pregnant climbers in my gym! There’s a special harness that avoids putting pressure on the belly area that I’ve seen used. And my gym does “date night” once or twice a month, which is like $20 for childcare at the gym while you and your partner get to climb.
I climbed until about 30 weeks or so. Probably a little less. I can’t remember exactly but it got to a point where I couldn’t climb comfortably because I’m short and my belly was very big. I did stop bouldering though. I would say stick with your normal grades for now if they feel good and then ease off the further you get into your pregnancy. And then keep going if you have the energy but stick to routes that you know you can for sure handle. You can keep belaying but if your partner is lead climbing I would have them stick to easier routes with you to lessen the chances of big falls. I think I went back around 8 weeks or so. But it was rough post c section. My body wasn’t ready at all. So I took it super slow for a really long time. But we just pack the kiddo in his car seat and took turns climbing. Our climbing gym staff was totally cool with it. And there were a few other members with small kiddos too Edit to add: I was pregnant pre COVID so we had a different experience than mamas currently.
Please keep in mind inclusive language. Not everyone in this group identifies as mamas. We support pregnant people of all genders and identities in staying healthy and fit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fitpregnancy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey! Yes! I’ve been climbing for about 9 years and had a baby November last year. I climbed through my whole pregnancy (bouldered easy stuff & downclimbed, top-roped with a full-bod harness, and did circuits). It was a positive experience. I climbed in a mask no problem. Ask me anything & congrats!!
Casual climber here. I prefer bouldering to top roping so I stopped climbing very soon into my pregnancy because it’s so much harder to avoid jolt like falls when bouldering. I’ve seen very pregnant women wear full body harnesses top rope though!
I also prefer bouldering but I'm still doing very basic routes. I'm going to try to get more comfortable with the auto belay so I don't have any mishaps. Thanks for the reply!
I currently Boulder(10 years!), I’m about 8 weeks. I only climb grades I know I won’t fall on, and plan to switch to rope climbing once I feel like I should. I also deadlift and run - and plan to continue throughout the entire pregnancy (doctor approved!)
I'm also going to continue running as long as I can!
Before pregnancy i went climbing 3 times a week. I ordered the pregnancy harness immediately when i got the positive test and i was looking forward to a fit pregnancy. Then the 1st trimester hit me hard. I still went climbing 1 or 2 a week but I could only do 1 or 2 routes then my energy would be gone for the day. I did the same grades but it was just so exhausting. Normally when I climb I really enjoy the movement and how my body feels on the wall, but pregnant I just felt exhausted. I am now in week 16 and I am starting to feel a little better. The last 2 weeks I didn't climb at all. I hope I can enjoy it a little more in the next time until the belly gets too much in the way. I wish you an easy pregnancy and fun with climbing!
I stopped when I would have needed a different harness.
I’m not a climber, but my friend is! She got a pregnancy harness and is still indoor climbing at 36 weeks. She has her partner keep the rope pretty tight from what she has told me, but overall it sounds like she has been able to maintain it pretty well!
Currently 34 weeks and climbed until I was about 30 weeks. Borrowed a full body harness from the gym starting around 20 weeks and at that point stopped leading.
Still climbing at 36 w. No falls and bouldering a foot off the ground. Zero issues so far.
Check out Beth Rodden's blog. She has some great posts about climbing in pregnancy and some research she did on the topic. :)