Woman gives birth after finishing Chicago Marathon

[AlfiefromPickering]

Woman gives birth to daughter hours after finishing Chicago Marathon
The Canadian PressBy The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 1 hour 22 minutes ago

CHICAGO - A pregnant woman felt contractions a few minutes after finishing the Chicago Marathon and gave birth hours later to a baby daughter.

Amber Miller was nearly 39 weeks pregnant when she started the race Sunday morning. Miller told The Daily Herald in a telephone interview from her hospital bed that her doctor allowed her to run half the race and walk the other half.

Miller says she felt contractions after finishing the race in six hours 25 minutes. When the contractions became regular she stopped to get a sandwich and then went to the hospital.

Her baby girl June was born at 10:29 p.m. ET, weighing seven pounds 13 ounces.

Miller says she's happy but calls Sunday "the longest day of my life."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/woman-gives-bi ... 27578.html
http://www.570news.com/sports/article/2 ... o-marathon

[jonovision_man]

Glad it worked out OK, but is it really best for baby to push yourself to that extreme in the 9th month of a pregnancy?? Even Paula knew to take some time off!

jono

[Irongirl]

jono - that was my first thought - but, hey, at least she talked it over with her doctor.

And, really - if she had gone into labour during the race - she was 39 weeks - baby should be fine.

that really would be the longest day of her life! a marathon and giving birth in the same day? yikes!

[run mom run]

Wow. I barely felt like hauling my butt up the stairs the days I gave birth to my kids.

Ar

[babysteps]

Wow. I felt hardcore because I went for a long walk and walked up a steep hill the day I gave birth. Way to make the rest of us look bad!

[ultraslacker]

you have to wonder why she'd schedule a race for that week... unless she had the race scheduled/paid before she knew she was pregnant... but still! wow.

eta: now we have a new method of inducing labour for those moms who are dying to get the baby out! lol

[ian]

you have to wonder why she'd schedule a race for that week... unless she had the race scheduled/paid before she knew she was pregnant... but still! wow.

Registration typically opens in February, so your proviso is entirely possible. At least she kept her doctor in the loop...

[turd ferguson]

I said to myself "Its gonna be a redhead" before I clicked the link.

[Irongirl]

yup

The 27-year-old is an experienced marathoner who found out she was pregnant after signing up for the race months ago. She figured she'd play it by ear on whether or not she'd run.

[Jwolf]

Glad it worked out OK, but is it really best for baby to push yourself to that extreme in the 9th month of a pregnancy?? Even Paula knew to take some time off!

jono

To be fair Paula took time off from competing in marathons, but she did run right up to the end of her pregnancy. I'm sure she could have completed a marathon, but that is rarely her goal. And a time of 6.5 hours is more walking than running.

Still- even with her doctor's approval, I'm not sure this was such a smart thing to do for the woman in Chicago. I'll probably get slammed for that comment...

[Irongirl]

Glad it worked out OK, but is it really best for baby to push yourself to that extreme in the 9th month of a pregnancy?? Even Paula knew to take some time off!

jono

To be fair Paula took time off from competing in marathons, but she did run right up to the end of her pregnancy. I'm sure she could have completed a marathon, but that is rarely her goal. And a time of 6.5 hours is more walking than running.

Still- even with her doctor's approval, I'm not sure this was such a smart thing to do for the woman in Chicago. I'll probably get slammed for that comment...

i dunno - at first, i was really taken aback - but, 6.5 hours - that's walking pace.

my half marathon at 24 weeks pregnant, where I ran probably harder than I should have might have been more "dangerous" since i was only 24 weeks pregnant. if i had done something to the baby, it was still soooooo tiny, that i could have been risking things. At 39 weeks - I'll say it again - baby is already cooked, there's not much you can do to that baby that will hurt it.

[Jwolf]

I get that the baby was fully grown and I don't think she was endangering her baby's development. But there could have been complications if she had progressed further in labor and I'm not sure walking a marathon in the heat of the day would be the safest place to be. Even mostly walking- 6.5 hours is a long time to be out there. Having had less than 3 hours between the first sign of contractions and the birth of my second child, it just makes me uneasy to read this.

[turd ferguson]

Glad it worked out OK, but is it really best for baby to push yourself to that extreme in the 9th month of a pregnancy?? Even Paula knew to take some time off!

jono

To be fair Paula took time off from competing in marathons, but she did run right up to the end of her pregnancy. I'm sure she could have completed a marathon, but that is rarely her goal. And a time of 6.5 hours is more walking than running.

Still- even with her doctor's approval, I'm not sure this was such a smart thing to do for the woman in Chicago. I'll probably get slammed for that comment...

i dunno - at first, i was really taken aback - but, 6.5 hours - that's walking pace.

my half marathon at 24 weeks pregnant, where I ran probably harder than I should have might have been more "dangerous" since i was only 24 weeks pregnant. if i had done something to the baby, it was still soooooo tiny, that i could have been risking things. At 39 weeks - I'll say it again - baby is already cooked, there's not much you can do to that baby that will hurt it.

Except maybe drop it headfirst on Michigan Avenue

[Spirit Unleashed]

Glad it worked out OK, but is it really best for baby to push yourself to that extreme in the 9th month of a pregnancy?? Even Paula knew to take some time off!

jono

To be fair Paula took time off from competing in marathons, but she did run right up to the end of her pregnancy. I'm sure she could have completed a marathon, but that is rarely her goal. And a time of 6.5 hours is more walking than running.

Still- even with her doctor's approval, I'm not sure this was such a smart thing to do for the woman in Chicago. I'll probably get slammed for that comment...

i dunno - at first, i was really taken aback - but, 6.5 hours - that's walking pace.

my half marathon at 24 weeks pregnant, where I ran probably harder than I should have might have been more "dangerous" since i was only 24 weeks pregnant. if i had done something to the baby, it was still soooooo tiny, that i could have been risking things. At 39 weeks - I'll say it again - baby is already cooked, there's not much you can do to that baby that will hurt it.

Except maybe drop it headfirst on Michigan Avenue

[Jo-Jo]

Glad it worked out OK, but is it really best for baby to push yourself to that extreme in the 9th month of a pregnancy?? Even Paula knew to take some time off!

jono

To be fair Paula took time off from competing in marathons, but she did run right up to the end of her pregnancy. I'm sure she could have completed a marathon, but that is rarely her goal. And a time of 6.5 hours is more walking than running.

Still- even with her doctor's approval, I'm not sure this was such a smart thing to do for the woman in Chicago. I'll probably get slammed for that comment...

i dunno - at first, i was really taken aback - but, 6.5 hours - that's walking pace.

my half marathon at 24 weeks pregnant, where I ran probably harder than I should have might have been more "dangerous" since i was only 24 weeks pregnant. if i had done something to the baby, it was still soooooo tiny, that i could have been risking things. At 39 weeks - I'll say it again - baby is already cooked, there's not much you can do to that baby that will hurt it.

Except maybe drop it headfirst on Michigan Avenue

Oh dear Mike

[Irongirl]

I get that the baby was fully grown and I don't think she was endangering her baby's development. But there could have been complications if she had progressed further in labor and I'm not sure walking a marathon in the heat of the day would be the safest place to be. Even mostly walking- 6.5 hours is a long time to be out there. Having had less than 3 hours between the first sign of contractions and the birth of my second child, it just makes me uneasy to read this.

concur. having not had a quick labour, i don't really "get" that though - to me, even 3 hours is enough time to get off the course and get to a hospital......or, call the midwives and go home.

[Jwolf]

I get that the baby was fully grown and I don't think she was endangering her baby's development. But there could have been complications if she had progressed further in labor and I'm not sure walking a marathon in the heat of the day would be the safest place to be. Even mostly walking- 6.5 hours is a long time to be out there. Having had less than 3 hours between the first sign of contractions and the birth of my second child, it just makes me uneasy to read this.

concur. having not had a quick labour, i don't really "get" that though - to me, even 3 hours is enough time to get off the course and get to a hospital......or, call the midwives and go home.

Um... It was hard for me to move very quickly at that point. It would have been time to call for a ride or ambulance, though I guess . Not something I would risk- and some labors are even faster. Often there is little warning.

[richie-rich]

she really didn't want to loose that entry fee.

[scrumhalfgirl]

I get that the baby was fully grown and I don't think she was endangering her baby's development. But there could have been complications if she had progressed further in labor and I'm not sure walking a marathon in the heat of the day would be the safest place to be. Even mostly walking- 6.5 hours is a long time to be out there. Having had less than 3 hours between the first sign of contractions and the birth of my second child, it just makes me uneasy to read this.

concur. having not had a quick labour, i don't really "get" that though - to me, even 3 hours is enough time to get off the course and get to a hospital......or, call the midwives and go home.

Um... It was hard for me to move very quickly at that point. It would have been time to call for a ride or ambulance, though I guess . Not something I would risk- and some labors are even faster. Often there is little warning.

then by that logic, should people spend the last weeks of their pregnancy camped outside their intended place of birth? it's not like she was in the middle of nowhere - she was in Chicago - a phone call and a drive (taxi, ambulance, other) away from a hospital - exactly as she would have been if she'd gone to ikea or the movies without her car.

(that being said...totally not something i would have done! there's always next year!)

[DougG]

Ok I admit to not having any knowledge of pregnancy , but my initial instinct is to call the woman an idiot for risking her health and more important, the baby's. Something does not sit right with me on this one.

[Jwolf]

I think there's a big difference between going about your daily routines vs. being out on a marathon course. There are already enough unknowns in marathons.

I knew I'd get slammed, but oh well. I'm also one of the few women who will say that my labors/births were easier than my marathons (I had intense but very short labors) so perhaps I'm biased.

[eme]

I get that the baby was fully grown and I don't think she was endangering her baby's development. But there could have been complications if she had progressed further in labor and I'm not sure walking a marathon in the heat of the day would be the safest place to be. Even mostly walking- 6.5 hours is a long time to be out there. Having had less than 3 hours between the first sign of contractions and the birth of my second child, it just makes me uneasy to read this.

concur. having not had a quick labour, i don't really "get" that though - to me, even 3 hours is enough time to get off the course and get to a hospital......or, call the midwives and go home.

Um... It was hard for me to move very quickly at that point. It would have been time to call for a ride or ambulance, though I guess . Not something I would risk- and some labors are even faster. Often there is little warning.

then by that logic, should people spend the last weeks of their pregnancy camped outside their intended place of birth? it's not like she was in the middle of nowhere - she was in Chicago - a phone call and a drive (taxi, ambulance, other) away from a hospital - exactly as she would have been if she'd gone to ikea or the movies without her car.

(that being said...totally not something i would have done! there's always next year!)

I can't say that I agree with her choice, but each person is different. I would have been worried about the availability of medical support/ambulance since at a marathon I would expect them to already be busy.

Then again, at 39 weeks (I wasn't a runner at the time but fairly active) I could barely waddle when I was pregnant with my son (way back when), never mind completing a marathon!

[turd ferguson]

Ok I admit to not having any knowledge of pregnancy , but my initial instinct is to call the woman an idiot for risking her health and more important, the baby's. Something does not sit right with me on this one.

I hear you on that Doug, but similar to what Scrummy said, women take risks all the time while pregnant. The riskiest thing she probably did that day was drive to the start line, or to the hospital. There's a "thing" about pregnancy where people say "OMG THINK OF THE CHILDREN" and go all puritanical and say a mother shouldn't do anything at all other than lie in bed and PROTECT THAT FETUS.

A few times we've had threads about runners having heart attacks - I'd rather have a medical emergency near a marathon finish line than in the suburbs during rush hour. Way more doctors and ambulances.

On another note, that woman didn't look like she'd just given birth.

[AndyM]

Wow, she must have been in incredible shape to be able to do this. Good for her, I think. She must really, really, love running.

[HCcD]

At least she was under the guidance of her Doctor in both her training and race day strategy, and was given the go ahead to proceed, with caution, etc....

It would be interesting to see, in 2033 years or so, if her daughter ended up running her own marathon in Chicago on her 22nd birthday, and preferably along with her mother ...