Lee-Ann Ellison is a mother to two children, and expecting her third. She is also a fitness fan, and in particular, CrossFit - the use of diverse heavy weights, including that of the body to keep the body in optimal shape. Lee-Ann sparked off controversy when she shared a picture of her still lifting heavy weights on Facebook.
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| "8 months pregnant with baby number 3 and CrossFit has been my sanity. I have been CrossFitting for 2 1/2 years and ... strongly believe that pregnancy is not an illness, but a time to relish in your body's capabilities to kick ass." - Lea-Ann Ellison |
This is the picture and comment by Lee-Ann Ellison on the CrossFit page that set the ball in motion, no pun intended. Liked by over 17k people and shared almost 3,000 times, many of the hundreds of comments asked, should a heavily pregnant woman really be doing that? Some of the negative comments;
"Actually not a good thing to do at 8 months. The added intrabdominal pressure isn't safe and its not good to promote this. Weights are fine but this is just plain silly."
"This is actually sickening ... Doctors always strongly suggest to not lift heavy because you can sever your placenta and cause major damage an early labour and a miscarriage .... Posting this picture goes people the wrong message that this is OKAY when it's not!!!!"
"Cross fit? This goes way beyond a way of life, and right into an obsession. She is very selfish for endangering a life for her own personal gains and achievements. This is not a proud picture to post. That amount of weight lifted above the head is extremely dangerous while pregnant."
All this said, Ellison doesn't care too much about what the web thinks of her gym routine: "I want to thank everyone for their kind and supportive responses! Haters will hate and it's ok. My life is not their life thank goodness! Lol! Again, thank you! It means so much to feel this much love from a community I adore."
More pictures of Lee-Ann from her Facebook Page
According to this, a lot of "health professionals don't specifically prohibit weightlifting, although many do warn pregnant women against skiing, horse-riding and scuba-diving. There is evidence that weight-bearing exercise can reduce the length of labour but experts stress that women should avoid activities that could result in potential trauma to the foetus (and many doctors recommend pregnant women stick to weights of less than around 15 kgs)."
The best advice is that women may need to slow down with heavy lifting and strenuous exercise as their pregnancy progresses so as to avoid accidents or stress on the mother or baby.
Where do you stand, do you think she was over doing it?
Many African women still do this while pregnant...Buckets of water, towers of firewood, sacks of freshly harvested corn-on-the-cob and another child strapped to their backs. Wow!
ReplyDeleteYou're actually right, and I hear that doing some exercises help in smooth and easy labor. But looking at these pictures, I think this is too much.
DeleteOMG! Watching this woman gives me shivers. I just feel like the baby is gonna pop out anytime.
ReplyDeleteIts instinctive to feel this is wrong but people's bodies can endure different hardships. shrug...
UPDATE: This woman gave birth to a HEALTHY baby boy. Shortly after she competed in a Cross Fit event. She was weightlifting and couldn't take the load size. Her body crumpled under the extreme weight flipping her body and pinning her neck to the floor within seconds. The video was recently released. Thank god she wasn't pregnant when she fell. The baby would have been lost. Hope this woman learns a valuable lesson from all of this.
ReplyDelete