Lea-Ann Ellison has carried on an intense Crossfit exercise throughout her pregnancy , and being over eight months along hasn’t deterred her from hardcore sets with heavy weights.
The weightlifting mom posted a few photos of herself lifting weights on a Crossfit Facebook page. They show her doing squats with kettlebells and dead lifts with, well, more weight than you’d think a pregnant woman should be lifting.
In fact, a lot of people think that a pregnant woman shouldn’t be lifting that much weight, and have made sure to let her know with nearly 20,000 comments on her Facebook page. Though some are sticking up for the 35-year-old Los Angeles-based bodybuilder, others are grilling her for putting her unborn child at risk.
“I am a crossfit enthusiast but I DO NOT recommend this at all,” wrote one. “Doctors always strongly suggest to not lift heavy because you can sever your placenta and cause major damage an early labor and miscarriage…. Posting this picture goes people the wrong message that this is OKAY when it’s not!!!!”
But is she really at risk of harming, or losing, her baby?
The Daily Mail reached out to a midwife and asked just that. The response from the midwife was that since Ellison has been a longtime weightlifter, her body is actually used to the strain and movements and that her routine won’t likely induce early labor or harm the baby.
Additionally, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists actually encourage at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day for expectant mothers, and say that fetuses of exercising mothers are usually better off than those of non-exercising mothers.
“In most cases, exercise is safe for both mother and fetus during pregnancy and women should therefore be encouraged to initiate or continue exercise to derive the health benefits associated with such activities.”
Of course, they presumably haven’t encountered an expectant mother with a rigorous weightlifting routine.
So far, Ellison has maintained a sense of humor about the all of the criticism, writing: “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.”
She also changed her profile picture :
