I’m Not 'Disgusting' for Running While Pregnant | NYT Opinion

​​When you’re pregnant, there’s plenty to worry about. Your baby, for example. Your own health. And then there’s everyone else — the cadre of ordinary strangers who transform themselves into an ambient squad of the pregnancy police whenever they spot a woman who looks as if she’s about to have a baby. Are you sure you can eat that cheese? Is what you’re drinking safe? And when it comes to exercise, watch out. The world is going to have some thoughts.

This is exactly what the elite distance runner Stephanie Bruce discovered recently while pregnant with her third child. Ms. Bruce, 39, knew what she needed to have a healthy pregnancy, so she kept active, with the support of her doctor. But the pressure to bow to regressive standards of female fragility while pregnant is real. It was unsettling — if a professional athlete can’t comfortably decide what’s best for her body, who can? Instead, as she shares in the Opinion video above, Ms. Bruce is clear: How she treats her pregnant body is her choice alone.

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