For most pregnant women it’s a struggle just to stand as their delivery date grows closer, but on Sunday a Westchester woman ran the Chicago Marathon at 38 weeks and 5 days pregnant. And then she gave birth.
Amber Miller, 27, whose doctor cleared her to half run, half walk the marathon, told The Daily Herald that she felt a contraction after crossing the finish line at 6 hours and 25 minutes. Having a very casual attitude about the whole experience, Miller said she ran throughout both of her pregnancies and was used to getting contractions whenever she ran.
“The contractions became regular after we finished, so we stopped and grabbed a sandwich and then went to the hospital. It was the longest day of my life.”
Doctors list her labor at 2 hours and 18 minutes before her daughter June was born at 10:29 pm, weighing 7 pounds and 13 ounces. But Miller said she had been having contractions since she crossed the finish line at about 3:30 p.m.
Exercise is to be embraced when carrying a child, but comments on the web have called Miller’s move “risky, selfish, and stupid!” It is possible that Miller’s labor was brought on by the overexertion of the marathon, but she still gave birth to a healthy baby and had her doctor’s approval.
What do you think? Do you see anything wrong with Miller’s choice to run the marathon or did she have her priorities backward?
