So long, saltines and applesauce \u2014 modern moms-to-be are turning to performance products to boost energy during pregnancy and labor like athletes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes total sense,\u201d Lauren Puretz<\/a>, an OB-GYN and ultrarunner in Colorado Springs, Colo., told The Post. Whether logging miles or carrying a child, the feats take fuel \u2014 and sometimes sports nutrition products are all that go down.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just ask pro runner Emma Bates, who alleges<\/a> her former sponsor, the energy gel brand UCAN, dropped her after she got pregnant last year. Joke\u2019s on them: Products like UCAN\u2019s were no less handy, Bates found, during her first trimester than her last marathon.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOnce nausea hits, once the dizzy spells hit, you need something stat \u2014 and gels are an amazing fuel source for that,\u201d she said on the Ali on the Run Show<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve heard so many women talk about how they\u2019ve taken gels during the birthing process, in the labor and delivery room.\u201d<\/p>\n Paige Foote (pictured) is a runner who uses her own energy gel brand, Noogs, to fuel her workouts. When she gave birth in May, they helped her get through labor. Paige Foote<\/p>\n Runner Paige Foote<\/a>, a dietitian-turned-entrepreneur in Charlottesville, Va., was one of them. When she learned during a childbirth class that some women appreciate a tart distraction between contractions, she realized her own sour-candy-coded energy brand, Noogs<\/a>, would be the perfect addition to her go-bag for her son\u2019s May birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n She was right. After days of prodromal labor \u2014 or contractions with pain but not much purpose \u2014 Foote was induced. Her son wasn\u2019t born for another day and a half. By her second of four hours of pushing, she reached for a Noog.<\/p>\n \u201cI would just pop a couple every now and then because at that point, I hadn\u2019t eaten all day. I had been on a clear liquid diet, and I knew that I needed energy,\u201d she said. \u201cI needed carbohydrates to help sustain me through this super strenuous activity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond adding a pep to Foote\u2019s push, Noogs \u2014 which she\u2019d also used while running through pregnancy \u2014 delivered a confidence boost, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was cool to be like: This is the ultimate superwoman mom scenario,\u201d she said. \u201cI made these and they helped me grow a human and exercise through that whole pregnancy \u2014 and I\u2019m using them to help me push out the baby.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gestating on gels\u00a0<\/p>\n Energy gels and chews are generally formulated for endurance athletes to consume while in motion. They\u2019re small but mightily packed with easily-digestible carbohydrates, plus electrolytes like sodium. Some offerings include caffeine and various micronutrients, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n The point is to put some glucose in a tank that can only hold so much fuel. After about 90 minutes, most athletes need a top-off \u2014 or risk hitting the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pro runner Emma Bates said energy gels are great fuel for pregnancy. Instagram\/emmajanelbates<\/p>\n And while studies<\/a> show whole foods like raisins can often do the same trick, many exercise enthusiasts opt for commercial products for the sake of convenience and less digestive distress.<\/p>\n The gooey goods are tools \u201cto make sure that, as you\u2019re going through this prolonged event, you\u2019re able to give your body the energy it needs,\u201d said Amy Goblirsch<\/a>, a dietitian and distance runner in Minnesota who calls herself \u201cThe Running Dietitian.\u201d She wishes she\u2019d thought to bring gels to her kids\u2019 births two and six years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYour body is gearing up for labor, and [it would be great] to be able to have that energy when you get to push versus \u2018I feel like I\u2019m at Mile 20 where I haven\u2019t fueled properly. I\u2019m bonking, I\u2019m hitting the wall. I don\u2019t have the energy during the part that\u2019s going to require the most,\u2019\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Pregnant and laboring women, then, may be an overlooked market: Childbearing requires added calories, but often comes with aversions to food. Childbirth requires sustained energy, but often comes with restrictions on food.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the old days, [guidelines in labor] used to be strictly fasting, but then we found that that obviously led to a lot of fatigue and actually extended labor,\u201d said Puretz, who didn\u2019t use running products in her own kids\u2019 deliveries over a decade ago, but has running friends who did. \u201cAnd so we\u2019ve been slowly loosening up on those restrictions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n These days, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists<\/a> supports \u201cmoderate amounts\u201d of clear fluids during active, uncomplicated labors, but advises against solid food. That\u2019s to avoid aspiration in the case of anesthesia for a C-section.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lauren Puretz, an OB-GYN and ultrarunner, noted that eating regular food during labor can lead to serious problems if you need a C-section \u2014 but women also need energy, especially when labor lasts hours. Lauren Puretz<\/p>\n \u201cThe big concern is that you could potentially throw up whatever\u2019s in your stomach,\u201d Puretz said. \u201cAnd then you essentially inhale that into your lungs, which is high risk for a lot of issues and a lot of complications that can be very, very dangerous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But while every woman should get their provider\u2019s blessing before stashing GU in their go-bag, athlete favorites might be a relatively safe middle ground. Just avoid or limit those with caffeine, as well as those spiked with something bold-colored like beetroot, Puretz said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to freak everybody out that you have blood in your urine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t believe you need to stop by REI en route to L&D, either. The products can be pricey (GU<\/a> goes for $2 a pop, while the popular brand Maurten<\/a> is nearly double that), and may not be all that more effective than the hospital\u2019s sugar water concoction delivered via IV, Puretz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, they\u2019re a reasonable choice for fitness fiends who already have them on hand. \u201cJust like we always say don\u2019t try anything new on race day,\u201d Puretz said, \u201cyou probably don\u2019t want to try something new on labor day.\u201d (You also don\u2019t want to swallow anything you don\u2019t want to see again, she adds: \u201cThere\u2019s a high chance of just throwing it up.\u201d)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJust like we always say don\u2019t try anything new on race day,\u201d Puretz said, \u201cyou probably don\u2019t want to try something new on labor day.\u201d Lauren Puretz<\/p>\n An entire pregnancy calls for about 80,000 extra calories \u2014 nearly the caloric cost of running a marathon once a week for 40 weeks straight. Lauren Puretz<\/p>\n Breaking water \u2014 and tape \u00a0<\/p>\n The parallels between endurance sports and pregnancy<\/a> go beyond the snacks in someone\u2019s gym or hospital bag. One 2021 journal article<\/a> called pregnancy a \u201c9-month stress test\u201d that forces the cardiovascular system to adapt in ways not dissimilar to some training regimens.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sporting a baby bump also changes the body\u2019s energy demands in ways runners can appreciate: An entire pregnancy calls for about 80,000 extra calories<\/a> \u2014 nearly the caloric cost of running a marathon once a week for 40 weeks straight. And these mountain-climbing mamas haven\u2019t even toed the start line yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRunning marathons has really made me see this pregnancy journey in general \u2014 from conception to when baby comes out \u2014 as a marathon in its own way,\u201d said Nicole Santos<\/a>, a PE teacher and running coach in Connecticut whose first baby is due this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do remember some of the harder moments during the delivery and just being like, \u2018Oh my God, I\u2019m so glad I\u2019ve been in the trenches at Mile 20,\u2019\u201d Foote said.\u00a0 Paige Foote<\/p>\n Both demand stamina. Both require listening to, and taking care of, a changing body. Both benefit from a plan \u2014 and benefit more from a flexible mindset.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn any race, you\u2019re anticipating and preparing for the fact that you don\u2019t know how the day\u2019s going to go. Are you going to have GI troubles? Are you going to have cramping? Are you going to have weather issues, shoe issues?\u201d Puretz said. \u201cThat is very similar to labor, but at least you know where the finish line is going to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In that sense, she and others agreed: Pushing out a baby is harder than pushing past a marathon finish line. And yet, completing the latter steels you for the former. <\/p>\n Santos has been there too. That\u2019s largely why she plans to pack her preferred energy gel brand, HUMA<\/a>, in her birth bag when the labor start whistle blows. She already uses them in training, and keeps a stash in her desk at work. They do the trick when she has no time or taste for solid foods.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re in my work bag and my purse, they will be coming with me to the hospital,\u201d Santos said. \u201cI can see my husband trying to give me a hospital sandwich, and I\u2019ll be like \u2026 \u2018Give me a HUMA gel!\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t