To Climb or Not to Climb: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Risks and Benefits During Pregnancy and Postpartum.

Margie H Davenport, Laura Osachoff, Lauren Ray, Joy Black, Nicholas K Y Cheung, Tara-Leigh McHugh

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Margie H DavenportProgram for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, 1-059D Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, 8602 - 112 St, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada. margie.davenport@ualberta.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5627-5773

Laura OsachoffProgram for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, 1-059D Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, 8602 - 112 St, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada.

Lauren RayProgram for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, 1-059D Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, 8602 - 112 St, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada.

Joy BlackIndependent Consultant, Trained By Joy, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Nicholas K Y CheungProgram for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, 1-059D Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, 8602 - 112 St, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada.

Tara-Leigh McHughFaculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent physical activity guidelines for pregnancy recommend avoiding climbing owing to the increased risk of falling, which are based on opinion owing to limited empirical data. This cross-sectional study examined climbers' perceptions of climbing during pregnancy, safety, falls, exposure of climbing during the pregnancy and postpartum period, and the impact of participation in climbing during pregnancy has on maternal and fetal health outcomes.

methodsClimbers aged ≥ 18 years completed an online questionnaire between May and October 2024 based on the pregnancy where they had the highest engagement in climbing. Questions related to maternal demographics, training and competition patterns, health outcomes during and following pregnancy, and returning to climbing postpartum. Hard falls were subjectively defined as falls or catches that were hard enough to remember/cause concern.

resultsOverall, 692 participants (34.7 ± 3.8 years) completed the survey. Respondents were primarily located in the USA (34.2%), Germany (14.1%), and the UK (13.3%). The cumulative total of falls between participants was 155 across 63,972 h of climbing. Rates of adverse events was 0.03 per 1000 h of exposure. While most participants had concerns about climbing during their pregnancy, 96% felt "happy" or "very happy" that they continued to climb. Mental and emotional health outcomes were improved or unchanged by those who continued to participate. There was no significant difference in pregnancy health outcomes between groups who stopped climbing ≤ 27 weeks gestation and those who continued to climb. Participants returned to climbing at 2.7 months postpartum.

conclusionContinued participation in climbing into the third trimester was not associated with increased odds of self-reported pregnancy complications.

Indexed as

Accidental FallsMountaineeringPostpartum PeriodAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansPregnancySurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID42154366

DOI10.1007/s40279-026-02452-1

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.