Competing and babies.

What happens with top girl competitors after they get pregnant?

Do they ever get back into competition (some do, of course, but maybe some don't?)? If not, what is the reason? they don't have time to practice as they need the time for the baby? weight problem? out of shape? can't find a partner as their partner is already dancing with someone else?

If they do get back into competition is everything smooth, or are there any problems? How many competitors with babies are there?

All the top pros I know of retired and started their families. There are a few exceptions: Warren & Kristi Boyce of England still compete, and I think France Mosseau also was still competing after she had her first child.

On the amateur front, top US Over-35 Standard dancer Didi von Deck kept dancing after she had a child (or two?). In fact, one year she danced Blackpool something like six weeks after giving birth.

I'm sure it depends on the situation...

One competitor I know quit competing after her first child. In fact she hardly ever dances anymore - it's hard to fit in running around after 3 children!

I don't compete, however I danced up until I was 8 months pregnant...the most difficult thing is your center of gravity changes drastically!!! Two weeks after I gave birth to my son, I was back on the dance floor.

I'm not sure that some of these women wouldn't have retired from competing anyway, but it definitely does make it harder. The whole logistics of schlepping a baby around, schedules, etc. makes it pretty difficult. Not to say it's impossible, but your priorities do become very different after you have kids.

As far as bodies go, there is no reason someone can't be in the same (or very near, things do shift) shape than they were before having children. My body has changed a little, but probably nothing that aging itself didn't do to me.

Laura said:

All the top pros I know of retired and started their families. There are a few exceptions: Warren & Kristi Boyce of England still compete, and I think France Mosseau also was still competing after she had her first child.

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Yes, Warren & Kristi Boyce didn't even miss one of the major comps (Blackpool, UK, & International)! :shock:

Any also yes regarding France Mosseau. She and Gean Marc returned to competing after their first was born and only retired from competition (they still do shows) when they had their second child.

i now marylyn benetiaz compete after giving birth and traveled and still coached. in august she annouced she was pregnant again and would be taking time off. i think she had her baby already. gonna miss her though if she doesnt come to our studio. one of my fav coaches.

http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=4470&start=90
this is ad old thread about active dancer and being childless.
My teacher and his wife are in their mid 30's and they don't have kids, either. They claimed that they are too busy for kids and they don't think that they will be able to give the kid a stable life.

Warren and Kristy are also very young, i think the dancers that retire when they have kids are usually around 30, while I believe Warren and Kristy were around 20 when they had their first child.

According to their interview on dancesportinfo they danced Blackpool when she was 6 months pregnant, 6 rounds... crazy!

Good for her! Pregnancy isn't an illness. Some women get very sick, but others stay as healthy as horses (or however that expression goes...) throughout the pregnancy. So why not keep up with ones normal routine? 8)

It also helps if you have a lot of family support in taking care of the children while you train and travel to competitions, as is the case with the Boyces.

Yes, Laura. I agree. I hope I didn't come across as dismissing the potential difficulties. I have girlfriends with one or more children, who had lots of family support and whose careers didn't miss a beat in the process of becoming Moms. But others, who've had to shoulder the responsibility without much help, have had a lot of trouble with the transition. So it all depends, I guess, in dancing, as well as in other career choices. :?

pygmalion said:

Pregnancy isn't an illness. Some women get very sick, but others stay as healthy as horses (or however that expression goes...) throughout the pregnancy. So why not keep up with ones normal routine? 8)

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Well, there's a good reason why some people can't keep up their normal routine. Its often not the being pregnant that's the problem, but the getting pregnant. As it turns out, women are most fertile if they have a BMI (body mass index) between 24 and 30. Most top female dancers probably have a BMI of about 19, at least that's what I'd guess by looking at them. Many of them will have no problems, but those who do have problems will probably be advised to put on weight, which is probably not going to go over too well with the judges.

Yes. I posted a couple links on that over on the fitness forums a while back. 8) There's a sweet spot for getting pregnant, which, I was surprised to see, is fairly high for ladies body fat percentage. I thought it was a bit lower than 24 to 30 percent, though. My body fat runs about 19 or twenty percent, and I remember thinking that I was in range, on the low end, but in range. (If I wanted to get pregnant, which I don't!! :lol: ) Oh well. I guess various studies put the range in slightly different places.
8)

But there is a healthy weight/fat range that maximizes female fertility, and, for most women, athlete thin isn't it. And, on the other end of the spectrum, there are all my girlfriends' anecdotes about losing thirty or forty pounds and bam! Getting pregnant, when they'd been trying for a long time. Hmm. Food for thought. 8)

Duh! You were talking apples; I was talking kumquats. The studies I've seen tracked body fat percentage. Yours looked at BMI, which, if I'm not mistaken, doesn't include a body composition calculation. Just weight and height. *shakes head* That's why my numbers and yours were different. Yes. Senility has definitely set in. (The last time I checked, my bmi was around 24 - 25, and my body fat nineteen point something.)

And I bet you're right. Most competitive women HAVE to be way lower than that. There's no room for body fat in a size 2. :lol: :lol:

pygmalion said:

The last time I checked, my bmi was around 24 - 25, and my body fat nineteen point something.

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WOW, your body fat is just really low in general, and even lower when you compare it to your bmi. I am on diet right now, so I read a lot of information about body fat and bmi. The PERFECT bmi according to some (i don't remember which) world association is 22 (anywhere from 18.5 to 22.9 is fine), and the body fat for women is something around 23~24. That 19% body fat is really impressive! good for you.

btw, if anyone is interested: BMI = weight (in kg, 1kg=2.204 lbs) divided by the square of height (in meters, 0.0254m = 1inch)

pygmalion said:

And I bet you're right. Most competitive women HAVE to be way lower than that. There's no room for body fat in a size 2. :lol: :lol:

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Not to disagree with you, but there is definetly room for body fat even for really skinny ladies. Body fat percentage is just the percentage of fat in your body (fat mass/total mass, total mass=weight=fat mass + muscle). Even if someone is really skinny, and weight really light, she can still have a high body fat percentage. Body fat is s a percentage in relation to weight, which is not an absolute measurement.